On the night of 5th/6th June 1944, the
residents and staff of the Château were aware that an invasion was
taking place soon after the first wave of aircraft crossed the coast
of Normandy. The aircraft were flying at a much lower altitude that
they usually witnessed. Also on the Château estate at this time
was a German military unit charged with looking after their regiment's
horses in the stables at the Château. They had been making use of the
facilities for several months. The German soldiers did not live in the
Château, but camped in slit trenches and tents near to the stables.
They had use of one of the servant's quarters as their kitchen. The
remaining estate servants either lived in the Château itself or in
estate cottages.
In the early hours of D-day, the Château de
Grangues park and neighbouring fields were hit by 6 crashing British
aircraft. Two Stirlings, 3 Horsa Gliders which were identifiable and a
4th Horsa which had no chalk mark but bore the aircraft makers number
B&P728. Two of the Horsas landed on top of mature fir
tree woods. This accounts for the high injury statistics from
shattered leg bones. Weighed down with kit, many of the troops had
fallen or dropped to the ground from the tree canopy. At least one
unfortunate casualty had become entangled in branches and was not
recovered for some time. His remains were intered in the Château
grounds as 'unidentified'.
The eye-witness accounts of
events after the crashes can be read from the Grangues Index page.
(CLICK)
This page will explain which aircraft fell in which
location, and the names of those known to have been onboard. It
is incomplete. Hopefully more details can be added after further
research. An inquiry report states 50 of the air crew and
passengers were killed on impact, at least 38 were injured and
evacuated to a German Army Hospital, [one from EF2915-J the rest from
Gliders] and 8 were shot at about 6am on 6th June 1944.
The first to crash was Stirling
EJ116-U:
(This illustration is based
on a 1945 plan of the lanes and
fields.)
It came
down in a field south west of Denouville Farm. Between the farm and
the D49A road. The plane had taken off from 620 Squadron at RAF
Fairford, heading from drop zone 'N', there were no survivors of that
crash. Because the cargo it carried was full of explosives, and the
plane had been been ablaze detonating the shells and bullets and other
explosives on board, the crash site was deemed too dangerous for any
locals to get near, to recover the bodies. It was many months
before the Red Cross could be pursuaded by the Comte at the Château,
to arrange a military team to come to the site to make it safe and the
deceased were removed and buried in the smaller grave A.2 on the plan
in September of 1944. Given the length of time that had lapsed since
the crash, all the human remains from this grave were transported to
Ranville War Cemetery after March 1945 and interred in a collective
grave VIA-1 to 25 at Ranville War Cemetery. The man who
buried them initially in the Château grounds in September claimed in
the Inquiry he had buried 18 bodies from this aircraft and he was
adament it was a bi-motor plane. (Twin engined -which would indicate
an Albemarle or Dakota type aircraft) Those who perished in this
crash and whose remains are interred in the collective grave at
Ranville are as follows:
Air Crew Stirling
EJ116-U
NAME
SERVICE
No.
OCCUPATION
UNIT
Pilot Officer
Albert Hamilton
Barton
1348797
/ 176884
Pilot
Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserves
Flight Serjeant
Henry Mark
Bettiner
1550834
Navigator
Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserves
Serjeant
Geoffrey Crosse
1894261
Flight Engineer
Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserves
Serjeant
Donald Reid
1473068
Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserves
Serjeant
John Gillies
Smith
1059520
Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserves
Serjeant
William Eric
Wallis
1439755
Wireless
Operator / Gunner
Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserves
Passengers EJ116-U
Lieutenant
Raymond Charles
Belcher
258144
Paratrooper
Reconnaisance Corps , Royal Armoured Corps
Trooper
Michael Percy
Done
7947393
Paratrooper
Reconnaisance Corps , Royal Armoured Corps
Corporal
Peter Thomas
Earwicker
420192
Paratrooper
Reconnaisance Corps , Royal Armoured Corps
Trooper
George Wilson
Lamont
7903897
Paratrooper
Reconnaisance Corps , Royal Armoured Corps
Trooper
Arthur Harry
Wilson
7961412
Paratrooper
Reconnaisance Corps , Royal Armoured Corps
Craftsman
George William
Hunt
4470319
Paratrooper
Royal
Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Private
Geoffrey Copson
14405006
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Private
Reginald Albert
Edward Francis
6354955
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Private
Vincent Patrick
Cole Frost
14420431
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Lance Corporal
John Gascoigne
4343281
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Colout Serjeant Major
John Edward
Philip Hutchings
5674216
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Corporal
Alfred Ronald
Kemp
5676360
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Corporal
George Henry
Leamer
5675357
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Lance Corporal
Robert Laurence
Mitchell
3066484
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Private
Walter Scott
3251811
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Private
Denis Shutt
14218485
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Private
Robert William
Stobbart
2026577
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Lance Corporal
Robert Twist
3244791
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
Corporal
Albert Van-Rynen
5676770
Paratrooper
7th Light
Infantry Parachute Battalion
The 2nd Aircraft down was Stirling
EF295-J
Like the previous aircraft it
too came from RAF Fairford 620 Squadron. It crashed in a triangular
shaped field, two fields north of the previous crash site. With the
D27 road on the north of the field and the link road to D49A road
running down the western side. Not that far from La Forge Ancienne or
The Old Forge. The aircraft had been hit by flak as it crossed the
Normandy coast, and a piece of flak caught and ignited some of the
explosives being carried by the 591 Antrim Parachute
Squadron Engineers. The fire was quick to take hold, and it
became a race to evacuate the burning plane before it came down. Five
jumped, the first four survived the jump though three were later
captured and held POW till the end of the war. Major PA Wood,
Lieutenant AB Oliveira and Sapper CM Bartlett. The
last to Jump was Sapper Albert E Austin,
he was last seen falling with his parachute aflame. His body was
recovered and is interred in Bayeaux War Cemetery. Driver F Jacklin landed
safely and then spent several weeks evading capture as he made his way
back to rejoin the squadron. Four of the air crew perished in the
crash and are interred in a collective grave at Ranville VA.D.3-8
along with Sapper JJ Evans and
Sapper J R Youell, both
of whom also died in the crash. Two aircrew were injured and taken
POW, 10 passengers were taken POW either uninjured or superficially
injured. Of the 10 passenger survivors, 1 Officer Lieutenant J
Shinner from Head Quarters Royal Engineers was taken away for
interrogation and his colleague Sapper P Guard, a clerk with the HQRE
was held prisoner, and with 6 other members of 591 Parachute
Squadron, and a Glider Pilot from one of the Horsas, were
executed at approximately 6 am by the German Soldier in charge of the
unit based at the Château. One survivor who was seriously injured
and received medical aid Sapper CT Law, he was
evacuated to a German Hospital at Pont-l'Évêque and remained
a POW till the end of the war, Lance Corporal J Reardon-Parker died from his crash injuries on 7th June 1944 and was
interred in the large grave A1 at the Château.
The man who buried the seven deceased from this crash, stated in
the Grangues Inquiry that the bodies were interred in a 3rd collective
grave on the 11th June 1944 in the grounds of the Park. It is not
identified on the plans used in the Inquiry and it is not possible to
identify where this 3rd grave site was, likely somewhere beyond
grave A2 heading away from the Château itself.
Of the following 4 aircraft, all were Horsa
Gliders, three crashed and one landed.
Horsa Aircraft Numbers: LM 467, LM 475 and LM 494
plus 4th glider B&P478 (the maker's mark.) It is not known
which order they came down, other than they all hit the estate grounds
after the two motorised aircraft.
A. Horsa (Chalk No.
74) crashed: From RAF Harwell towed by Tug Aircraft flown by Pilot
Officer Peel 295 Squadron.
Pilot Serjeant Barry Powell (5184835) was killed
in the crash, the other pilot Staff Serjeant Duncan Frank Wright
(1509818) was taken prisoner and locked in the stables with the
survivors from 591 Parachute Squadron who had been on board Stirling
EF295-J. He was shot with them in the early hours of 6th June and
buried in their mass grave A1 lower level, by the Germans on 6th June
1944. Serjeant Barry Powell and two other casualties of this
glider crash were buried on the 9th June 1944 in grave A1 upper level.
This is likely to be the glider that crashed behind the
Chateau on top of trees.
Air Crew Horsa CN74 (3rd
Wave)
NAME
SERVICE
No.
OCCUPATION
UNIT
Staff Serjeant
Duncan Frank
Wright
15090818- POW
shot
Glider Pilot
Glider Pilot
Regiment
Serjeant
Barry Powell
5184835- killed in crash
Glider Pilot
Glider Pilot
Regiment
Captain
John Hornsby
Max
137383-
killed in crash
Airlanding
Head Quarters
Royal Engineers
Lance Corporal
W.D. Ainsley
2657749- Held
POW
./.
Royal
Signals (Stalag IV-B / POW No.80955)
Signalman
Howarth
Held
POW
./.
Royal
Signals?
Serjeant Major
F.W. Martin
6153792- Held
POW
./.
Royal Signals (Stalag Luft
III /POW No.80975)
Corporal
A.T
MacDonald
3305725-Held
POW
./.
Royal
Signals
Lance Corporal
Sydney Ellis
S/14563271- Held
POW
./.
Royal Army
Service Corps (Stalag IV-B/ POW No.80922)
./.
./.
./.
./.
Glider Pilot
Regiment
B. Horsa Glider (Chalk No.90)
Crashed:From RAF Harwell towed by Tug Aircraft flown
by Pilot Officer Houlgate of 570 Squadron.
Both Aircrew were killed in the crash. This crash
is located closest to the Château. 8 onboard this aircraft were
buried on the evening of the 7th June 1944 in the grave A1. Lieutenant
Shinner claims that his local enquiries revealed there were no
survivors of this crash, the glider having landed on top of dense
woodland.
Air Crew Horsa
CN90 (3rd Wave)
NAME
SERVICE
No.
OCCUPATION
UNIT
Lieutenant
John Lee Bromley
137319- killed
in crash
Glider Pilot
Glider Pilot
Regiment
Staff Serjeant
Samuel Roy Luff
1462774- killed in crash
Glider Pilot
Glider Pilot
Regiment
Passengers CN90
Captain
Robert Arbuthnot
Hunter
58911- killed in
crash
AirLanding
Royal Artillery,
No.3 Combined Operations Bombardment Unit
Telegraphist
Arthur Frederick
Martin
D/JX453556-
killed in crash
AirLanding
Royal Navy HMS
Mastodon
Telegraphist
Spencer Charles
Porter
C/JX572702-
killed in crash
AirLanding
Head Quarters
Royal Engineers
C. Horsa Glider
Landed: unmarked and unidentified Glider, occupants
unknown- there might have been fatalities, casualties, POWs or
evaders.
D. Horsa Glider Crashed:
occupants unknown
(a reported 37 injured survivors, and may be
more, from the Gliders were transferred to the German Hospital at
Pont-l'Évêque. Those
who survived their injuries were held Prisoners of War.)
The other identified casualties of the Horsa's, which were
interred in the grounds of Château de Grangue and subsequently moved
to Ranville are:
Unknown Horsa
A,B or C
NAME
SERVICE
No.
OCCUPATION
UNIT
Lance Corporal
Wiliam Winfield
4927999- killed in crash
AirLanding
1st Airborne
Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles
Lance Corporal
Sidney Alfred
Davies
7685953- killed in crash
AirLanding
Corps of
Military Police attached to 6th Airborne
Private
Wiliam Piper
S/6403808- killed in crash
AirLanding
Royal Army
Service Corps attached to Head Quarters Royal Engineers
Private
Reginald Charles
John Ventham
97002810 died
7th June
AirLanding
Royal Army
Medical Corps attached to 6th Airborne Division
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