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Halifax VII NA672 “landed” Ringkøbing Fjord near Skaven
27/4 1945.
The aircraft belonged to RAF 644 Sqn. 36 Group Fighter Command and was coded
2P-L.
T/o 20:18 Tarrant-Rushton. Op: SOE to Tablejam 353.
Tablejam 353 was located on position 54`50`00N 11`18`30E which is north
northeast of Søllestedgård farm on the island of Lolland with the Dansih code
name “Orla”.
The crew of NA672 were Pilot W/o Henry "Harry" James Christian RNZAF, Navigator W/O Mervyn Albert Roberts RNZAF, Bombardier W/O ”Paddy” Raymond Edward Hay RNZAF,
W/Op Sgt James Southworth, Flt. Engr. F/Sgt W. T. Roberts and Rear gunner Pilot
Officer Robert ”Bob” L. MacDougall RCAF
(Doug Drake)
Southworth, Christian, MacDougall, Mervyn Roberts, Roberts, Paddy Hay
The trip across the North Sea was uneventful and the peninsula of Jylland was
approached at Ringkøbing Fjord after which the course was set towards southeast.
After having crossed the east coast of Jylland the Halifax flew very low over
the sea until they approached the island of Langeland where they had to climb a
little to pass over it.
They found the Nakskov Fjord and started the approach of Søllested Gård farm
where they would have to make to approaches. The first approach was to drop 24
containers and the second to drop two parcels. After having succeeded, the
Halifax returned low level towards Ringkøbing Fjord where it would leave Denmark
again.
At the fjord quite a bit of flak was fired and while trying to avoid it the
Halifax came down a bit too low. Suddenly the rear gunner MacDougal called on
the intercom and said “It is raining back here”.
Next, the Halifax “landed” in 1½ metre of water in the southerly end of
Ringkøbing Fjord, 400 metres north of Skaven. The time was 01:15 hours.
(Andersen via A. Hansen)
Inside the Halifax
When the Halifax laid still Paddy Hay and Mervyn Roberts found them submerged
until they left their seats and stood up. That left their heads free of the
water.
The emergency exit was stuck closed and Paddy kicked a hole in the Perspex panes
and got out that way. The crew of six were more or less unhurt, apart from
brushes
The aircraft’s dinghy was found inflated next to the Halifax and the crew
entered it, apart from Mervyn who returned to the Halifax to detonate charges
that would destroy the radio and navigation equipment.
The buttons needed to detonate the charges was however to deep under the water
for him to reach and when he smelled petrol he gave up the project and joined
his comrades in the dinghy.
(Hans Frahm)
The Halifax
On land farmhand Niels Jørgen Jespersen, Vostrup was on his way back home with
2-3 friends after having attended a lecture at the village hall in Vostrup. The
aircraft came low over them and they heard it ditch in the fjord.
Niels Jørgen went to fisherman Kristian Olsen and in his boat they set out to
help the flyers. When they found the dinghy, the flyers were transferred to the
fishing boat and the dinghy was punctured. Kristian set course for his home
north of Skaven between Høje Sande and Vostrup.
Neither Niels Jørgen nor Kristian had any English and they all walked over to
Valdemar Brun who lived nearby. He had lived in the USA and had learned the
language. At Valdemars place the flyers teamed up and started walking away from
the crash area.
Henry "Harry" Christian and James Southworth headed in a south-easterly direction while
Paddy Hay and Mervyn Roberts teamed up and headed more southerly. “Bob”
MacDougal chose to stay at Valdemars place for the night while W. T. Roberts
started out on his own.
MacDougal left in the morning intending to get to Sweden. He did not get very
far as he was captured by the Wehrmacht when crossing a bridge over a stream. He
was taken to Fliegerhorst (Airfield) Vandel where he was placed in the jail on
Farm no. 5. Here he met with W. T. Roberts who had been captured earlier.
On 6/5 the Ninth Company of the Danish Resistance Movement arrived at
Fliegerhorst Vandel and took charge of the base.
(Vejle Byarkiv)
Roberts (rear) and MacDougal being celebrated in Vejle.
Roberts and MacDougal were
released from jail and taken to Vejle where they were celebrated together with
the crew of Stirling LK567 that had come down at Plovslund on 27/4.
During the time then spent in Vejle the flyers were quartered at “Store Grundet”.
Somewhere around 15/5 the flyers were driven to København where they met with
the rest of the crew, and shortly after they were all flown back to England.
(Frank Fuller)
Roberts and MacDougall in Vejle with members of
the crew of Stirling LK567
Roberts, Day, Tate, Jones
Fuller, Dax, MacDougall
Henry "Harry" Christian and James Southworth reached the village of Strellev late in the
afternoon of 27/4 and knocked on the door at the farm of Farmer Niels Kærsgård
Larsen. He hid them until the evening of 4/5 when they were taken to the home of
Doctor Øllgaard in Ølgod.
(Ølgod lokalarkiv)
Christian and Southworth (front left and
right) with members of the resistance in Ølgod.
Picture taken during the night of 4/5 May 1945
From the guestbook of Ølgaard
Here they spend the night of the liberation of Denmark
together with local members of the underground movement. On Saturday 5/5 they
were cheered in the streets of Ølgod.
(Via Greg Drake)
Pilot W/o Henry "Harry" James Christian RNZAF
On Thursday 10/5 they were found at Horne cemetery where they together with
members of the resistance movement attended the funeral of Flying Officer Smale
who had been wounded when his Stirling aircraft had crashed on Tipperne on 27/4.
Smale had been taken to the German lazaret in Horne where he had died on 8/5.
(V. Andersen)
Christian and Southworth outside Ølgaards
house
(Martin Tonks)
(Martin Tonks)
(Martin Tonks)
(Martin Tonks)
(Martin Tonks)
(Martin Tonks)
Roberts and Hay walked until morning when it started to rain. Their clothes had
dried during the night but now it was soaking wet again. When light came, they
hid in a small wood for the day. When darkness fell, they started walking again,
and saw only a few people. They were tired and hungry and started looking for a
farm where they could ask for help. When they reached the smallholding of Jens
Beck in Fjerbæk, Mervyn Roberts knocked on the door while Hay stood back a
little.
Jens Beck opened the door and he and Mervyn stood looking at each other in
silence for a while. When Mervyn told him that they were from Royal Air Force,
Jens took Mervyn by the arm and pulled him inside the house. Mervyn now called
for Hay to come inside the house. Beck did not speak English so the
communication was by means of signs.
(Via Greg Drake)
Navigator W/O Mervyn Albert Roberts RNZAF
Roberts had brushed his forehead during the landing and one side of his head was
red form blood. Beck cleaned the wound and when the water in a bucked was all
red he sent his wife Alma out to fetch more water. She only made it to the
scullery before she passed out, probably due to the excitement.
The flyers were given food, and afterwards they were shown to the barn to sleep.
The combination of tiredness and a filled stomach made them sleep like rocks.
On the next day, 28/4, they were awakened by Jens Beck who said: “I have a
friend who will help you”. It was clear that someone had taught him the
sentence.
As it was all he knew in English, he gestured that they should come with him to
the house. They were however afraid to leave the barn while it was light and
indicated that they would wait in the barn until darkness.
At noon Beck returned with a pot of Irish stew that they eat with great
appetite. When darkness fell they followed Beck to the house. After dinner when
Beck learned that they were from New Zealand he showed them that he was radio
amateur and before the war had contact with an amateur from Timaru in New
Zealand.
(Jens Bech)
Roberts, Alma Bech and daughter Dora, Hay at
Bech farm
Later in the evening Vicar Anders Bork Hansen of Lønborg arrived with two
members of the underground to question the flyers to make sure that they were
not German agents. Apparently the answers were not satisfying as the same thing
happened on the two following nights.
Another problem had come up, as the eight year old son of Beck, Gunner, had seen
the flyers in the barn.
In the barn was a rope hanging from the roof used by the kids to swing by. When
Gunner was swinging by the rope and jumped down in the hay, he landed on top of
the flyers. This was bad luck as Gunner was attending school, and as a kid could
not be relayed on not to tell about the flyers.
Jens Beck who was also a keen photographer took pictures of the flyers with his
family and also a couple of pictures that should be used for false ID cards.
On 1/5 blacksmith Øllegaard and other members of the resistance arrived with
civilian clothes for the flyers as well as false ID cards.
(Via Greg Drake)
Roberts ID-card
Roberts was now Farmer Kristian Jensen of Boel while Hay was now a travelling
salesman. Roberts was told that he looked just like his new identity, but he was
not sure if it was a compliment.
They were then taken by foot across the moor to the Forester farm in Lønborggård
Skov forest where they were billeted in the barn. The Danes left after having
told the flyers that they would be picked up the next morning.
The next morning the flyers were awakened by five men who brought them
breakfast. Among them were Vicar Bork Hansen and Doctor Reinholt Nielsen of Tarm
who attended to Roberts scratched forehead and also to Hay who apparently
suffered from the landing.
After breakfast they were driven to Tjørring near Herning by Arvid Højfeldt and
Aage Mortensen who had borrowed a petrol driven car from Arvid`s fathers
company.
In Tjørring they were billeted in a room in the attic in a house belonging to
Manufacturer Michael Hansen.
Teacher Laurits Nielsen tried to make conversation with the flyers but did not
have much luck as they were nervous because they did not know what lay ahead of
them.
Thursday 3/5 they were moved to Holstebro where they were housed by Cigar
Manufacturer Erik Færck in Skovlund near Holstebro. They were given room at the
top floor at the villa, and were for god measure given a couple of Browning
automatic rifles to keep under their beds.
They were given the full treatment. They started with cocktails followed by a
four course dinner with wine.
After dinner Roberts felt a little dizzy and believed that he had a little too
much wine. Færck however insisted to have a doctor attend to him, and it was
found that Roberts suffered from a concussion from the hard landing in the
Fjord. The doctor did not find it necessary to treat Roberts as it would go away
in due time. Later the same night Færck took the flyers for an evening stroll in
the park.
On the next day, 4/5 they were taken another walk in the park when they heard
several shots being fired and hurried back to the house where they were told
that the was over. This was celebrated with the Færck family and Færck`s brother
who lived nearby.
(Via Greg Drake)
Bombardier W/O ”Paddy” Raymond Edward Hay RNZAF
The next day a man arrived and told the flyers that they should contact The Red
Cross organization. They followed him and suddenly found themselves as the main
attraction in a victory parade in Holstebro. They were taken to the mayor office
where they found their uniforms. Properly dressed, Roberts was persuaded to give
a speech, and next they were carried around town on the shoulders of happy
Danes. Not until late in the evening were they “released” and could return to
the Færck home.
After a couple of days they drove south towards their landing place with Captain
lt. Lunddorff who had lived underground in Holstebro due to his involvement in
the resistance movement.
On the evening they took part in a celebration in the Lønborg vicarage together
with Vicar Anders Bork Hansen, Henry "Harry" Christian and James Southworth and several
local people.
The songbook of Harald Damborg with
signatures of the Flyers
The next morning Roberts and Hay followed Lundorff towards Varde. In Tarm the
word had spread that they would pass through the town and a gate of honour was
erected on the road to Varde. They were greeted by about 1000 people. Speeches
were given by reverend Gadegaard and Schoolmaster Larsen who had just returned
from the camp “Frøslev”. The Danish and the English national hymn were sung as
well as “Tipperary”. Finally cheers were given for the Danish and the English
Royalty.
This resulted in a late arrival in Varde where they were celebrated on the city
square after a short stop at the Varde Hotel.
What happened during the next days is not clear. It is however believed that
some at the time was spend in Lønborg visiting Jens Beck and Bork Hansen.
On 14/5 Southworth, Christian and probably Hay and Roberts were driven by car
to København where the resistance movement had rooms for them at the Hotel
Cosmopolite.
They met with MacDougal and W. T. Roberts as well as the crew members of the other
two aircrafts that had come down in Denmark on 27/4 1945. The next days was
spent sightseeing and visiting to Tivoli in København.
(Roberts, Jones)
The crew in København with Danes and the crew
of Stirling IV LK567
Dane, Dax, Hay, Jones, Dane, Dane, Dane,
Fuller, Dane, Mervyn Roberts, Roberts, Dane
On 18/5 a British Colonell saw them in their hotel and told them that they on
the next day would be picked up by a taxi and taken to Kastrup airfield from
where they would be flown back to England.
They were flown back in a C 47 Dakota that flew low over Hamburg to let the
flyers have a look at the destruction of the city.
After arrival in England they were questioned by the MI 5 to make sure that they
were actually English flyers.
Next they were sent by bus to Air base Tarrant-Rushton. After arrival their
first priority was to send telegrams back home to tell their family that all was
well.
Skaven after the “landing”
On the morning of 27/4 the Halifax had been examined by an expert from the Civil
Air Defence who had made certain that there were no explosives apart from some 8
mm ammunition onboard the aircraft. A guard of soldiers from Hungary was
established. They however cooperated with the local people who were busy
clearing the Halifax of petrol, oil and other things of interest. This happened
before any German found their way to the area. One of those who took part was
Hans Hansen who was busy taking the good stuff by horse drawn carriage to
Lønborg electricity works where the oil came in handy while some of the petrol
was given to the underground movement.
As a result of the cooperation by the Hungary troops, Vicar Anders Bork Hansen
arranged for the Resistance movement to allow the soldiers to have a “regulated
travel” back to Hungary when the war was over. Money was collected to buy train
tickets for the soldiers, but the trip was not yet arranged when the order came
for the troops to leave Denmark. Instead bicycles were bought for the Hungary
troops and certificated of ownership were issued to allow them to take the
bicycles out of Denmark. On 20/5 the Hungary soldiers started on the way back
home.
The Halifax was left in the Fjord after the war and was a much used place to go
on the Sunday afternoon trip. If you did not have a small boat yourself, you
could rent one nearby the wreck.
On this arial photo from 1946 the aircraft is seen in the red circle.
(Andersen via A. Hansen)
(Andersen via A. Hansen)
(Andersen via A. Hansen)
(Hans Frahm)
(Hans Frahm)
In October 1948 was Engineer Vagn Jacobsen, Skjern, Auto mechanic Hans Frahm,
Skjern og Falck manager Uhre permitted to recover the wreck and sell the alloy.
During the summer of 1949 they spent the weekends taking it apart together with
Butcher Skovby Holm of Skjern.
The aircraft had sunk down in the mud and was quite difficult to recover. At
first they tried to take it apart by means of a cutting torch, but it soon
proved that an axe and Skovby Holm`s butchers saw did a much better job. They
finished the job on 10/9 1949.
(Hans Frahm)
(Hans Frahm)
(Hans Frahm)
(Hans Frahm)
It seems as if quite a few parts had been removed from the Halifax in the
periode of 1945-48. The tail wheel and the compass from the Halifax can today be
seen at the “KZ og Veteran Fly Museet” museum in Stauning.
http://www.flymuseum.dk/index.php
After the war:
Christian, Hay and Mervyn Roberts returned to New Zealand, but kept in touch
with the Beck family over the years.
All three of them settled in Timaru.
Mervyn Roberts started farming and after a while he ran the family farm of 500
acres at Sutherlands about 30 miles from Timaru. He farmed until 1979 when he
handed it over to his son Geoffrey and moved to Timaru. Mervyn Roberts died on
21/10 1994 aged 79.
Paddy Hays farmed in Rosewill near Timaru. When he retired he moved to Timaru
where he died in 1993.
Henry "Harry" Christian returned to 59 Wilson Street Timaru. He worked as an engineer
until retirement. He too has passed away.
MacDougal returned to Canada where he became a Jesuit priest. He visited Denmark
in 1989. He is believed to have passed away.
James Southworth got married to Margaret Parkinson in July 1947 and they moved
to South Africa shortly thereafter and had two Daughters. He worked for the Cape
Town City Council involved in building (He was a draughtsman) and worked on the
initial housing projects in the townships. Hi died from cancer in August 1977.
What happened to W. T. Roberts is not known.
The Fjord where the Halifax crashed
Sources: AIR 27/2159, K/O 208/3227,”Drop Zone” by M. Roberts, Dansk Minekontrol
359/1948, LBUK, Doug Drake, Pam Bartrum, Betty Smith. Gordon
Maudsley. Newspapers: Ringkøbing Amts Dagblad, Vestkysten.
Back to 1945
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