A Special Duty (24 page)

For having the patience to read through early chapters of this book and coming up with excellent suggestions I would like to thank Polly Morland, Peter Gwillim, Charles Morland and Mike Bedford-Stradling and for checking every chapter, as the book developed, I can only say sincere and heartfelt thanks to Wayne Elkin and Larry Toft. Wayne read every word with painstaking care and kept the story grounded by curbing my ‘flights of fancy’ and Larry took the same care with the flying sequences, making sure that I presented those aspects of the story as accurately as possible. I would also like to thank Nicholas Morland, who advised on flying matters and provided me with a copy of Pilot and Flight Engineer’s Notes for the Halifax. My sisters, Pat Bowskill and Susan Hayhurst have consistently helped by jogging my memory and adding anecdotes of their own and my mother, Rita has been extremely generous with her time and support.

When it came to checking the final manuscript, I was very grateful to Andrea and Terry Reeves, for reading it through, picking up inconsistencies and making suggestions. I received my first ‘review’ from Andrea and will not forget her thoughtful and generous words. Both Terry and Andrea have given me invaluable advice throughout the process of this work, particularly when it came to the minefield of self-publishing. Jo Ashley was a great help during the final pre-publishing week by doing a last read-through for me and lastly, two people I trust implicitly with my work are my daughters, Rachel Arey and Maxine Morland. They have worked their way through the manuscript for me; Rachel to advise on final presentation and Maxine to do the professional job of editing and copy proofing. They have been an incredible source of inspiration for me and I consider myself very lucky to have had such unstinting support and practical help.

Our trip to Poland in April 2013 was the highlight of this project and for the welcome we received and the hospitality offered I would like to thank Edward, Barbara, Joanna and Lukasz Kak, Tadeusz and Zofia Kak, Piotr and Margaret Kak, Greg Kusiak, Piotr Galdys, Bronislaw Smola, Damien Majkut, Bronislaw Sowa, Jan Kido, Jerzy Paul, Danuta Pinderska, Violetta Fimiarz and the staff and pupils of Tarnogora Primary School.

Lastly I must thank Paul Lashmar who not only provided me with copies of his own research, but continued to advise and support me throughout the process of writing this book. A busy journalist, lecturer and film maker, he made the time to help me and I am very grateful for that.

Chapter 1

^i.
Cypher message 8
^th
Oct 1943, Cairo to MONKEYWRENCH, WO202/331.

^ii.
Cypher message 10
^th
Oct 1943, Cairo to MONKEYWRENCH, WO202/331.

^iii.
Cypher message 21
st
Oct 1943, MONKEYWRENCH to Cairo, WO202/331.

^iv.
Our Man in Yugoslavia,
Sebastian Ritchie, Frank Cass Publishers 2004, pages 68 & 75.

^v.
My Grandad’s Story,
Walter Davis and Sharon Spencer, 2007 personal recollections.

^vi.
The Wildest Province
by Roderick Bailey, Vintage 2009. Reproduced by permission of The Random House Group Limited, page 225.

^vii.
Insight on this particular incident provided by Larry Toft, of 148 Squadron.

^viii.
Illyrian Adventure,
Brigadier ‘Trotsky’ Davies, Bodley Head, 1952, Page 70.

^ix.
Report by Major McAdam on activities 16
^th
May 1943-19
^th
November 1944, HS5/692.

^x.
Recorded account by Charles Keen 2003.

^xi.
Recorded account by Charles Keen 2003.

^xii.
Storey family letter archive.

^xiii.
Information on the loss of Peter Crosland taken from squadron records and information supplied by Flight Lieutenant M. Hudson of the Air Historical Branch (RAF) in personal correspondence.

^xiv.
My Grandad’s Story,
Walter Davis and Sharon Spencer 2007, personal recollections.

^xv.
ORB Appendices November 1943 page 37, AIR27/998.

^xvi.
Speech to the House of Commons 22
^nd
February, 1944.

Special Note:

Unless otherwise stated, all flight and crew information was sourced from:

148 Operations Record Book, October & November 1943, AIR27/995.

148 Sortie Reports (RAF form 441A), AIR23/1443.

Additional information on operations and Squadron activities sourced from:

148 Operations Record Book Summary, October & November 1943, AIR27/995.

Information on lost aircraft and crews either sourced or confirmed with the help of:

Harrington Aviation Museum Society. Listing of Allied aircraft lost on Special Duty Operations.
www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk
.

Much of the piecing together of the Albania supply and personnel drops was done with the help of Roderick Bailey’s Book,
The Wildest Province,
Vintage 2009 (reproduced by permission of The Random House Group Limited) in conjunction with 148 operational records as mentioned above. I have not marked every source individually. Suffice to say, I could not have matched personnel with specific flights without the help of this particular book. I have also been grateful to Walter Davis and Sharon Spencer for allowing me to use the personal recollections of Walter Davis.

Chapter 2

^i.
Operation Autonomous,
Ivor Porter, Chatto & Windus 1989, Chapter 11.

^ii.
Operation Autonomous,
Ivor Porter, Chatto & Windus 1989, Chapter 11.

^iii.
Through Hitler’s Back Door,
Alan Ogden, Pen & Sword Books 2010, pages 249-63.

^iv.
Operation Autonomous,
Ivor Porter, Chatto & Windus, Page 102.

^v.
RAF form 441A AIR49/223.

^vi.
Recorded account by Charles Keen, 2003.

^vii.
Conditions in Zervas-held territory in Greece by D.J. Wallace,
British Reports on Greece 1943-44.

^viii.
Report of activities in Greece, T/Sgt Spiros Kaleyias, HS5/697.

^ix.
Venture into Greece,
Nicholas Hammond DSO, William Kimber, 1983, chapter 8.

^x.
Robert E. Moyers: OSS dentist with the Greek resistance, Jonathan D Clemente MD,
OSS Society Journal

^xi.
Illyrian Venture,
Brigadier ‘Trotsky’ Davies, Bodley Head, 1952, page 97.

^xii.
When Men and Mountains Meet,
H.W. Tilman, D.S.O, M.C., Cambridge University Press 1946

^xiii.
148 Squadron RAF reports 43-45 (medical reports), AIR49/996.

^xiv.
Signal MONKEYWRENCH to Cairo, 10
^th
October 1943, WO202/331.

^xv.
Signal MONKEYWRENCH to Cairo, 1
st
March 1944, WO202/331

^xvi.
Signal Cairo to MONKEYWRENCH, 9
^th
November 1943, WO202/331.

^xvii.
Illyrian Adventure,
Brigadier ‘Trotsky’ Davies, Bodley Head, 1952, page 89.

^xviii.
148 Squadron RAF reports 43-45 (medical reports), AIR49/996.

^xix.
My Grandad’s Story,
Walter Davis and Sharon Black, unpublished personal document.

^xx.
148 Squadron RAF reports 43-45 (medical reports), AIR49/996.

^xxi.
Stradling family archive.

^xxii.
Illyrian Adventure,
Brigadier Trotsky Davies, Bodley Head, 1952.

^xxiii.
Major J. Field, report, 1943, TNA HS 5/124, taken from
The Wildest Province
, Roderick Bailey, 2009, pages 195-196.

^xxiv.
Stradling family archive.

Special Note:

Unless otherwise stated, all flight and crew information was sourced from:

148 Operations Record Book, December 1943, AIR27/995.

148 Sortie Reports, December 1943 (RAF form 441A), AIR23/1443.

Additional information on operations and Squadron activities from:

148 Operations Record Book Summary, December 1943, AIR27/995.

Information on lost aircraft and crews either sourced or confirmed with the help of:

Harrington Aviation Museum Society. Listing of Allied aircraft Lost on Special Duty Operations.
www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk
.

Chapter 3

^i.
Personal correspondence from Adriano Silva Baumgartner to author.

^ii.
Flights of the Forgotten,
Ken Merrick, 1989 Arms & Armour, page 178.

^iii.
Through Hitler’s Back Door,
Alan Ogden, 2010, page 141.

^iv.
ORB 624 Squadron, January 1944, AIR27/2142.

^v.
Through Hitler’s Back Door,
Alan Ogden, 2010, page 47.

^vi.
Personal communication Terry Maker, Dark of the Moon website to author.

^vii.
Missing Believe Killed,
Article by Terry Maker, Dark of the Moon website.

^viii.
Information taken from Aircrew Remembered website, compiled by Terry Maker.

^ix.
Reminiscence of Jack Pogson, via Dark of the Moon Website (Terry Maker).

^x.
AIR27/999 F540, Appendixes E-I.

^xi.
Eastern Approaches,
Fitzroy Maclean, Penguin Books, 1991, page 413, and personal recollection of Jim Rosebottom, website: www.624squadron.

^xii.
Telegram IN Rowena to Cairo 23/1 & 12/2, WO202/399.

^xiii.
Eastern Approaches,
Fitzroy Maclean, Penguin Books, 1991, page 432.

^xiv.
Partisan Picture,
Basil Davidson, Bedford Books 1946, page 196.

^xv.
From the diary of Captain John Hibberdine, taken from
The Wildest Province
, Roderick Bailey, Vintage 2009, page 183.

^xvi.
Ostatni Lot Halifaxa,
Stanislaw M. Jankowski & Jerzy Piekarczyk, Oficyna Cracovia, 1997.

^xvii.
RAAF Fatalities in WWII among Personnel serving in RAF Squadrons and Support Units (Alan Storr) website
www.awm.gov.au
.

^xviii.
Appendix E to Report by Lt. Col. T.N.S. Wheeler, June 1944, HS5/127, and,
The Wildest Province
, Roderick Bailey, Vintage Books, 2009, reproduced by permission of The Random House Group Limited, page 231.

^xix.
Interview with E. Elkington-Smith conducted by James Oliver for Paul Lashmar, February 1996.

^xx.
Stradling family archive.

Special Note:

Unless otherwise stated, all flight and crew information was sourced from:

148 Operations Record Book, January & February 1944, AIR27/996.

148 Sortie Reports (RAF Form 441A), AIR23/1443.

Additional information on operations and Squadron activities from:

148 Operations Record Book Summary, January & February 1944, AIR27/996.

Information on lost aircraft and crews either sourced or confirmed with the help of:

Harrington Aviation Museum Society. Listing of Allied aircraft lost on Special Duty Operations.
www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk
.

Chapter 4

^i.
WO202/400 Savanna telegrams, February 1943.

^ii.
HS5/692 Appendix G to final report 6 Dec 44

^iii.
My Grandad’s Story,
Walter Davis and Sharon Black 2007, personal recollections.

^iv.
Personal correspondence fromAlan Ogden to author, 30
^th
August 2012

^v.
Report on Experience,
John Mulgan, Frontline Books 2010, page 126.

^vi.
Report on Italian Operations, 9
^th
March 1944, AIR27/999.

^vii.
Interview with Eddie Elkington-Smith 1996 by James A. Oliver for Paul Lashmar.

^viii.
The Central Blue,
Air Marshal Sir John Slessor, Cassell & Company, 1956.

^ix.
Don Kaiser, 
www.warwingsart.com/12thAirForce/Vesuvius.html

^x.
Recorded account by Charles Keen, 2003.

^xi.
Partisan Picture,
Basil Davidson, Bedford Books, 1946, page 186.

^xii.
Partisan Picture,
Basil Davidson, Bedford Books, 1946, page 191.

^xiii.
Cipher message 11
^th
March 1944, SAVANNA to Cairo, WO 202/400.

^xiv.
Written account of Eddie Elkington-Smith (date unknown), and recorded account by Charles Keen, 2003.

^xv.
My Grandad’s Story,
Walter Davis and Sharon Black 2007, personal recollections.

^xvi.
www.operationwildhorn.com