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Tel. John Thomson Anderson . Royal Navy HMS Cyclops from Glasgow John Anderson served as a Telegraphist on HMS Cyclops during June, July, September and November 1943.
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Joseph Anderson . Merchant Navy S.S Reedpool from 50 Hope Street, Jarrow (d.20th Sep 1942) Joseph Anderson died at the age of 23 whilst serving as an Assistant Donkeyman in the Merchant Navy. Born in South Shields in 1918 he was the son of George and Bridget Anderson (nee Lenehan) of Primrose, Jarrow.
Joseph is remembered on the Tower Hill Memorial. His name was missing off the old plaque in the Town Hall, Jarrow.
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L/Cpl. Joseph Glover Anderson . British Army Loyal Regiment Still researching.
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AM. Lawrence Hogg Anderson . Fleet Air Arm HMS Nuthatch from Melrose, Scotland I'm sorry the only things I know is my father, Lawrence Anderson, passed 40 years ago and I have just found these documents its a certificate of service in the Royal Navy the writing is hard to read so the names of the ships may not be right. If anyone remembers him from photos or stories he would be about 97 years old now.
- Gosling, Air Mechanic 2, 5 Oct 1943 - 17 Dec 1943
- Unknown, 18 Dec 43- 15 Jan 44
- Vulture, 16 Jan 44 - 21 Sept 44
- Daedalus, 22 Sept 44 - 10 Oct 44
- Kestach, (?) 2 Oct 44 - 14 Oct 44
- Daedalus, 15 Oct 44 - 4 Nov 44
- Nuthatch 26 Sept 45 - 7 Mar 46
- Nuthatch 8 Mar 46 - 2 Oct 46
He was released after the 2nd Oct 1946. My dad was Scottish and was an apprentice air mechanic when he joined the Navy. He lived in Roslea, Newstead, Melrose prior to enlisting. Wish I knew more
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2nd Lt. Nigel James Moffatt Anderson MC. British Army 4th Btn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers
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Sgt R Anderson . RAF 12Sqd.
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Sgt. Robert Allan Anderson . Royal Canadian Air Force 420 Squadron from Brandon, Manitoba I have prepared the following brief summary of my Dad's World War II experiences based primarily on materials in my possession, including his Identity Card, Flying Log and Wartime Log:
In October, 1943, my Dad, Robert Allan Anderson, qualified as an Air Gunner after completing training at #3 Bomb and Gunnery School at Macdonald, Manitoba under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
In January, 1944, he was posted to the 420 (Snowy Owl) Squadron, based in Tholthorpe, England, as a tail gunner in a Halifax bomber.
My Dad was just 3 days shy of his 20th birthday on April 20, 1944, when 154 Halifax bombers took off to attack the rail facilities at Lens, France, Dad's Halifax, LW692, was shot down and crashed into the Scie River at Pourville, near Dieppe. It was the only aircraft that failed to return that night and my Dad and Paul Bourcier, the mid-upper gunner, were the only survivors.
According to a researcher, Dad described the event as follows: "We flew down to south England and over the Channel. Reached enemy coast 10 minutes early and off track, we passed over very near Dieppe. They threw up a lot of flak and we got 3 hits, the plane shuddered, slowed down and lost height fast. Port engines went on fire, spread to whole wing, engineer admitted it was hopeless, skipper said bale out. I got to escape hatch after mid upper gunner and jumped after him, plane was diving very fast and had trouble to get out of slipstream. Saw the plane spiral down on fire and crash. I landed in the mouth of a small river near Dieppe, had to use my Mae West, not a scratch."
The same researcher described Paul Bourcier's account as follows: After taking off and setting course for Southern England and then the Channel we got off course and reached the enemy coast ten minutes before time over Dieppe, which was about 20 miles off course, as Le Havre was the crossing point. We were picked up by radar and we were hit 3 times by flak, causing trouble to port engines, the necessary measures were taken, but fire started, and spreading rapidly on the port wing, I was then given order to bale out, which I did and by doing so landed safely. Out of front hatch."
After capture, the researcher presented a quick timeline of events: lane goes down, Anderson and Bourcier are picked up. From there they take a train ride to the Dulag Luft, the Luftwaffe Interrogation Centre at Albereusel, north of Frankfurt. Most fliers spent between 2-3 weeks there. Treatment ranged from pretty decent, to threats to a strange scenario where the Luftwaffe stripped you of all your clothes and locked you in a room with the heat turned up high. They had an interrogator there from Kitchener, Ontario who spoke better English than some of the Canadians there. When the Fatherland called he had returned to Germany."
Both Dad and Paul were then sent to Stalag Luft III, arriving just days after the 50 airmen were recaptured and murdered by the SS under the direct order of Adolph Hitler for their part in The Great Escape.
As the Russians advance towards Germany in 1945, Hitler gave the order to evacuate POW camps and move POW's closer to Berlin. On Saturday, January 27, 1945, Dad and thousands of other POW's were told to gather their meager belongings and a forced exodus began. A day-by-day account was recorded in Dad's Wartime Log. After an eleven day trek, Dad ended up in Stalag IIIA in Luckenwalde. Eventually liberated by the Russians, his ordeal was still not as yet over. A notation in his Log states: May 6, 1945 Russians refuse to let Americans evacuate us, some trucks have gone back empty. Russians have posted guards who have shot at some of the fellows. On May 7, 1945, he nevertheless managed to escape his new captors by making his way to the American lines at Magdeburg. On May 10, 1945, he then caught a USAAF DC3 (Dakota) to Rheims, France, and the next day, a Lancaster to Tangmere, England.
Today, there are memorials to Peter Warren the Navigator, Patrick Gough the Flight Engineer, and Raymond Leonard, the Pilot, in Runnymede Cemetery, Surrey, England. Clifford Wheelhouse, the Wireless Air Gunner, and Clark Wilson, the Bomb Aimer, were originally buried in a cemetery in St Riquier-es-Plains, and later in Grandcourt War Cemetery, France.
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Sgt. Robert Gordon "Andy" Anderson . Royal Air Force 101 Sqd. My late father was Sergeant (later Warrant Officer) Robert G Anderson, RAF 646029> who was the Flight Engineer on DV265 SR-F & was on his 10th operational sortie with 101 Squadron. Flight Sergeant Anthony Henry EVANS: AGE 20 was fatally wounded during the attack on the a/c & my father took control of the a/c & tried to return it to base. Subsequent attacks rendered this impossible & the surviving crew bailed out of the stricken a/c. You may not have connected with the fact that similar events took place that night over Berlin (I am unsure if Berlin or Dusseldorf was the diversionary raid), where Bill Reid succeeded in returning his damaged Lancaster to base & was awarded the Victoria Cross. All that my Father received was burns to his left arm before/during bail-out. (In November 1945 he was finally awarded his Caterpillar Club membership & pin badge). His lost crew mates were:-
- Sergeant George Edwin BOUCHER: AGE 23
- Sergeant Arthur FOGG: AGE 23
- Sergeant Favel TOMACHEPOLSKY: AGE UNKNOWN
- Sergeant Cyril Terence WHELDON: AGE UNKNOWN.
From my late Mother's recollections, Arthur Fogg's widow later married Arthur's Brother.
Favel's Father was a Jeweller in Hatton Garden.
I was named in honour of my father's pilot.
My father spent some time at Stalag Luft III, where he got to know some of the 50. He rarely spoke of those days. He later was moved to Offlag IVB, from where he was repatriated after the Russians liberated the camp. I can confirm his P.O.W. number (261411) as I still have his last camp Dogtags which he had with him when he returned. Interestingly these are stamped Stalag IVB.
The lost crew of LM365 SR-H were:-
- Sergeant Stanley BEEDLE: AGE 23
- Flight Sergeant James Maurice CUMMINGS: AGE 20
- Sergeant James Henry HARPER: AGE 21
- Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Frank Stuart MAUNDERS: AGE 27
- Sergeant Jack PARSONS: AGE 19
- Sergeant Christopher Joseph POULTON: AGE 35
- Sergeant Norman John SHAKESPEARE: AGE UNKNOWN
- Sergeant Eric George WALL: AGE 23
My parents are no longer able to honour the memory of my Father's lost comrades, but I do not forget.
101 Squadron mounted a maximum effort that night with 26 aircraft sent out. SR-Z aborted & returned to base at 0130 hours because the Gyro went U/S.
Tony Anderson
DV265 was one of 200 lancasters ordered from Metro-vick in 1941 and was transported to Woodford for final assembly and flight testing. DV265 was a Mk.111 and was delivered to No.101 Sqdn with her sister-ship DV266 on 2Oct43. DV265 also took part in the Key Operation against Hannover 18/19Oct43. When lost this aircraft was on its second operation and had a total of 38 hours. DV265 was one of two No.101 Sqdn Lancasters lost on this operation. (See also LM365) Airborne 1713 3Nov43 from Ludford Magna. Set on fire in the central fuselage area by cannon-fire from a night-fighter over the target. All intercom contact with the crew positions aft of the Nav. compartment was lost & Sgt Evans ordered his crew to bale out. Out of control, the Lancaster plunged, in flames into the NE suburbs of Dusseldorf, where those who were killed were buried in the Nordfriedhof. They have been subsequently re-interred in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery.
- Sgt Tomachepolsky was flying as the ABC operator.
- Sgt A.H.Evans KIA
- Sgt R.Anderson PoW
- Sgt R.G.Phillips PoW
- Sgt A.Longstaff PoW
- Sgt A.Fogg KIA
- Sgt F.Tomachepolsky KIA
- Sgt C.T.Wheldon KIA
- Sgt G.E.Boucher KIA
- Sgt R.Anderson was interned in Camp 4B. PoW No.261411 with Sgt A.Longstaff, PoW No.261467.
- Sgt R.G.Phillips was held in the Dulag Luft Interrogation Centre. No PoW No. known
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Sgt. Robert Anderson . British Army No 3 Company Royal Corps of Signals from Cambuslang Duty sergeant Robert Anderson Royal Corp of Signals No 3 Company Anti- Aircraft Eaglesham House, May 10 1941.
“You have to bear in mind it was the early days of the war and we were anything but prepared. For instance there was a secret password that signaled the German invaders had arrived. It was ‘Cromwell’ and as I said a secret but everyone knew it! They knew it down in the village of Eaglesham and they knew it in the Eglinton arms pub there. It was all a big joke. So were we soldiers. I guess we were a bit like Fred Karno’s army, I suppose. We would go out for keep fit runs from our base then as soon as we got to Eaglesham we would nip into the Eglinton Arms for a refreshment and as for being defenders of the local community, Well if that word ‘Cromwell’ had been used in earnest there was little we could have done about it for we had only a few rifles between the entire company and what guns we did have had been taken from us. That was because when they had issued them a soldier had accidentally set one off nearly killing one of his colleagues so we were issued with pikes and clubs to defend the nation.
I was Duty sergeant that night Hess’s plane came over and remember seeing it so low overhead then the man dangling on the end of his parachute just up the road a little past Floor's farm. As I had to stay on duty in the camp I sent two of my men unarmed, of course, up the road to see what was happening. They were signalman Emyr Morriss and Danny McBride and they were the first two army personnel to meet the newly arrived pilot who said his name was Horn. And, together with the man from the farm who had first met Hess, they all ended up having a cosy chat with each other. Hess presenting Danny McBride with an inscribed cigarette case which he kept until senior officers heard about it when it was confiscated.
Anyway, while my two men were chatting away to Hess just up the road the panic had set in at the camp. One of the senior officers having seen the plane reckoned it had been a pathfinder flight for invasion force. There was shouting and confusion and the duty officer had guns issued to myself and signalman Sammy McLaughlin who was an ex-Cameronian and ordered us to climb to the top of a heap of telegraph poles which had been stored nearby from where he said we were to ‘await the enemy and hold off an attack’. Orders were issued with their pikes and sticks and ordered to be ready for the worst. I’m telling you when you look back on it all you wonder how on earth we survived and eventually won the war.
If it was Fred Karno’s army at the soldier base it was Dad's army at another point just along the road Eaglesham. There, having been alerted to the possibility of the crashed plane being German, a local detachment of the Home Guard had been mustered and began arriving by car. There Captain Mainwaring apparently had been enjoying his Saturday night in a traditional Scottish way, which would doubtless had him bemoaning the fact that the price of whiskey had just gone up to a record high, being 88p for a bottle or at the local Swan and Eglinton Arms bars it would now be 5 and a half pence for a half or 9p for what the locals called a loud yin.
Fortified by the whiskey and waving a large caliber First world War officer's pistol which was more Howitzer than side arm, he was to lead his squad of Home Guardsman, together with a couple of regular soldiers who had joined them as well as a reserve police constable, into action.
They had practiced converging manoeuvres before and knew exactly what to do when the captain in charge gave the order. After seeing the smouldering wreck of the Messerschmidt it’s big black German cross unmistakable identifying just whose plane it was, they were to converge on Floor's farm, the nearest building to where the parachutist had been seen to fall.
The ensuing scene is not difficult to imagine, the motley semi-military, semi-police, semi-trained and in at least on case semi-sober squad covering each other with a variety of weapons, the officer with his cannon of a revolver hunching forward to surround the farm buildings, then searching the byres and barns and meanwhile the Hauptmann from the heavens is serenely ensconced fifty or so yards away in the ploughman’s little cottage being offered kindness and tea and chatting away to his new found Scottish hosts."
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Pvt. Robert Lester Anderson . United States Army 112th Infantry Battalion from Cedar River, MI My uncle Bob was captured in the Battle of the Bulge and interred at Stalag 9B, Bad Orb, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia 50-09. He was reported as captured on 12/20/1944 and was liberated on 5/08/1945. He said starvation in the camp was their biggest problem. They lived on watered down potato soup. Occasionally he'd get assigned to work in the kitchen preparing meals for the German officers. They were actually officers from the old Austrian army and he thought they probably treated the prisoners better than German officers might have done.
Uncle Bob was Norwegian but had grown up with German neighbors in Cedar River, MI, located in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan along the shore of Green Bay on Lake Michigan. He and his siblings learned to speak German in order to communicate with the neighbors. He often said his knowledge of German probably kept him alive in the camp.
One time he was working in the kitchen helping to prepare a fancy meal for some visiting German officers. One of the other prisoners stole a chicken from the array of food they were preparing. The guard noticed a chicken was missing and demanded that the thief step forward. No one moved. The guard lined them all up outside the building and threatened to shoot them all unless the thief stepped forward. Uncle Bob said he was sure he was going to die. Then, the thief slowly moved forward and confessed. He was shot and killed right there. The rest were ordered to their barracks. Already weak from hunger and having had to cook all that food while tasting none of it, he said he dragged himself back to the barracks hoping he didn't fall or stumble on the way and attract the attention of the already disgruntled guard.
When they were liberated, Uncle Bob said they were fed coffee and doughnuts by a Red Cross crew that had set up a tent outside the camp. They had not tasted anything so good since long before they'd been captured. Some of the men ate several doughnuts and a few later died because their stomachs could not hold that much food after so many months of barely eating. He would shake his head as he told this story... and say, "After surviving all that, they were killed by a careless act of kindness."
Uncle Bob had pneumonia when they were liberated. A few days later, one of his lungs collapsed. He recovered and lived a full life but always was somewhat limited in physical capacity because of only having one lung.
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Greaser Robert Anderson . Merchant Navy S.S. Pandias (of Greece) (d.2nd July 1941) Greaser Anderson was 45 when he died and is buried in the Boffa Cemetery in New Guinea.
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AB Robert William Cowling "Bonzo" Anderson . Royal Navy HMS Victory from Aberdeen He deid on 17.12.86
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Flt.Sgt. Robert "Andy" Anderson BEM.. Royal Air Force My father, Robert Anderson died in 2010, and I have started to look at his old papers and photographs from his time with the RAF Repair and Servicing dept. I have found his RAF Yacht Club membership booklet (his membership number was 523), and photographs of Trincomalee, Koggala, Kandy and others. Sadly, I now wish I had asked him more about his time in the war, but like so many, he was not keen on reliving these times. I will post as many of the photos I have and hope that they will bring back memories for someone else.
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L/Cpl. Robert Henry Anderson . British Army Royal Artillery from Liverpool My Dad, Robert Henry Anderson served in the second world war in Europe.
On D Day he was in the Brecon Beacons training.
He was deployed to Europe two weeks after D day where he was a wireless operator with the artillery in Belgium & Holland. Whilst there, he suffered a perforated ear as he removed his headphones to make a report just as the gun was being fired next to where he was kneeling.
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Sgt. Stephen Anderson . British Army 30th Field Regiment Royal Artillery from Consett Co. Durham (d.1st July 1944) Stephen Anderson served with 30th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.
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Pte. Stewart Anderson . British Army 4th Battalion Cameron Highlanders from Elgin We think Stewart Anderson was captured at Forges between the 5th and 8th of June 1940.
According to one of his sisters who used to write to him through the Red Cross, she got occasional replies.
We believe he attempted to escape at least twice with fellow POWs. The 2nd time they reached inside Russia and had killed a coo and were ready to feast when caught and warned if they tried to escape they would be shot. We have no idea if that put an end to escapes etc.
Allegedly, his captors weren't as cruel to them, just ordinary working class men, as those who forced march them to eventual freedom. During the Death March to freedom my father was suffering from frost bite and was being carried on a stretcher by fellow POW's and their column was occasionally strafed by aircraft (probably friendly) and he received shrapnel wounds which he still had up until he died in 1958.
He had nightmares on occasion that we all were aware off right up until he died. However, he was a proud and smart soldier and indeed remained a reserve until the end.
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T Anderson . British Army T Anderson served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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TW Anderson . British Army Durham Light Infantry TW Anderson served with the Durham Light Infantry British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Wilbert "Andy" Anderson . Royal Air Force RAF St Eval from New Zealand Does anyone remember my father, Wilbert Anderson (Andy), a young pilot from New Zealand who was stationed at St Eval Airfield in WWII?
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Pte. William Russell Anderson . British Army 8th Btn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders from Baillieston (d.20th Nov 1943) William Anderson was my great grandad's brother. He died in action at the age of 24 whilst stationed in Italy and is buried at Sangro River War Cemetery. His parents were Matilda and Thomas Anderson of Baillieston. He served with the 8th Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Unfortunately this is all I know at this time and I have not found any pictures yet.
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Pvt. William George A. Anderson . Australian Army from Australia POW Camp Fukuoka 17 in Japan
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F/O. William Boyd Anderson . Royal Canadian Air Force 407th Squadron from Craigmyle, Alberta, Canada (d.20th January 1943)
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P/O William John Andy Anderson . RCAF 419 (Moose) Squadron (d.24th Mar 1945) P/O William John Andy Anderson J24471 was a pilot based at Middleton St George now Teeside airport and flew Halifax`s from this base for 419 RCAF Moose Squadron. KIA 24th March 1945
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P/O William John Andy Anderson . Royal Canadian Air Force 419 (Moose) Sqduadron (d.24th Mar 1945) P/O William Anderson was a Pilot based at RCAF Middleton St George.
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Mne. Gnr. William Earnest Anderson . Royal Navy HMS Mauritius, Royal Marines from Hull
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Sgt F. Anderson, . RAF 12Sqd. (d.12th Jun 1943)
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Sgt C. B Anderson. . RAF 12 Sqd. Sgt Anderson was the Mid Upper Gnr. on Lancaster I W4374 PH-D of 12 Sqd.
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Sgt Frederick Anderson. . RAF 12Sqd. (d.12th Jun 1943) Frederick Andersons was a Mid Upper Gnr. he was killed on the 12th June 1943 in Lancaster W4373 PH-F of 12sqd
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Sgt J G Anderson. . RAF 12Sqd.
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S/Sgt. Ralph W. Anderson. . USAAF 327th Bomb Squadron
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