´óÏó´«Ã½

I was a Flight Mechanic in the Air Force working on four engine aircraft with the Special Duties Squadron.

Thempsford had two special duty squadrons - the Lizzies - to take agents and land them in France and Squadron 138 that did the longer trips - to Poland.

I was a flight engineer - extremely short supply in squadron - so I was flying with English Australian and Polish crews

We used to fly in the moonlight period. We were told that our prime job was to carry ‘joes’ the name given to the agents. We had on board a pilot, a co-pilot, a flight engineer and a dispatcher who had been trained to look after ‘joes’

The planes were the Lysander and the Halifax and there was the Hudson - they could carry up to 8 ‘joes’.

‘Joes’ was the name given to agents so when you went down the pub you could talk freely.

I met all the agents at one time or another - no special compartments on the aircraft. The ‘joes’ were dropped by parachute.

My job was to look after the engines and the rest of the aircraft -
Our operational height was a few hundred feet and we navigated by map.

I got shot down on the last trip we did - we were taking a couple of ‘joes’ who were in the forties to south eastern France. 60-70% of flights were successful.

We used the word abort - if the people on the ground didn’t turn up we’d turn round and go back again

We would be on the lookout for a signal on the ground - like a cross or a circle plus a hand signal in morse from the ground that was known only to us - we were given a letter to lookout for at the briefing.

We were full of adrenaline, fear and of total interest so far as I was concerned.

Flying and travelling over these places were so interesting. We flew at an altitude of 300 to 500 feet - flying only on the moon period - we were looking for the reflections of roads, railway lines, rivers and we avoided towns.

We were a sitting target. The flight paths were arranged so that the moon didn’t interfere with our flight - but obviously one side of the aircraft would be lit up. We didn’t carry arms.

There were a fairly high number of planes shot down. I completed 13 flights which was well above the average of about 8 or 9 before an aircraft was lost.

You never knew who you were flying with until the morning of the operation. There was always a different pilot and crew every time - you met them in the mess or down the pub.

‘Joes’ arrived at the house which housed group Captain Fielden
Master of the Kings flight - this was the assembly point.

The night we were shot down we had just crossed the coast to France, heading to the south east of France. We had two ‘joes’ on board with heavy equipment. We came under fire about 4 miles inland and the two starboard engines caught fire. I couldn’t do anything about it.

My job was to put the fires out — but the fire extinguishers didn’t work or had been shot up.

Our pilot spotted a ploughed field in the distance and we were down within minutes from being shot up. We were on the deck and running like hell away from the burning aircraft. We had to bust down the astrodome and got out that way.

We kept together - the two ‘joes’ went on - that left the four of us to carry on and we struck south - the only direction we could go - towards the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees were an attractive way of getting home

We headed for zone unoccupied - we were walking and hiding. I spoke schoolboy French so that on the night time walk we would visit farms - we would chuck stones up at the windows and we would ask them for food - we explained that we were English aviators - but more often than not they set the dogs on to us.

Because of the work we were involved in nobody wanted us to be caught
Whilst the German would be on the lookout so would the undercover people in France - the Mackie.

We were hiding one day and a chap came past and told us to wait and he arranged for us to have an escort to the unoccupied zone - in the centre of France. It was called unoccupied France - we had a couple of problems trying to get across the Loire the bridges across the Loire were heavily guarded. Fortunately you could wade across - being tidal - so that at night time we waded across - we were still in uniform - but ripped off any identification.

Flying boots were a pain because in the first nights run - we had to cross the river and the boots got terribly soggy but fortunately having picked up a chap from the mackie - he fixed us up with chopped down wellington boots - I had to stuff mine with hay as they were too big

We finished up after three to four months of travelling on the comet line - or a branch of it - one of the most famous escape routes. We went over the pyraneas at Perpignon.

We were told what to do and where to go - but the only escort we had over the Pyrenees were smugglers.

Obviously the mackie had some rapport with the English - two of our crew were Polish — very highly professional - easily the best crew I have ever flown with - the way the pilot landed an absolute perfect pancake land.

I owe my live to him being able to land.

The trip over the Pyrenees in May, part in daylight, we took a train to Perpignon and then walking from there to our set off point - I remember it well probably the best meal I had ever in France - huge goat stew. People were willing to give their lives to help.

You never asked their names - they would if found out, be shot. If they couldn’t be found as individuals then the family would be taken out and shot.

We walked along the railway lines in Spain to Gerona and then got picked up and taken to the British embassy in Madrid. Then on to Gibraltar and flew back to England in a DC10 on the same night that Leslie Howard was shot down

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.