Help needed please on ww2 raf airman

What an amazing thread!

Sgt Terence John (Jack) Culnane was my uncle and an older brother to my late father who also served in Bomber Command (RAF Dishforth) during the War. The family story has it that Jack died from exposure in the dinghy; I now wonder if his parents had ever been told this version? I know my late father would have been shocked.

Only a few years there was an article on the RAFA Stornoway website about this mission with a photograph of the crew. I downloaded the photo and my father was delighted to see Jack’s memory was being kept alive by others. He was by then a little vague but he said that Jack was in some way a special navigator (?) with some sort of special skill or knowledge….

It was the age of “stiff upper lip” etc and my own father refused to discuss his own service experiences even with my mother. He only said that he flew over the N Sea in planes that had all their windows blacked out. We have assumed these were some experimental activities…. However in later years and shortly before his death he let slip that on one flight his plane had crashed and there were fatalities – whether from enemy action remains a mystery – any assistance by pointing me in the direction of places that might help me shed light on this would be gratefully received.

There are times, not too often, that we come across a story such as this which just refuses to die.

Your comment about Bunny being one of the gunners led me to look the lost gunners up on the CWGC site. Sgt. B F Smith is actually a Brian Frank Smith, and at that time, Bunny was a nickname for Brian. Therefore it seems highly likely that Bunny was Sgt. Smith.

I also checked F/Sgt. Edwin Arthur Allgood which revealed something else. Edwin had a brother, Sgt. Harold Henry Allgood. Harold was a pilot and had flown Hurricanes with both 85 and 253 Squadrons. On the 10th October 1940, Harold had been flying Hurricane L1928. At 3.55 pm the aircraft inexplicably crashed into a row of houses in Albion Place, Maidstone. Harold was killed and the aircraft, along with what appears to be several houses, destroyed. Battle of Britain Then & Now has a very clear photograph of Harold, a press photo of the crash site and a view of the offices which stood on the site when the book was published.

Harold was buried at St. Mark’s Burial Ground in Cambridge beneath a family headstone which also records the loss of Edwin. At the time the After The Battle team visited the grave it was hard to find as it was overgrown.

It would be interesting to see whether the ORB’s for 85 and 253 squadrons mention Harold at all.

Hope you find this useful.

Regards,

kev35

Thanks to all of you for your time and effort i am truly gobsmacked at what i purchased as a run of the mill unresearched group turned out to be this important have read the letters from Sgt Pickerings parents now.The letters mention his wounds often and the loss of his freind ‘Bunny’ who i take was one of the gunners killed.What truly amazing people heroes every last one of them .The guts it must of taken from the battle in the air to the crash in the sea and the evasion.So not only would Pickering himself hold the DFM but would of been a goldfish club member.

Hello again – it really was incredible what these airmen endured, attack by enemy aircraft with the loss of crewmembers as a result, fire onboard, ditching in the sea, taking to dinghies and having a further member of the crew die while at sea, surviving at sea a few days before being picked up……and so it goes on. Each one of these incidents would have been harrowing enough by itself. It must have been very tense waiting it out for so many weeks on the Lofoten islands in a cave not understanding the language and putting trust in strangers.

I would be interested to learn more about the journey the surviving men made from when they reached mainland Norway, and the route they took to Sweden. I’m afraid that the account I related above more or less stops when they are handed over by the Lofoten fishing crew to the men waiting on the mainland.

In case it wasn’t mentioned in my previous post. Sgt Culnane – the airman who was badly burnt and died of his injuries while they were in the dinghies – is buried at Narvik. The two airmen who died onboard the aircraft as a result of their wounds are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

To 582-pff who started this thread, are you able to share any of the documentation that you have relating to Pickering now that we’ve all got to know more about this incredible story I’m sure it would be of interest to more than just myself.

If I ever find myself in Narvik I will certainly stand a moment at the grave of Sgt Culnane and pay my respects.

It’s thanks to the tiny clues and small pieces of information that a variety of people contributed to this thread that the story has been able to be pieced together to give a much clearer picture of events back in 1942 and to illuminate the items that 582-pff has relating to one of the crew of Liberator AM924 It is satisfying to know that through our combined efforts we have remembered some of our unsung heroes.

Linzee

Can only echo what Galdri has said.

Linzee’s work on this is great and what started as a query with very few clues becomes a tale of courage, determination and fortitude. Isn’t it amazing that from the comfort and safety of our PC’s we can learn so much about heroism and courage, firstly under fire and then under the constant threat of capture.

Incredible stuff and justification, if one was ever needed, of fora such as this.

Regards,

kev35

What a fantastic story. Thank you for taking the time to write it all up.

With thanks to Morten Moe in Norway I can provide some additional information regarding the amazing escape of the surviving crew of Liberator AM924. Most of the information below comes from an account written in a local history book from Lofoten Islands, some additional details have been added in brackets by Morten to help with locations etc). The article was in Norwegian but Morten read it out in English for me to transcribe but hopefully we have it as correctly as possible. It is lengthy but I didn’t want to chop it down since it is quite an amazing story.

See for yourselves:

Regards
Linzee

The aircraft was shot down over Lofoten Islands on 28th May 1942.

The aircraft was a Liberator with a 7 man crew, serial AM924. It had been on a reconnaissance mission looking for Tirpitz. After take off from Stornoway in Scotland at 0500 hrs the navigator had led the aircraft safe over the North Sea to the Røst (south of Lofoten) where it turned north towards North Cape. The reconnaissance mission was unsuccessful; they could find no sign of Tirpitz. On the way back it was decided to cross over the Lofoten islands to search in the West fjord (a large fjord west of Bodø). Suddenly the British airmen became aware of three German Me109’s and an air battle commenced over Hellsegga by the notorious Moskenesstraumen current on the southern tip of the Lofoten islands. The allied aircraft turned west heading for Shetland while it tried to go steadily lower closer to the surface of the sea to avoid the gunfire from the German fighters. AM924 was hit several times and shrapnel and bullets penetrated the hull. During the first attack, the tail gunner, Brian Smith was killed and John Pickering took his place. He hit one of the German planes but was himself later hit by a bullet in his arm. The third air gunner, Edwin Allgood was also killed during the attack. When the German planes broke off the attack the Liberator continued on its course flying at approx 100m above the sea they discovered that there was a fire in the bomb bay. During the air battle the rudder was damaged too and the aircraft was very difficult to control. Eventually they had to ditch in the sea west of Moskenessøy (the southernmost major island in the Lofoten), and the crew got into the dinghies after having fought their way out of the sinking wreck. At that point, one of the German planes with Unteroffizier Robert Merkl in the cockpit had returned to its base in Bodø because his cockpit windscreen had been sprayed with oil from the allied plane. Merkl claimed that AM924 had been shot down.
(Merkl was killed later in the war, when his Focke Wulf 190 flew into the cliffs above Gautungdalen, north of the Sognefjord Info: http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/geitebotnfjell.html )

Four out of the seven crewmembers on AM924 survived. The fire caused by the German planes had seriously burnt Sgt Culnane who died from these injuries 24 hours later. His body was left in one of the dinghies the airmen had used after removing all identificating items from him. The naked and badly burned body was later found drifting in the dinghy in West fjord.

Out of the four survivors, Ray Walten, Terry Corkran, Booker & Pickering, Pickering had suffered wounds from the German bullets but he was not seriously injured. The airmen were desperately paddling trying to get to mainland Norway. After two days at sea they were discovered by a fishing vessel and they were taken in tow to a place called Tuv (on the eastern shore of the Lofoten-tip) by Einar & Inge Ingebrigtsen from Reine who had been fishing in the Moskenesstraumen current. Only two people were living at Tuv at that time, Johan Larsen and his wife Laura. They took care of the airmen but after a week there were rumours that the Germans had started an investigation after discovering the naked body of Sgt Culnane in the dinghy, and suspecting that there was a connection between the air battle a week before. A German patrol boat which was stationed nearby started to patrol much more frequently in the area. Johan and Laura naturally enough were worried for the safety of the airmen and it was decided to take them over the mountains to a place called Refsvika – a bay on the outer side of Lofoten. Here the airmen borrowed a boat and after having been helped to plan their escape route by Torolf Refsvik (who knew a little English) which would lead through Vesterålen and Ofoten and then over to Sweden, they started rowing in a NE direction along the western shore of the Lofoten islands. The airmen, unfamiliar with the local conditions soon became exhausted and as they approached Gimsøya in Vågan they simply had to go ashore on a skerry on the northern side of the island and exhausted and cold they pulled the boat ashore and after tipping it upside down they went to sleep underneath it.

Luck was still with the airmen. A boat from Refsvik was on it’s way home from Finnmark and one of the men onboard – Oskar Refsvik – recognised his own boat upside down on the skerry! He went ashore to investigate and thus the boat and the airmen were taken back to Refsvik once again! At that stage, brothers Sigurd and Leif Hamran came into the story. They had observed the air battle over Hellsegga and now they were told about the airmen by the man who had found them on the skerry Gimsøya. The Hamran brothers decided that it would be far too risky for the airmen to attempt to escape in a rowing boat, and they decided to help them. They had relatives in Beiarn (on the mainland south of Bodø) and they knew several people from Beiarn who were fishing from some of the small villages on Lofoten. The brothers believed that the best solution would be to get the airmen over to Beiarn and from there over to Sweden. In addition the brothers knew people in Beiarn who assisted people in reaching Sweden and since they too often used to go to Beiarn on fish trading business they could go there without causing suspicion. Between Mosskenessøya and Beiarn is the West Fjord and to get to Beiarn they would have to pass not far from Bodø airfield. The first thing the Hamran brothers did was to find a safer place to hide the airmen. A place where it was easy to get to them with supplies without causing suspicion. The place they found was a scree area, Tindsura, a bit west of Å. In Tindesura there is a cave which is invisible from the sea, here the airmen were installed with food supplies and warm clothes after the Hamran had collected them from Refsvik in their vessel MK Hans. Now for the airmen it was only a matter of being patient while the snow in the mountains thawed and the brothers organised their escape. Leif and Siguard visited the airmen every third day bringing the airmen supplies, neither Leif or Siguard could speak English and it was a tough time for the airmen as they were not able to communicate and they were unsure about what lay in store for them. The brothers had problems getting enough supplies and they contacted the teacher in the area, Miss Lie. She helped them to get supplies for the airmen and also helped with the communication. The local nurse, Sister Mary, was also involved as she had to take care of Sgt Pickerings wounded arm. After about one month staying in the cave the time had come for the airmen to continue on their dangerous escape route. Sigurd and Leif came with their boat with 1500 kilos of frozen fish onboard. The fish was to be their excuse for the trip as they were to exchange it for firewood. It was a nice summers day and the airmen were placed in the cargo hold and the vessel set course over West fjord for Beiarn. Everything went smoothly until they approached Helligvær – a small group of islands west of Bodø – they set course between the skerries to get as much distance between themselves and Bodø as possible. When they were half way through the skerries they were approached by a German plane and a guard boat who signalled to them several times. The brothers went full speed with the boat and at once the guard boat turned away and left them. Afterwards they were informed that the stretch of water they had gone through was mined and they realised that was what the Germans had been trying to inform them. They arrived safely with the airmen at Tverrvika in Beiarn (near the head of the Bejarnfjord). Sigurd rowed ashore in the dinghy to find help. While he was away, Leif and the airmen got the shock of their lives. Wilhelm Tverrvik had discovered that there was a Moskenes boat in the bay and eager to have a chat with people from the same area as himself he rowed out to the vessel! When the airmen heard someone walking on the deck they dived down into the cargo in an attempt to hide themselves. They did not succeed. Wilhelm was very suspicious when Lief tried to explain that it was only some youngsters who were shy of meeting new people. Wilhelm suspected that it was not the truth but he did not say anything.

With the assistance of Sigmund Berntsen, Hans Rengågord, Trygve Blåmoli, William Øverness and interpreter Martin Larsa – and after a hearty farewell with the Moskenes brothers – the airmen eventually got over the Swedish border to safety.

The rumours had flourished during the time the airmen were in Mosskenes, illustrated by the fact that the local policeman, Laurits Hansen, later was arrested for not having informed the Germans about the rumours.

Source: Lofotboka – a yearbook for the local Lofoten historical society. With additional details of locations by Morten Moe.

As promised…

Air 2/9605

Sgt Pickering was W/Op of a Liberator of 120 Sqn detailed to carry out an important reconnaissance of the Norwegian coast on 28 May 42. Sgt Pickering had been with the sqn since its formation and has flown with the same captain throughout. On the occasion when his aircraft was attacked by three ME109s he showed exceptional courage by takingthe place of the wounded rear gunner and destroying one of the enemy aircraft though he himself had previously been wounded and rendered unconscious. When the third W/Op became disabled and the bomb bay was a mass of flames, he again showed outstanding courage and initiative by taking over the radio and sending out an S.O.S. Throughout the whole action he displayed outstanding coolness and courage. These qualities continued to be displayed in spite of his wounds, after his aircraft had been shot down and crashed into the sea and throughout a period of 31 days in which the survivors trekked across mountainous and dangerous country to reach neutral territory.

Remarks by Stn Cdr

I readily concur in the recommendation of the Sqn Cdr. Sgt Pickering, although sorely wounded and at one time actually unconscious, rallied himself with such courage and determination that he destroyed an enemy aircraft. He subsequently so kept control of his own painful condition that he was able to take full share in the struggle against odds of weather and uninhabited country which enabled him and his comrades to reach neutral territory.

Ah sorry my bad. Teach me to reply in the wee hours of the morning. :p

OneEighthBit, the aircraft was shot down over Norway and the crew evaded to Sweden on foot. Interesting looking book you’ve flagged up though, thanks.

Linzee

As he came down in Sweden, and that’s currently where I write this from, it’s possible there’s reference to him/his aircraft in this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Sweden-Royal-Force-Europe/dp/1871187338

Thanks guys you are fantastic!!!!!

Hi,

The DFM register has got the recommendation for the DFM. He was awarded the DFM for his actions on the 28th May. If you can wait until the w/end I’ll type it in.

Cheers

Jim

Thanks to Linzee’s efforts a bit more Googling brought me to this link to an archived thread on the RAF Commands Forum…..

http://www.rafcommands.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2403&forum=DCForumID6&archive=yes

Scrolling down the thread reveals the crew:

F/O Walton
P/O Corkran
Sgt T J Culnane
Sgt Pickering
Sgt Booker
F/Sgt E A Allgood
Sgt B F Smith

It seems that F/Sgt Allgood and Sgt Smith were lost without trace while Sgt Culnane succumbed to his injuries while in Norway. It seems they were intercepted by three 109’s and brought down into the sea. It is suggested they were picked up by a Norwegian boat and taken to Norway and arrived in Sweden 31 days later after enduring a certain amount of privation and hardship.

Regards,

kev35

Here is a possible gleaned after a bit of googling with the info provided so far in this thread.

I took a punt at Pickering having possibly evaded from Norway so did a search on Liberator crashes in Norway. This led me to very helpful site

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Liberator-B-Mk-I
and in particular this loss:
AM924 (ex 40-2363) s/n 15. Delivered May 1941. Converted to Liberator GR I, assigned to 15 Group (CC) / 120 Squadron, and was assigned Squadron Code: OH aircraft D “Donald Duck”.
October 1941 attacked FW-200 Kondor
Attacked and fuel tank damaged on 5 April 1942 by an Arado float plane while escorting Convoy Skipper near 43° 36’N, 02° 07’W (Pilot P/O. Secord).
While on a sortie into the Bay of Biscay on 11 January 1942, attacked the German blockade runner: Elsa Essberger and the submarine U-373 (which was at the time alongside the German ship). The action took place near position 43° 55’N, 10° 15’W (Pilot Peter Cundy).
Attacked and shot down 28 May 1942 by three Bf 109Es of 9/JG1 (flying out of Lister) south of the Lofoten Islands, north Norway (Pilot S/L Rae Walton) (aircraft was shot down by Staffelkapitän Werner Gutowski).

Then a google on the serial number produced further results on the World War 2 Talk forum http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-air/15580-coastal-command-support-arctic-convoy.html see post #7 by Peter Clare which reads
“It was on one of these Artic patrols that 120 Squadron lost one of its aircraft, Liberator Mk.I AM924/D (S/L. Rae Walton and crew) on 28 May 1942, in support of the Russian convoys. The aircraft was shot down into the Norwegian Sea by three Me109’s. The Libs surviving crew managed to get ashore and eventually reached Sweden after a very long walk, where they were interned for a while. But that’s another story.”

No guarantee that I’m on the right track but it’s the right a/c type, the time of year fits, the squadron fits and we’ve got a crew evading to Sweden so it’s a possible match? Sending a line to Peter Clare on the forum mentioned might produce a crew list for the Liberator in question to see if Pickering was onboard.

Good luck
Linzee

Jimbo’s post does do a little to illuminate the situation.

Typing J D Pickering 120 Squadron into a Google search gives you a couple of hits for the National Archives, one of which alludes to the recommendation for the DFM while the other is something to do with escape and evasion. Both are downloadable for £3.50 each. Got to be worth seven quid to add information to what is shaping up to be a nice little acquisition.

Regards,

kev35

I believe his number was 747934. John Douglas Pickering. Gazette date 1/12/42. 120 Sqn. A Liberator Wireless Operator.

http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=35804&geotype=London&gpn=5218&type=ArchivedSupplementPage&all=&exact=&atleast=&similar=

Hi got letters from John .d. Pickerings parents addressed to sgt Pickering.Later i have a document from railway telling him a box has arrived for him this is 1943 dated calls him f/sgt.I also am only assuming he was bomber command so he could well be coastal.The dfm is mentioned on an entitlement document dated 1946.I have a photograph of him with him holding his name on a plaque under him and a number i think this is while in Sweden.All the letters to him start july 42- aug 42 and mention how he is recovering from his injuries so must have been recent to then all are addressed to Sweden.

582-pff

Can I ask a couple of questions please?

Firstly, what evidence do you have confirming his rank?

What evidence do you have that he was awarded the DFM?

Do you have any confirmation of which Command he was flying with? e.g. Bomber? Coastal?

We could certainly use all the detail we have to narrow it all down.

I have now found details for a J Pickering but he has a different number to the one you quoted and was not shot down until July 1943.

Regards,

kev35

Hi, in addition to the souces checked by Kev, I’ve also tried the LG to no avail and had a look through Footprints on the Sands of Time by Oliver Clutton-Brock. I also had a few papers in my files in Swedish listing men from various nationaities (including airmen evading from the likes of Norway over the border to Sweden) but couldn’t see him there. I should mention that the Swedish papers were far from complete so the fact he wasn’t on the ones I have doesn’t mean he wasn’t on some somewhere.

Maybe try posting your request on RAF Commands forum to see the anyone there has different sources they could tap into – the fact that you mention he has a DFM should make him traceable you would think!

Good luck
Linzee