Thursday 24 April 2014

Engraved On A Nation: The Photograph Trailer



In 2012 I was delighted to help film director Manfred Becker with his fascinating documentary on the 1942 RCAF Hurricanes Greys Cup winning team, featuring No.69 Robert Sarvis! Here's a little bit about the programme and this famous football team in which Bob Sarvis played an integral part.


Beacher’s photograph inspires Grey Cup doc



This photo of the 1942 RCAF Hurricanes – winners of a wartime
Grey Cup – includes Jake Gaudaur in the back row (drinking a Coke); Ed Poscavage is near Jake's right elbow, just peeking out; coach Lew Hayman is in uniform in the front row below Jake. The Photograph is one of several episodes in a documentary series celebrating the history of the Grey Cup, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

In 1942 the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes met the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers in the first-ever non-civilian Grey Cup game. The Hurricanes beat the Bombers 8-5 at an icy Varsity Stadium in front of more than 12,000 fans. The game was also broadcast to Canadian servicemen stationed in London, England.
Following the win the Hurricanes assembled in uniform for the obligatory victory photograph, and Gaudaur can be seen smiling and celebrating with his teammates. That photograph became one of the most prized possessions of the man who went on to become the Commissioner of The Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1968 through 1984, mostly because seven of Gaudaur's teammates from the Hurricanes – including his best friend Ed Poscavage – were killed fighting overseas within the two years following the big game.



Gaudaur's daughter, Jackie, remembers that tattered 70-year-old photograph and always wondered about the story behind it. Her voyage of discovery is part of an upcoming TSN-BellMedia special documentary called Engraved On A Nation, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Grey Cup. In this particular episode, called The Photograph, Jackie is accompanied by documentary filmmaker Manfred Becker to the former Uplands Air Force Base where her late father was stationed in the war.
“They took me up in a vintage Harvard training fighter, and flew me over the Gatineau region,” Gaudaur said. “It gave me the opportunity to see how vulnerable you are up there.”
Jackie also travelled with her sister Diane to Connecticut, for an emotional visit with the niece and nephew of Ed Poscavage.

“Ed was the best man at my father's wedding in 1943,” Jackie said. “He was shot down in March of 1945 just a few months before the war ended.”
Jackie took with her a framed drawing she had made of Poscavage in his helmet and jersey from the Hurricanes. “I was amazed to see how the impact of his death had spilled over into the next generation.”



While she sat in their living room, Poscavage's niece played an old phonograph record of an interview Ed had given to the BBC a few weeks before he was shot down. He spoke about his life back in Connecticut, some of the missions he had been on, and what he thought about Europe. He is heard to say, “I'm sure Paris will be much nicer after the war.” Ed was buried in France.
“I understood immediately why my father was such close friends with this man,” Jackie said. “He was charming, optimistic and articulate…very much like my father.”
Jackie said she is very excited about the Engraved On A Nation series, and, of course, this particular episode.

“I'm so pleased that this story is being told,” she said. “My father would have been so proud of this memorial for his teammates who didn't make it home.”
When The Photograph's director Manfred Becker, a Beach resident himself, was approached by the producer, Dugald Maudsley, to work on the project, he initially balked.
“You got the wrong guy,” Becker told him. “I've never seen a game of football in my life.”
Becker grew up in Germany, and had only ever seen the European football: soccer. But, he explained, the producers were looking for independent filmmakers – specifically not sports journalists – to bring a fresh approach to the series. Becker is the maker of another documentary, called Nazi In The Schoolyard, about his son's relationship with his grandfather – Becker's father – who served in the German army during the Second World War. The documentary focussed on the fact that many Germans involved in the war tended to bury the past and rarely spoke about it.
“What interested me about this story [The Photograph] is how memory can be forwarded from generation to generation,” he said. “The dead are never dead. They carry on in the living.”
He found it a very emotional experience to be at the meeting of the Gaudaur family and Poscavage’s relatives.

“Ed had become this mythical figure to them,” Becker said.
Listening to Poscavage's voice on the phonograph had, he said, an air of unworldliness to it. “The very reason that brought these two guys together – the war and that football team – ended up tearing them apart. It was a powerful reminder to me of why I make documentary films: to keep history alive – and fill it with meaning.”
The producer of The Photograph is Dugald Maudsley, whose company Infield Fly Productions is based in the Beach as well. Maudsley was also the producer of the show Ancestors in the Attic for The History Channel.
He also produced two of the other episodes in the series: The Crash of Flight 810, and The Anthony Calvillo Story. He recalled how he came to work on The Photograph.
“I knew that Jake Gaudaur was very prominent in the CFL,” he said. “Jake also had this photograph that meant a great deal to him, but no one really knew why. I eventually met Jackie and Diane and followed their search. The Photograph became such a symbolic story because there were so many similar instances during the War.”

As a producer, Maudsley's job was to help with the research, editing, and post-production of the episodes he was responsible for. He explained that things went very smoothly, and that he feels proud to be a part of the series.
“TSN is doing something fantastic in pursuing these stories that celebrate Canadian football,” he said.

This article was printed in The Beach Metro.

Latest Research - Roy Gordon & Tom Clark

I have been searching without much success for information on both Roy (Robert) Gordon and Tom Clark from the Sarvis crew and recently received Tom's military records from the RCAF vaults. Both were badly injured in the jump from the blazing plane and Tom never flew again. Here's a shot of them


At Lincoln Cathedral in 1944. This photo comes from the Sarvis collection. Also I have no leads regarding E Reed, the Upper Gunner on PB265 and all enquiries have drawn a blank. I have had contact from both Sarvis and Balfour's relatives which has been both touching and invaluable help in my research. And the fate of Jack Coates was confirmed by a relative of the man he replaced in his last ever flight. 


Monday 31 December 2012

Robert Sarvis Photo Collection Page

 Over the last few years two separate collections have come to light of Bob Sarvis belongings. The buyers have been in contact via here : http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/137220-sos-find-purple-heart-document-group/page__st__20 and have reunited the collection. All of these photos are from this collection.
 





















Sgt JM WEIR - Bomb Aimer

On the 12th July 1944 the crew flew their first operation in their new 'kite', a Mark III Lancaster coded UL-V2, serial number PB265. It was the Bomb Aimer, John Morrison Weir's 21st birthday. I believe that all of the Crew photographs that appear on this blog were taken on this day. This was at last, the Crew's own plane and had been entrusted to them as by now they were a tight unit and a more experienced crew. 'Jackie' Weir as he was known to his family flew in 30 different Lancasters, more than half of which were subsequently lost. he also flew in two of the most famous Centurion Lancasters during his ops at 576 Squadron. Born on the 12th of July 1923 in West Mayston, Old Monkland in Scotland, he was the son of former Third Lanark & Airieonians striker John Weir and Elizabeth Morrison. He was also an active sportsman and showed promise as a boxer around the travelling booths and fairs touring around the country between the wars. He was an Electrician when he volunteered for war service and did his basic training in Canada. Having survived the crash of July 44, he joined the MacDonald Crew for the remainder of his 30 missions. He married Helen Smith in Glasgow on the 11th November 1944. 'Jackie' Weir was my grandfather. I have chronicled his time at 576 Squadron on Twitter in 'real-time' @SgtJMWeir and this blog is dedicated to his memory and that of the crew of Lancaster PB265.




Saturday 29 May 2010

Major Excavation Of Crash Site in 1989

THE LAST FLIGHT OF THE LANCASTER PB 265
By Gérard Renault (translation Germain Julien)
"Great-Britain, on the 24th of July 1944, night has just fallen. In Elsham Woods, on the base of the 576 Squadron, the Lancaster crews have been given the order, for the third consecutive night, to bomb the German city of Stuttgart. As the others, the crew of the Lancaster registered as “UL-V2” on his cabin, serial number: PB 265, doesn’t know yet the flight won’t be back from this new mission.
The airbase of the RAF in Elsham Woods has been created in July 1941. She first was the base for the 103rd Squadron equipped with Wellington bombers and then endowed with Lancaster in 1942. The 576 BS has been formed in November 1943.
Let’s now turn our attention to the Lancaster registered as “UL-V2” and whose serial number is PB 265. The bomber’s crew is:
- Flight Officer Robert Sarvis (ASN), young American pilot from Tennessee originally from the 12th Replacement Depot of the USAAF who has been transferred to the RAF. - Sergeant Alexander Balfour (ASN 1.021.030), mechanic in the RAF. - Sergeant J.M. Weir (ASN 1.560.450), bomber in the RAF. - R.T. Gordon (ASN R 181 524), navigator from the Royal Canadian Air Force, Sergeant J. Coates (ASN 1.622.241) from the RAF. - Sergeant E. Reed (ASN 1.541.804), machine gunner from the RCAF. A crew in command of an American with two Canadians and four British on a British plane!
In this night of Monday the 24th of July 1944, the 576 BS leave the English coast and join up with a unit of 412 Lancaster and 138 Hallifax, and then head toward Stuttgart. Heading south for Orleans and then toward the east until the target. The unit reaches the French coast east of Le Havre, catching sight of the gleam of the fights raging the bridgehead of Normandy where the allied troops trampled on for a few weeks, on the eve of “Cobra”, the great offensive that Americans will launch in a few hours. The unit then reaches the south of the département of Eure-et-Loir. Here, hidden in the shade, a German night fighter is waiting for his prey. He has chosen it. It will be the Lancaster PB 265. The German attacks and hits the bomber. F/O Robert Sarvis then order the evacuation of the plane, Sergeant Alexander Balfour jumps with a parachute from the airplane. But the pilot manages to control the bomber and reconsiders his order of evacuation. He decides to attempt to reach the bridgehead of Normandy. The Lancaster is at 9 500 feet high and head toward Normandy.
But let’s get back to Sergeant Balfour. He was at the front of the airplane, busy throwing Windows (according to a letter from A. Balfour, dated from the 19th of August 1990) when he receives the order of evacuation. He jumps and hits ground in Loiret. He is rescued by Mr. Bernardeau de Saint-Denis-en-Val. He is then directed toward the Resistance in Orgères-en-Beauce (Eure-et-Loir) and then taken in charge by the network of the pharmacist Picourt in Chartres. He is then accommodated at Mr. Laulhée and Mr. Château in Villebon (Eure-et-Loir) until the liberation by the Patton Army on the 16 and 17th of August 1944. Meantime, the Picourt network had collected 51 allies aviators, 17 of them were taken by the German police in July 1944, thanks to information given by a traitor. The network had notably collected Major Bud Mahurin (American pilot of the 56th Fighter Group, shot down on the 27th of March 1944 near Allonnes in Eure-et-Loir), hotshot of the US chase who totalized 21 victories. Bud Mahurin will get back to Great-Britain (mission Pick-Up) thanks to a Lysander during the night of the 6th of June 1944, on a clandestine field near to Outarville in Loiret.
We now come back to the Lancaster that was continuing his route toward Normandy. It reaches Carentan at 8 500 feet high, where, to crown it all, it is attacked by the American DCA of that town. The Lancaster is hit once again, on fire. F/O Sarvis orders the abandon of the flight. Five members of the crew jump and witness the fall and then the explosion of the bomber. Sergeants Gordon, Reed and Clark are injured ; they will be hospitalized by the American Medical Corps in Carentan. But what happened to F/O Sarvis in these first hours of the 25th of July? Did he abandon the bomber after the others? mystery! In December 1944, while all the members of the crew got back to Great-Britain, he is still “missing”. The research undertaken on site of the crash, on the side of the CD 270, in the town of Carquebut, won’t give any results. And yet, thereafter, in the cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer (Calvados) there will be a grave (Plot B, Row 05, Grave 38) and a cross on which is written: Plt O. Robert, J. Sarvis, Tenn., July 25, 1644, 12 Rept Depot. Normandy, B. 05.38. But what’s in this grave?
Second act
Let’s now jump forward through time, 45 years later, on the 18th of July 1989. We are a team of “researchers”, all fascinated by aviation of the Second World War, and that all come to spend their holidays in Normandy every year. At the instigation of Mr. Tournailles from Clainville, this team goes to the swamp of Carquebut. There is there: Mr. Leprêtre (from Brussels), Pierre and Jean Nekrassoff, Gérard Renault. Armed with shovels and a metal detector, we discover an important amount of unidentified parts of aluminium, from a US, German, English plane? Then these relics show calibre 303 munitions and also a Dunlop flying boot and, macabre discover, a human leg in his boots and a part of trousers. It was a British plane. The excavations carried on until 1,8 meters deep enable to discover an extractor parachute and a white parachute in perfect state of conservation in the swamp, in spite of 45 years. Excavations are really difficult because of the presence of oil, petrol and water. They will be abandoned on the 19th of July after the discovery of an important amount of Windows (aluminium stripes still tied up), each Lancaster would carry about 200 kilograms of these on the European Front during August 1943. The human leg is put back into ground: pictures are taken straight away.
Among the numerous metallic parts discovered: four small aluminium plates with series of numbers on them. On one of them, the figures 683 and PB 265 will give us the key of the enigma. In order to move forward in our investigation, we ask M. B. Eadon Mills, British citizen, campsite neighbour, his contribution, what he accepts with pleasure. Thereafter, he will contact the British Ministry of Defence and the embassy of Great-Britain in France. Back home, we ask the support of the “Ailes Anciennes”, in the person of Messrs. Niclot and Lafosse, of Lucé, aviation specialist. In their documents, we find tracks of the Lancaster P 265, given for shot down in France in July 1945 (date mistaken). Subsequently, Mr. Niclot will obtain the Missing n°9741 from the National Archives in Washington along with a document concerning the Sergeant Balfour. The British embassy, amazed by our discovery, transmits the result of our research to the American embassy. As we didn’t possess the material resources necessary to excavate the site, we ask for the help of the “Ailes Anciennes”. The excavation are undertaken on the 4th and 5th of July 1990 thanks to a mechanical excavator and with the presence of two American members of the US sepulchre of Germany. The excavations, carried on up to six meters deep, enabled the discovery of new parts shown on this page."

POSTSCRIPT

The above article appeared in a wonderful edition of 39-45 Magazine in 1990 which is now in my archive. I have since been in touch with members of the dig team and been promised the parachute pictured here! From other sources in Normandy I have first hand testimony from villagers stating that they remembered the crash and indeed local kids played in the wreckage the following day, even finding a flying helmet and goggles. Sadly these are now lost to history.
The remains of Sarvis found on this excavation were interred in his grave but the trousers of the
flying suit were stolen at the time of the dig.
I was saddened by this bit of news but it is the
unfortunate aspect of wartime archaeology that
often grave robbers will follow such an event and
seize their opportunity when it appears.
I was touched to hear of students and staff of MTSU at which Sarvis attended paying a visit to the crash site last year and have been delighted with the response from villagers and interested parties around the world on various WW2 Forums who have added so many pieces to this historical jigsaw over the last two years.
My father, son of Air Bomber Sgt JM Weir visited Normandy last year and paid an emotional trip to Bob Sarvis grave at Colleville-sur-Mere. It is
my intention to visit the crash site in 2013 and to mark the anniversary on the 24th July with a small ceremony at the site.
I am in talks with archaeologists regarding the viability of another excavation at the site in the next year or so. I would like to find any further remnants of Lancaster PB265 and also to search for further remains of the brave pilot.The MACR of Mr Sarvis contained fascinating letters from the FBI in which they were attempting to identify remains found at the crash site in 1944.
Only his right arm was found at the time of the crash and the final letter, signed by J.Edgar Hoover finally identified the fingerprints as belonging to Bob Sarvis. It is my belief that the rest of his body still lies in that swampy marshland known locally as the 'field of the clods'.
Recently the same area has unearthed the remains of Lancaster ND 739, and there is believed to be another two planes in nearby fields, dating from the D-Day landings. One gets the felling that this is just the start of another chapter in the story of Lancaster PB265 and the Sarvis Crew.
Here are a selection of photos taken in 1989 at the major excavation undertaken by the 'Old Wings' members and locals at the time. They come courtesy of Mr Renault and Mr Pierre from the association. I have been able to buy small pieces of the wreckage via Ebay and private sales and am hoping to locate every piece of wreckage from this plane in order to put on permanent display in both Scotland and at the RAF Elsham Wolds museum, along with a huge collection of photos and log books and personal effects from the Crew which I have built-up over the last few years of research. Thank you to the Forced Landings Association and in particular
to Jean-Pierre,President. Also a huge thanks to Heidi Mehltretter from the
Living Battlefields site for her assistance.Kenneth Lewis has been a huge help also as have various experts from the forums, without whom my research would have foundered and Germain Julien who has been a true friend and huge help in all negociations thus far!
From more recent research it appears that some parts of the plane appeared to have been sold by the french public domain to a scrap merchant (1948), whose names are M. Roger Lamache of Montebourg Apparently he purchased the remainings of the wreckage and also a so called 'ME109 G6' who was on the other side of the road.
A lot of the useful pieces of wreckage of Lancaster PB265 were used in the reconstruction of another existing Lancaster and I will be visiting Paris in 2013 to view this. More of this story to follow in later posts!
Thank you to Gilles Billion, of the Ailes Anciennes Association and to Sean Claxton for locating and photographing the crash site in 2010. To all of these people I am hugely indebted.



RAF Elsham Wolds

Royal Air Force Elsham Wolds was situated on the Lincolnshire Wolds north of Barnetby le Wold in North Lincolnshire.
During World War 1 the site was part of the Fighter Defence Chain and home to C Flight of 33 Squadron. During World War 2 it was the home of 103 Squadron and 576 Sq RAF Bomber Command. 100 Squadron operated from Elsham Wolds for a short time at the end of the war. In 1946 a No 21 Heavy Glider Conversion Unit of Transport Command took over the base for a year. It was then closed in 1947 and reverted to agricultural use. In later years part of the site has been put to light industrial and warehouse use. There is also a large water treatment works on one corner of the site. (Pictured) The last remaining hangar from RAF Elsham Wolds, now in the middle of an industrial estate between the Lincolnshire towns of Scunthorpe and Grimsby.
The airbase began life during WWI when it was built to defend against Zeppelin bombers. After 1919 it fell into disrepair but as the next war loomed, it was reactivated and served as a bomber base.
In the photo above the control tower was located just in front of the hangar but this was demolished in the 80's. (Photo below by Ian DB)

The Elsham Wolds Association now run a small museum on the site which can be accessed by appointment and thank you to David Fell for all of his support and help over the years in my research.
Photo taken at the Elsham Wolds Association Memorial Room in the Anglian Water plant on heritage open day 2010. The memorial room was set up as a tribute to the airmen who lost their lives while flying from Elsham in World War II. It contains RAF items including uniforms, medals and many other wartime artefacts.

576 Squadron - Bomber Command


Squadron was based at:
Elsham Wolds:: 25 Nov 1943 - 31 Oct 1944
RAF Fiskerton  :: 31 Oct 1944 - Sep 1945
Squadron code: UL
Aircraft operated:
Lancaster Mk1 & Mk III :: Nov 1943 - Sep 1945
576 Sqn was formed from C Flight of Elsham Wolds based 103 Squadron on 25 Nov 1943. 13 experienced air crews, 9 Lancaster and their ground crews transfered from C Flt, 103 Sqn to become B Flt, 576 Sqn. The new sqn's A Flight was made up of 4 experienced crews who transfered from 101 Squadron at RAF Ludford Magna with additional new crews coming straight from Heavy Conversion Unit. The Sqn's first operational sortie was on 2 Dec 1943, flying against Berlin.
In Apr 1944 the Sqn was focussed on preparations for Op OVERLORD (D Day landings) and expended much effort on boming railway communications links and military installations. Missions were also flown against the V weapons sites. 576 Sqn relocated to RAF Fiskerton on 31 Oct 1944. From here is flew in a series of heavy raids against targets across Germany; fielded forces and industrial and manufacturing centres were on the target list. Its last bombing operation was to attack Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden in which twenty-five 576 Sqn Lancasters and crews took part. In the closing stages of the war 576 Sqn supported Ops MANNA and EXODUS, like many other Lincolnshire-based sqns. MANNA was food drops to the residents of the Netherlands, whilst EXODUS was the repatriation of Prisoners of War from Europe to the UK, up to 4 Jun 1945.
On disbandment on 13 Sep 1945 the Sqn had flown in 189 bombing and 2 minelaying missions, generated 2788 sorties and lost 66 aircraft on ops. A further 9 crashed in the United Kingdom.