by Steve Holmes
John (Jack) Edward Chalk (Chalky) was born in West Ham, London in 1916. His father, also called John, came from London and his mother, Florence S Le Heup originated from France. None of the surviving family members have ever been traced.
Russell George Tickner was born in Golburn, New South Wales, Australia on 28th July 1920. He was a good sportsman, excelling in cricket and tennis and grew up playing sport in the area of Orange. He enlisted in the RAAF in Sydney on 11 October 1941. He dropped his first name and was always known as George throughout the war years. His younger brother Colin also joined the RAAF but served in Australia during the latter half of the war and for many years after that until his retirement in 1975. It is believed that he was also a member of the air crew, a navigator.
George Tickner married Phyllis Fry in London in 1944. His wife, a corporal in the WRAF, met George at one of the airfields she was stationed at near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. George Tickner was shot down and died in Southern Norway on 25th February 1945 in his beloved Stirling Bomber. He had been dropping supplies to the Norwegian resistance fighters in the Arendal area of the country.
George Tickner went down with his plane into Holen Lake in Norway and his remains are still in the bomber wreckage. The site is recognised as an official war graves site and demarcated by buoys. His name is on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 283.
It is believed an RAF underwater team sent divers down to the bottom of the lake during the late 1980s. They laid a wreath in memory of George Tickner and his crew.
His son, also called Russell was born on 8th July 1945; unfortunately he never knew his father.
Phyllis Tickner died in 2002 in East London, South Africa. She never talked too much about her late husband George, it was too much of a painful memory.
Dennis Alec ‘Lofty’ Matthews was born in Canada in 1921. He was a member of Warrant Officer Keith Prowd’s crew. On 19th September 1944 on a resupply drop to Arnhem, their aircraft EF248 ‘V Victory’ was hit by flak at about 1500 feet, which set the outer starboard engine on fire. Due to more heavy Flak they lost another two engines. Prowd immediately ordered the crew to bail out. Lofty bailed out on one off the panniers and was killed on the way down.
Lofty Matthews is buried in the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, Netherlands.
Keith Prowd was taken prisoner by the Germans after his aircraft crash landed. After a severe interrogation he was then sent to a POW camp. It is believed it was Stalag Luft VII at Kreitsberg near Bankau. These are his words.
‘Then on 20th January 1945 we were assembled, packed up and sent on what has been declared the “German Death March”, ahead of the Russian advance. We marched day and night for a couple of days with many dying from the severe cold as the temperature plunged to -20ºC and more. A lot has been written about this March. For this purpose, sufficient to say that what food we received, we stole, we ate snow and any grass we saw, we stole potatoes, dehydrated silver beet and anything else we could find. At one stage I had severe bronchitis which Dr Morrison diagnosed as double bronchial pneumonia and had it not been for two friends, Frank Tait and George Pringle (both Queenslanders) I would not have survived. We were paraded at night and were forced to walk through a very, very severe blizzard which was very scary. Quite a few were lost in that blizzard, they simply fell on the spot and froze to death. We lost a ridiculous amount of weight.
‘In what is now described as a “friendly fire” incident we were strafed by a USA Thunderbolt aircraft. 66 of our boys were killed.
‘After about six to eight weeks of snow walking, we were entrained to Luckenwalde about 50 kilometres from Potsdam. I would like to mention with great respect and homage Captain Collins, who was a Church Of England Minister of Religion who would walk up and down the column (which at the beginning was about 1,500 POWs) saying “only a few more kilometres, fellows, keep your pecker up” or words to that effect. He did that at least twice a day. One does not have to be a genius to understand how the fellow POWs felt about him, and how many kilometres more he walked than the rest of us. Not only that, but he would always find a box to set up an altar and have a service. He was a big man, an Oxford Blue, and had two of the biggest feet I have ever seen.
‘At Luckenwalde there were more than 30,000 POWs, mostly Russians, Americans, and British, some Poles and Italians. There were some scenes about obtaining wood for the fire illicitly obtained by dismantling an unoccupied building. A visit by the Red Cross inspected us, made some recommendations but none were carried out. The food was brought to us in copper clothes washers. It was foul but it was better than nothing.
‘We paid 1,500 cigarettes for the purchase of a Lancaster Bomber’s radio from one of the guards and were able to follow the advancement of the Allies and Russians. The Allies stopped at the River Elbe, which was only 50 kilometres away, but the Russians came our way and eventually liberated us.
‘The Russian commander demanded at a meeting of all Pilots that we had to go and fly their planes which we refused to do. As a result of our refusal he closed down the camp, and reduced our food supplies.
‘We then received a visit from an American reporter who hadn’t been advised of our liberation, so he organised a truck to pick us up and take us to the crossing on the River Elbe; days went by and it never arrived. We decided to take matters into our own hands and went to a corner of the fence where we’d previously cut a gap. We drew lots to go out. As the last man made it through the gap he was spotted by the Russians and shot at. He was wounded and fell but the rest of us got away. A few kilometres down the road we stopped an American truck and told him of the trouble and he hid us under the seats and filled the truck with others who had decided to leave. After 36 hours and much procrastination by the Russians we managed to cross the Bailey Bridge at Magdeburgh where we were treated royally by the Americans. We were sent back to the UK via Brussels where we attended the 21 Club and had a sit down meal. It was then back to my beloved Edna and we married on 6th June 1946 one year after D Day. What a lot happened in that year.’
It is believed that Keith Prowd is still alive at the time of going to press and living in Australia.
Mark Azouz DFC was born in 1922 in Chiswick, London, to his parents Ralph and Esta. Before the war he was a law student and a talented pianist. He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) and qualified as a pilot. After flying many sorties, Azouz took his Stirling up on 21st September 1944 on a resupply drop to Arnhem, which on that day was the start of the Jewish Yom Kippur. Being Jewish himself he was allowed to stand down but he refused and after completing his mission was attacked by enemy aircraft and shot down. He fought with the plane until the rest of the crew bailed out, knowing the aircraft was going down. He himself bailed out only to be killed while floating to earth in his harness.
Mark Azouz is buried in Nijmegan Jonkerbos Cemetery, Holland.
George Alfred Humphrey was born in 1907 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, to his parents Alfred and Elsie. He was married to Doris Julia prior to war breaking out. He also joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
He was a member of George Tickner’s crew who perished when shot down in Norway. George is buried in Arendal Hogedal Cemetery Norway. The following words are written by his daughter Jacqueline Mary (Nee Humphrey) Hunt. She was born on June 9th, 1945, four months after George Humphrey’s death.
‘At 38, my father was the oldest member of the Stirling crew. He had worked in the furniture industry for many years as most young men did in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He saw the opportunity to serve his country and volunteered for service in the RAF. He had a fascination for aircraft. I have letters he wrote to my mother in 1944-45 that bear this out! The crew members of the Stirling were all Australian. My dad was English, born and bred.
‘Dad was the father of three daughters when he died, with me on the way. In 1997, I managed to contact two of the crew in Australia, Jack Caldwell and Eric Quirk. I received letters back from both of them. Jack Caldwell described my father as foll
ows:
“We came by George in our crew when we went to Stradishall to convert from Wellingtons to Stirlings. In the Wellington we had a crew of five: Russell at the wheel, Rolf at his charts, me with my maps and target maps, Joe with his radio, and Eric with his rear gun turret. For the Stirling we needed two more; an upper gunner and an engineer. George had a sense of humour. Many other Englishmen may have, but, if so, most of them do a remarkably good job of hiding it. George flaunted it. I cannot remember that he ever took any situation seriously. He fitted in well. It’s hard to understand how a mature man, a triple (going on for quadruple) father like George came to get mixed up with a bunch of Colonial children playing soldiers.”
‘Jack also explained in his letter that it was the eve of his 21st birthday when they took off that night. His mother had sent a birthday cake all the way from Australia and they took it with them to eat on the return journey. It went down with the plane. Jack explains: “It was most unsporting of the Hun to shoot us down on that particular night. The next day was my 21st birthday, and during the previous year preparations had been in progress. For months in Australia my mother and family hoarded dried fruit, flour and sugar and concocted a really impressive cake. In spite of U-boats, raiders, buzz bombs and the British postal service, I received it at the start of February and we put it away for celebration on the big day.
‘“We took it with us on that trip to Norway, but were not allowed to cut it. It was overcooked in what was left of our poor little aeroplane, which had 1,500 gallons of petrol well and truly on fire when I left – without any regrets or hesitation I can recall.”’
Taffy Stimson came out of the RAF soon after the war. He joined the police force where a policeman’s lot suited him down to the ground, so much so that he never pursued any other career.
196 Squadron was never far away from his thoughts and he kept in touch with his old pilot Chuck Hoystead. He was instrumental as part of the organisation to reunite some of the old comrades during the reunions that took place during the 80s and 90s.
He enjoyed a long and happy retirement though it is not known whether he is still alive.
Clive Westoby passed his Civil Service exams after the war and worked for the government in the Lincoln area until his retirement. He married his long-term girlfriend Barbara and had a son Neil and a daughter Kate. Not one to talk about the war he did however occasionally mention his role at Arnhem to his two children and always mentioned his best friend Ronald Waltrich who was killed in the campaign.
He died peacefully in his sleep aged 74.
Wing Commander Baker. Full name; Maurice William L’Isle La Vallet Baker
Died 21/02/1945, aged 33.
Mentioned in Despatches, son of Maurice Edward Thomas Baker and Esther Baker; husband of Lucienne Jacqueline Baker of Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt. Buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Mierlo in southern Holland in the province of North Brabant.
Fred Gribble was born in Long Beach, California, USA to parents Fred and Emily in 1912. After his initial training he became a member of the RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). He then married his wife Eleanor Mohn Gribble. On 6th June 1944, The D-Day invasions, Fred’s aircraft was hit on the first sortie over Normandy. The aircraft was so badly hit it plunged to earth killing Fred and all the crew.
Fred Gribble and his crew are the only Commonwealth Personnel buried in the Cagny Communial Cemetary, 9 kilometres south east of Caen.
Henry ‘Chuck’ Hoystead was born in Mentone, Victoria, the son of Frederick William and Ellen Francis Veronica Hoystead, his father being a famous jockey and race horse trainer.
He was educated at the Wangaratta High School. Before his enlistment to the RAAF in 1940 he was an employee of the Shell Company of Australia. He gained his wings in 1942 and was sent to England. He was awarded the DFC in 1945.
After the war Chuck returned to Melbourne where he met up with Vanrenen at the RAF reunions that they attended on a regular basis. Chuck was instrumental and took an active part in the organisation. He and others that were seconded to the RAF were part of the ODD BODS Association which was formed from those RAF members that returned to Australia. They would all march together under the ODD BODS Banner in Melbourne in the ANZAC Day Parade down St. Kilda Road to the Shrine of Remembrance. This parade is still held to remember those who fell in WW1, WWII and the Vietnam War. Chuck died in 2002.
Bill Short. At the time of writing Bill Short is alive and kicking living in Workington, Cumbria in England. He stayed with The RAF for 18 months before returning to Berwick upon Tweed and taking up his old job as a bus driver. In his mid-forties Bill bought a newsagent shop in Workington and a few years later a card shop named after his daughter Heather. Bill was a talented artist and musician and retired at 65 to pursue his other passion, fishing. Although in good health physically, macular degeneration has attacked his vision in recent years and Bill is registered blind.
Patch returned to Lancaster where he walked many miles with Sherlock along the banks of the Lune. He enjoyed a long and peaceful retirement and died peacefully in his sleep at the grand old age of 14. He is buried in the garden of 1 Belle Vue Terrace, Lancaster.
ROLL OF HONOUR
ROYAL AIR FORCE
38 GROUP
For the men who gave their lives while serving in 196 Squadron 1942–1945
THEIR NAMES LIVETH FOR EVERMORE
Donaldson James 22 Warrant Officer 4th Feb 1944
Dowzer Robert 21 Sergeant 4th Feb 1944
Glen Kenneth Albert 20 Sergeant 4th Feb 1944
Spray Alfred 20 Sergeant 4th Feb 1944
Staple Kenneth Thomas 20 Sergeant 4th Feb 1944
Vince Dennis Tunnard 23 Sergeant 4th Feb 1944
Pryke Henry Ivan 21 Pilot Officer 4th Feb 1944
Lindley John Rothwell 32 Flying Officer 5th Feb 1944
Moore Thomas 22 Flying Officer 5th Feb 1944
Woodruff Lionel Howard 21 Warrant Officer 5th Feb 1944
Simpson Charles Arthur 23 Warrant Officer 20th Feb 1944
Sawford John Edward 20 Sergeant 20th Feb 1944
Sullivan Patrick William 24 Flight Sergeant 20th Feb 1944
Lysons Ronald Cecil 23 Flight Sergeant 20th Feb 1944
McCannell Duncan Malcolm 24 Sergeant 21st Feb 1944
Claypole Sidney 23 Sergeant 4th Apr 1944
Lees John Hugh 28 Warrant Officer 4th Apr1944
Meera Shayrene 19 Sergeant 4th Apr 1944
Payne Kenrick 21 Flight Sergeant 4th Apr 1944
Teece John Robert 32 Flying Officer 4th Apr 1944
Wilkinson John Thomas 29 Flight Sergeant 4th Apr 1944
Rodrigues Alfred 24 Leading Aircraftsman 9th Apr 1944
Anderson James Kennedy 24 Flying Officer 6th Jun 1944
Bothwell Alexander Edward 27 Flying Officer 6th Jun 1944
Goddard Phillip Charles 21 Flight Sergeant 6th Jun 1944
Gribble Fred 32 Flight Lieutenant 6th Jun 1944
Luff (DFM) Richard Norman Purnell 31 Flight Lieutenant 6th Jun 1944
Whitehead Edward 21 Sergeant 6th Jun 1944
Wooton Harry Edgar 21 Flight Sergeant 6th Jun 1944
Smith Dick 33 Flying Officer 30th Jun 1944
Chalkley Frank Douglas 23 Flying Officer 19th Sep 1944
Matthews Dennis Alec 23 Sergeant 19th Sep 1944
Powderhill George Henry 33 Flying Officer 19th Sep 1944
Bancroft Earnest Walter 24 Warrant Officer 20th Sep 1944
Benning Donovan Geoffrey 22 Flight Sergeant 20th Sep 1944
Clough David Nicholson 22 Sergeant 20th Sep 1944
Cragg Trevor Bowers 21 Flight Sergeant 20th Sep 1944
Mabbot Cyril 22 Flight Sergeant 20th Sep 1944
Murphy Andrew Joseph 29 Flight Sergeant 20th Sep 1944
Tait William Robert 23 Warrant Officer 20th Sep 1944
Allaway David John 20 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Azouz Mark 22 Warrant Officer 21st Sep 1944
Bode Peter Harold 21 Flight Sergea
nt 21st Sep 1944
Cowan Robert 21 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Forrest Robert Walter 23 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Gibbs Reginald Cuthbert 32 Flying Officer 21st Sep 1944
Grant Donald Hay 24 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Green Charles Richard John 23 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Marsh Leonard 20 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Ormson Francis 21 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Phillips Richard Glyn 26 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Poole Sidney John 24 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Ratcliffe Leslie Victor 28 Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Townsend Stanley Arthur Leonard 23 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Waltrich Ronald Eric George 23 Flight Sergeant 21st Sep 1944
Kerton Gerald Desmond Patrick 23 Sergeant 24th Sep 1944
Turreff James Campbell 31 Sergeant 24th Sep 1944
Williamson Cedric Alfred 22 Sergeant 24th Sep 1944
Leonard James 24 Sergeant 4th Nov 1944
Moore John Charles 28 Sergeant 4th Nov 1944
Newberry Harry George 21 Flight Sergeant 4th Nov 1944
Orford John 19 Sergeant 4th Nov 1944
Raymen Frederick George 28 Sergeant 4th Nov 1944
Tolliday George William 24 Sergeant 4th Nov 1944
Webster Nelson Donald 21 Sergeant 4th Nov 1944
Eves Derek William 21 Flying Officer 9th Nov 1944
