69th Anniversary of the Great Escape

On 24 March 1944, 76 men escaped from Stalag Luft III. Six of the escapees were Australian airmen: Flight Lieutenant Tom Leigh, an air gunner from 76 Squadron RAF, Pilot Officer Albert Hake of 72 Squadron RAF, Flying Officer Reginald ‘Rusty’ Kierath and Squadron Leader John ‘Willy’ Williams of 450 Squadron, Flight Lieutenant Paul Royle of 53 Squadron RAF and Squadron Leader James ‘Jimmy’ Catanach DFC of 455 Squadron RAAF.

On 4 September 1942, 144 and 455 squadron has been deployed to Russia as part of Operation Orator, which had been launched to protect convoy PQ18 which was taking vital supplies to Russia. Jimmy Catanach’s Hampden was one of two from 455 Squadron that failed to make it to Vaenga, an aerodrome near Murmansk in Russia.

Jimmy Catanach was piloting Hampden AT109, which experienced a great deal of flak as it crossed the Norwegian coast. He realised they were rapidly losing fuel. Rather than risk the engines cutting out, he took the first opportunity to land. He touched down safely on a strip of heather adjoining a beach near Vardo, in northern Norway. Catanach, his navigator Flying Officer George ‘Bob’ Anderson, wireless operator/upper gunner Flight Sergeant Cecil Cameron, lower rear gunner Sergeant John Hayes and their passenger Flight Sergeant John Davidson, a ground crew fitter, attempted to destroy the Hampden, but they were fired on by soldiers from one direction and a patrol boat from the coast. The five were taken prisoner. Davidson died on a forced march in the last weeks of Germany’s collapse. Anderson, Cameron and Hayes all attempted, unsuccessfully, to escape during their captivity. They survived and were released as the Allies advanced through Europe.

 

Jimmy Catanach was one of the fifty escapees from Stalag Luft III at Sagan who, like Tom Leigh, Albert Hake Rusty Kierath and Willy Williams, was murdered in the post-escape reprisals. Paul Royle was captured, interrogated and returned to Stalag Luft III. He is the oldest living survivor of what is now known as the Great Escape. An brief article about him was published in the Dec 2012/Jan 2013 issue of Air Mail. http://www.raafawa.org.au/images/upload/File/AIRMAIL-DecJan.pdf

This photo is of Jack Davenport, Squadron Leader Jimmy Catanach, Wing Commander Grant Lindeman, 455 Squadron’s commanding officer, Flight Lieutenant Les Oliver, and Squadron Leader Bob Holmes, taken in August 1942, just before the Squadron flew to Russia.