Could anybody help this family? Part of the message: My husband joined up at the same time as “Mitch” and I too was in the air force. I am trying to find out which POW camp my uncle was in I believe. It is the missing piece of his war story jigsaw. I don’t know how much information you require to help you with your search. I have my uncle’s service history, but most of that may be unnecessary so I will start with just the basics. My uncle was 2203826 Sgt Kenneth Pratt. (Born 21.10 1924. Died 30.09.2014). He joined RAF on 28.12 1942. He became a wireless operator in Bomber Command. His last mission was in Lancaster Bomber 644B flying out of RAF Balderton (Lincolnshire) on 5th March 1945 to attack a synthetic oil plant in Bohlen. The aircraft was brought down on 6th March due to bad weather and the crew bailed out. All but one survived and were captured. Kenneth remembers being interrogated in Dulagluft and then sent to a POW camp which was soon evacuated and he was on the “long march” to Moosburg (German PoW camp V11A). Like many people my uncle never really talked about his wartime experiences and it was only in the twilight of his life when I was caring for him did I manage to find out a bit more information as he was reminiscing then. Unfortunately he was suffering memory loss by then, hence the small but important gap. He seemed to thing he was in Stalag Luft111 (Sagan) but I have read that it was closed in Jan 1945 and would have been completely evacuated by the end of Feb. I have the names of the other crew members of Lancaster 644B if you need them. They are listed in the book “Footprints on the Sands of Time” (RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45), but unfortunately only the pilot’s POW details are shown. He was G.A.McCusker (RAAF). He was in camps X111D (Nurnberg-Langwasser) and V11A (Moosburg).
Sorry I forgot to mention that not all the information on the internet regarding Lancaster 644B is factually correct. Some say Uncle Ken was hospitalised until freed, others seem to have him mixed up with the bomb aimer Ted Thompson!
According to McCusker's POW Liberation report he was uninjured and evaded for four days before being captured on the 9th March. He makes no mention of the other crew members. It may be that your Uncle also completed one of these POW Liberation forms. Check out Drew5233 or Lee (Psywar.Org) who will both do lookups at the National Archives John
This from - RAF Bomber Command Losses Vol.6 - W R. Chorley......... 5-6 March 1945 227 Squadron Lancaster I PB644 9J-R Op. Bohlen Took of from Balderton at 1727 hours to attack a synthetic oil plant. The aircraft was abandoned but F/O. Pearce RAAF, who had accompanied the crew for operational experience had the tragic misfortune to land in a tree. Possibly dazed, or perhaps not realising how far he was above the ground, he released his parachute harness and fell to his death. He lies in Durnbach War Cemetery. Crew. F/L. G A. McQuaker (McCusker) RAAF. pow F/O. W N R. Pearce RAAF. + Sgt. J. Robb. pow Sgt. W A. Senior. pow F/S. E. Thompson. pow Sgt. K. Pratt. pow F/S. C B. Carter. pow F/S. J. Connell. pow. ............................. During the course of 1945 RAF Bomber Command visited Bohlen on 4 occasions. 1121 aircraft were dispatched with 1029 attacking the target which consisted of industry and oil. 3562 tons of HE along with 12 tons of incendiaries were dropped. 15 aircraft were missing or lost.
For what little extra it may be... Ken and the rest of the crew returned to the UK on 11th May 1945. Considering that VE Day was 8th May, then it would appear they were in Allied hands possibly even before VE Day itself. The fact they all returned together might indicate that they were PoW's at the same location, and what happened to one happened to all. His Lancaster carried 1 4,000lb high capacity (HC) "cookie" and 11 x 500lb bombs. Fitted with "Loran" LOng RANge navigation system. McCusker (if not the rest of the crew) had completed 28 Ops Have you thought of applying for his Service records? They cost £30 and will only take a couple of months usually to come through. As Peter points out, the usual convention is to show the aircraft Serial Number PB644 and the Squadron Code 9J with an individual aircraft code letter "R". (The Squadron could lose several "R" (or other letter) aircraft, one replacing another etc, so to uniquely identify it you need the Serial. Several other bombers that night were badly affected by severe icing leading to some being abandoned on reaching the UK. Bohlen is some kilometres south of Leipzig, a very heavily defended city, so they may have been caught in an intense flak barrage and forced to abandon on the way home. There were other RAF attacks elsewhere that night but 5 Group alone put up 248 Lancasters and 10 Mosquito pathfinders. 4 Lancasters were lost, a very tiny proportion. McCusker was in Camps 13D and 7A. Pearce was initially buried in Michelbach Cemetery and reburied in Durnbach 3rd September 1948. There is a Michelbach just north of Marburg, quite a long way west of Leipzig, suggesting they were well on the way home when forced to abandon, and nearby would be where Pearce died.
This came back: Thankyou very much for helping me and for the extra information, I really do appreciate it. I already have Ken’s service record as we sent for it with his consent a few months before he died. Unfortunately it doesn’t mention which POW camps he was in. We knew he was in Moosburg after the “long march” as he remembered that, and with your added information about the mission we definitely think he too was in 13D along with the pilot McCusker. Ken was also on his 29th Sortie and although one or two of the other crew members thought the aircraft was shot down he was sure it was down to bad weather. The information you have given seems to verify his recollection is correct. Possibly a combination of heavy flak and ice as suggested.
Fred, considering your own efforts, for myself I consider it a small repayment to be able to help in any way.
