Noran Didsbury - Glider Pilot Regiment, E Sqn
17/06/11 11:58
“Let’s start at the beginning . . . I was originally part of E-Squadron based at RAF Down Ampney and RAF Blakehill Farm. Just before the Arnhem operation started we were sent to various aerodromes to see if anyone was short of crews. We went to Brize Norton, I think we also went to Manston and we ended up at Tarrant Rushton and from there we went out on the third lift heading to Arnhem. We were led to believe that we would be carrying the 52nd Highland Division who, due to their mechanical expertise, were going to create a sort of runway but when we got to the Horsa we found we were carrying the Polish Anti-tank Brigade. Our load consisted of a Jeep, 6 Pound Anti-Tank Gun, 17 radio sets, some ammunition, 2 Polish gunners and an Alsatian dog called Bruno!
We were towed across the Channel at about 2,500 feet by a Halifax and we discovered there was a thick screen of fog which we had been told wouldn’t be there. You then had the situation where some pilots were trying to fly above it, some below it – needless to say it got quite interesting. We managed to hit the Dutch coast without any problems and expected shrapnel to start coming up at us, which it did of course but eventually a shell hit the tow rope and that was that! So we said ‘Well, that’s made a mess of it’ or words to that effect and instantly adrenaline started to kick in and we knew we had to get out of the stream so we took the nose down and turned 180º. It took both of us (the pilots) to pull the Horsa out, we were going that fast with the heavy load and you could just see the guns starting to move forward towards the cockpit. We both managed to eventually pull the glider out of the stream and we were not much more above tree-top height and heading back towards home. We thought we were out of trouble but whilst travelling in a straight line the glider all of a sudden pulled down towards the ground! We were doing about 130mph when we hit the deck! The Nose Wheel had gone through the roof but we all got out without a scratch and the dog was running around asking ‘what’s next’?! We were all very lucky but because of the remarkable design of the Horsa it just fell apart upon landing. Within ten minutes of being down on the ground we were picked up because we were in the middle of a gun emplacement.
I became a Prisoner of War and unfortunately I never saw the other pilot or any of the other chaps ever again. I was taken to a POW Camp, which I think must have been some sort of holding camp, that was just across the Rhine. I remember the number of the Camp was 12A and I think it was in Limburg [Stalag 12A was one of Germany's largest prisoner of war camps located in Limburg, Germany]. We were in that Camp for about 36 hours and it came to night when we were put into the infamous cattle trucks and away we went by train. We went to Cologne initially and that was an incredible sight, it was a bright moonlit night – awe-inspiring. From there we were moved off again, we were attacked during the journey by a couple of RAF Typhoons, they hit the engine but we were lucky especially because they left us locked in the vans. We finally ended up in Southern Germany and I was placed in Stalag 4B, which was in a place called Mulhberg. I spent the rest of the war there, eight months in total.
I was very fortunate in those days because I was a fully-qualified accordionist so I was able to keep myself and others entertained in the Camp by playing a secondhand instrument. I used to go between the Huts in the Camp during the night and play in as many as I could for the payment of a cup of tea. You know the famous scenes in the ‘Great Escape’ where there’s loads of search lights and you see a man trying to dodge them all to get to the next Hut – that was what I was doing but with an accordion! The food was very basic of course - for Breakfast you got a vat of dirty boiled potatoes with no salt and if supply was good a German loaf made from black flour between four people or sometimes eight people. The outside of the loaf was covered in mould, they were designed to have a shelf life of 9 months so you would cut off all the mould to find the edible part of the bread in the middle. At tea-time you would get another vat with a different root vegetable in it such as carrots or parsnip, sometimes they would put in an Oxo cube to add a little flavour. Despite the poor food being in the Camp wasn’t all that bad and there was no ill-treatment because I think the Germans knew the War was coming to an end. Another memory from the Camp was my 21st Birthday. Myself and three friends, who were all non-smokers and of course cigarettes were currency in the Prison Camps, decided to go to the Prison Market and buy a block of chocolate. We went to the Market and bought a small tin of John West, Red Salmon and a 2oz block of Cadbury’s Chocolate which in those days contained eight squares. When we opened the tin of Salmon a collection of stones dropped out – it had been doctored by one of the Russians on the Market! It was shortly after my Birthday that we discovered we were free – we had been relieved by a Russian Horse Drawn Cavalry! Most of the Germans had left, all except five who were found strung-up outside the Camp.
The four of us moved on from the Camp to a small town called Riesa. We spent about 4-5 days in a house there surrounded by plenty of food. We realized we couldn’t stay there forever and knew we had to get out so we starting walking towards the River Elbe where we came across a Russian Guard who was in his 60’s! We knew that the four of us could handle him so we went back to the house to collect our belongings and devise a plan. Two Russians came barging in and asked for our radios which we happily gave them and in return we ended up purchasing a very old Mercedes from them for 10 cigarettes! We eventually came to where some American’s were stationed but we were told we couldn’t be flown out because they had finished flying troops home the day before! Fortunately the American Commander gave us a Jeep and told us to drive to Hanau and we could be flown home from there. We flew in a Dakota from there to Bruges and from Bruges we came back in a Lancaster. The strangest thing of all though was the pilot who towed us over was the pilot who brought us home and his response to us was ‘you took your flaming time’.
We were towed across the Channel at about 2,500 feet by a Halifax and we discovered there was a thick screen of fog which we had been told wouldn’t be there. You then had the situation where some pilots were trying to fly above it, some below it – needless to say it got quite interesting. We managed to hit the Dutch coast without any problems and expected shrapnel to start coming up at us, which it did of course but eventually a shell hit the tow rope and that was that! So we said ‘Well, that’s made a mess of it’ or words to that effect and instantly adrenaline started to kick in and we knew we had to get out of the stream so we took the nose down and turned 180º. It took both of us (the pilots) to pull the Horsa out, we were going that fast with the heavy load and you could just see the guns starting to move forward towards the cockpit. We both managed to eventually pull the glider out of the stream and we were not much more above tree-top height and heading back towards home. We thought we were out of trouble but whilst travelling in a straight line the glider all of a sudden pulled down towards the ground! We were doing about 130mph when we hit the deck! The Nose Wheel had gone through the roof but we all got out without a scratch and the dog was running around asking ‘what’s next’?! We were all very lucky but because of the remarkable design of the Horsa it just fell apart upon landing. Within ten minutes of being down on the ground we were picked up because we were in the middle of a gun emplacement.
I became a Prisoner of War and unfortunately I never saw the other pilot or any of the other chaps ever again. I was taken to a POW Camp, which I think must have been some sort of holding camp, that was just across the Rhine. I remember the number of the Camp was 12A and I think it was in Limburg [Stalag 12A was one of Germany's largest prisoner of war camps located in Limburg, Germany]. We were in that Camp for about 36 hours and it came to night when we were put into the infamous cattle trucks and away we went by train. We went to Cologne initially and that was an incredible sight, it was a bright moonlit night – awe-inspiring. From there we were moved off again, we were attacked during the journey by a couple of RAF Typhoons, they hit the engine but we were lucky especially because they left us locked in the vans. We finally ended up in Southern Germany and I was placed in Stalag 4B, which was in a place called Mulhberg. I spent the rest of the war there, eight months in total.
I was very fortunate in those days because I was a fully-qualified accordionist so I was able to keep myself and others entertained in the Camp by playing a secondhand instrument. I used to go between the Huts in the Camp during the night and play in as many as I could for the payment of a cup of tea. You know the famous scenes in the ‘Great Escape’ where there’s loads of search lights and you see a man trying to dodge them all to get to the next Hut – that was what I was doing but with an accordion! The food was very basic of course - for Breakfast you got a vat of dirty boiled potatoes with no salt and if supply was good a German loaf made from black flour between four people or sometimes eight people. The outside of the loaf was covered in mould, they were designed to have a shelf life of 9 months so you would cut off all the mould to find the edible part of the bread in the middle. At tea-time you would get another vat with a different root vegetable in it such as carrots or parsnip, sometimes they would put in an Oxo cube to add a little flavour. Despite the poor food being in the Camp wasn’t all that bad and there was no ill-treatment because I think the Germans knew the War was coming to an end. Another memory from the Camp was my 21st Birthday. Myself and three friends, who were all non-smokers and of course cigarettes were currency in the Prison Camps, decided to go to the Prison Market and buy a block of chocolate. We went to the Market and bought a small tin of John West, Red Salmon and a 2oz block of Cadbury’s Chocolate which in those days contained eight squares. When we opened the tin of Salmon a collection of stones dropped out – it had been doctored by one of the Russians on the Market! It was shortly after my Birthday that we discovered we were free – we had been relieved by a Russian Horse Drawn Cavalry! Most of the Germans had left, all except five who were found strung-up outside the Camp.
The four of us moved on from the Camp to a small town called Riesa. We spent about 4-5 days in a house there surrounded by plenty of food. We realized we couldn’t stay there forever and knew we had to get out so we starting walking towards the River Elbe where we came across a Russian Guard who was in his 60’s! We knew that the four of us could handle him so we went back to the house to collect our belongings and devise a plan. Two Russians came barging in and asked for our radios which we happily gave them and in return we ended up purchasing a very old Mercedes from them for 10 cigarettes! We eventually came to where some American’s were stationed but we were told we couldn’t be flown out because they had finished flying troops home the day before! Fortunately the American Commander gave us a Jeep and told us to drive to Hanau and we could be flown home from there. We flew in a Dakota from there to Bruges and from Bruges we came back in a Lancaster. The strangest thing of all though was the pilot who towed us over was the pilot who brought us home and his response to us was ‘you took your flaming time’.