Unwanted Hero: The Flying Career of Squadron Leader Donald Barnard DFC 1937-1955 Read online

  UNWANTED HERO

  UNWANTED HERO

  THE FLYING CAREER OF SQUADRON LEADER

  DONALD BARNARD DFCDFCDFC, 1937-1955

  COLIN PATEMAN & OLIVER CLUTTON-BROCK

  To the memory of a brave man who did his duty as he saw it, and to all those who helped and supported him along the way.

  Fonthill Media Limited

  Fonthill Media LLC

  www.fonthillmedia.com

  [email protected]

  First published 2012

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Copyright © Colin Pateman and Oliver Clutton-Brock 2012

  ISBN 978-1-78155-079-3 (PRINT)

  ISBN 978-1-78155-162-2 (e-BOOK)

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from Fonthill Media Limited

  Typeset in 9.5pt on 13pt Sabon.

  Printed and bound in England

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  CONTENTS

  Foreword

  Acknowledgements

  Preface

  1. Early Days

  2. Diary – Part 1: Shot Down; In Northern France

  3. Diary – Part 2: To Marseille, and the South of France

  4. Diary – Part 3: Departure for the Pyrenees, Spain, and the UK

  5. The Fillerin Family – The PAT/PAO Line – The Crew

  6. RAF, 1943-46

  7. Civilian Flying, 1946-55

  Appendices

  I. The Message Attached to the Pigeon at Renty

  II. Convoy MKF7, Gibraltar–Gourock, 20-25 January 1943

  III. East Dakota Losses, June-October 1945

  IV. Aircraft Types (and Engines) Flown by Donald Barnard

  V. The Medals of Squadron Leader Donald Barnard DFC

  Endnotes

  Bibliography

  Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.

  Sir Winston Churchill

  FOREWORD

  Air Commodore G. R. Pitchfork MBE, BA, FRAeS

  In the language of modern society and instant headlines, laced with the overuse of superlatives and exaggerated accolades, the word fortitude is rarely used, yet it captures the qualities of many people in this book, not least the main character, the Unwanted Hero, Donald Barnard.

  In a number of respects he was typical of those I describe as ‘the Many’, whose exploits and courageous service rarely receive recognition. Yet, by any standards, his wartime career was remarkable but would have gone untold had the authors not brought him to public attention.

  In any one of four very different elements, his service is worthy of recording. He survived almost two tours as a bomber pilot operating over Germany, and the authors remind us of the tragic losses suffered by Bomber Command. It is ironic that their sacrifice has only just been recognised, with the commemoration of the Bomber Command Memorial in London, in the year this book is being published. Donald Barnard was shot down and evaded capture, he went on to test over 1,000 Spitfires and by the end of the war he was flying dangerous missions over the inhospitable jungles of Burma. All required courage and fortitude, but none more so than during the events that followed his being shot down and his return to freedom.

  In reading of his successful evasion in detail, we are alerted to the courage, endurance, and resolve of others – those who helped him. I am sure the authors would be the first to agree with me that I should highlight the unbelievable courage of the ‘helpers’, those ordinary but gallant people in enemy-occupied territories who saw it as their duty to help Allied airmen, knowing that they could, if discovered, pay the ultimate price for their actions, as so many did. The courageous deeds of all the remarkable aircrew who evaded capture and their equally remarkable helpers should live for ever and be an inspiration to future generations. Thanks to books such as this one, they will be remembered.

  Few people survived the Second World War after such a sustained period of operational flying over such a long period of time. That Donald Barnard did so is testimony not only to his skill and courage but also to his resourcefulness and fortitude.

  Graham Pitchfork

  Gloucestershire

  ‘Our First Reply’: On 4 September 1939, fourteen Wellington aircraft from Nos 9 and 149 Squadrons attacked the entrance to the Kiel Canal at Brunsbüttel, the first bombing raid of the war. Two of the aircraft of No. 9 Squadron, L4268 and L4275, were lost with all crew members, the first aircraft to be shot down on the western front.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Our special thanks go to Ralph Forster, the sole surviving member of Donald Barnard’s crew; his daughter and son-in-law, Alethea and Russell Wheeler; Geoff and John Buckell, sons of Albert Buckell; Patricia Glensor; and Richard Oliver, Donald’s nephew. The family members of Donald and his crew have contributed greatly by sharing a wealth of personal information and photographic images with the authors.

  We are also most grateful to Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork for kindly agreeing to write the Foreword to this book, and to the following, who generously assisted us in the compilation of Donald’s story: Rosemary Agnew; William Barons (RAF retired); Bruce Bollinger (USA); David C. Boughton; Ted ‘The Lad’ Cachart; Bill Chorley; John Clinch; Philippe Connart (Belgium); Sebastian Cox, Head of Air Historical Branch (RAF); Ron Cuskelly (Australia); Agnes Fillerin (France); Philippe Goldstein (France); Jimmy and Isabella Jackson, and Ken Jackson (re 2 CAACU and personal photographs); Keith Janes; Joss Leclercq (France); Diana Morgan; Edouard Reniere (Belgium); Rog Stanton; Robin A. Walker.

  The authors also wish to acknowledge the extraordinary photographs of Monsieur Lenglet, who processed the German Luftwaffe officers’ camera film in 1942.

  And, finally, our thanks to Squadron Leader Chris Golds AFC, RAF (retired) for allowing his painting ‘Our First Reply’ to be reproduced on the cover of Unwanted Hero. The Wellington depicted in the painting represents the identical type of aircraft flown by Donald Barnard on No. 99 Squadron in 1939.

  Wanted Poster with Geneviève Fillerin, Sergeant Forster, Pilot officer Glensor, Squadron Leader Barnard, Monique Fillerin and Madam Fillerin, October 1942.

  PREFACE

  Several stories have been told of RAF evaders and the daily determined battles they fought to seek freedom from enemy-occupied territory.

  This book has been co-written with Oliver Clutton-Brock to ensure that one such story is told. Having researched evaders and RAF personnel for many years, I was fortunate to acquire documentation and memorabilia of the late Squadron Leader Donald Barnard DFC at an auction in 2004. One of the items secured was a large-format diary written in pencil by Donald of his escape from enemy-occupied France, a story that is both personal and unique in content. It details the courageous efforts of the clandestine escape line that aided his escape. There can never be too many stories told that pay tribute to the selfless individuals who worked for these escape lines, especially the Fillerin family, who first looked after Donald. Norbert Fillerin, his wife, and three children placed themselves at risk, as did thousands of others, of paying the ultimate sacrifice. By the time that Donald had made contact with them in September 1942, thirteen other soldiers and airmen had already been sheltered at their home.

  A unique item saved from Donald’s 1942 evasion was an original ‘Wanted’ poster, produced and published by the Germans during the search for the crew from Donald’s crashed aircraft. This poster had been procured by one of the Fillerin family, who put it up in their garden shed. With resolute defiance of the Germans, they then photographed themselves, Donald, and two of his crew in front of the poster while the frantic search for the British airmen continued. Donald took the poster with him on his long journey to freedom and, although aged, it remains intact to this day.

  Oliver was invaluable in providing his expertise and knowledge, having recently (2009) published his book RAF Evaders, in which Squadron Leader Donald Barnard’s evasion is mentioned, and to whom, therefore, some of Donald’s story was well known.

  What was not generally known was the fact that Donald, who had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1942, was to be dismissed from the RAF after a general court martial in 1946. The reader will, I hope, be inspired by the facts and circumstances surrounding that court hearing process.

  Colin Pateman

  Sussex

  2012

  Wanted poster identifying Barnard’s crew.

  When Colin asked me if I would be interested in helping him put together the story of Squadron Leader Donald Barnard I had no hesitation in agreeing. As Colin says, I was already familiar with some of the story of his evasion and of two of his crew, but here was the chance to get the fuller picture.

  Alas, Donald died in 1997. Despite the fact that he appears to have written few lette
rs throughout his life and, apart from the account of his 1942 evasion, seems to have made no written record of his exciting and interesting flying career, we have, undeterred, put together as much of his history as we can. And so, with the addition of some personal memories, I believe that the story that we have been able to uncover is well worth the telling.

  Oliver Clutton-Brock

  Wiltshire

  February 2012

  IX Squadron Mk1 Wellington bombers, of the type flown by Donald Barnard on operations from August 1940 to January 1941. Note the squadron crest below the cockpit window.

  CHAPTER 1

  EARLY DAYS

  Childhood in St Lucia, British West Indies

  Set in the Caribbean Sea, between 12 and 16 degrees North and between 60 and 62 degrees West, are the three former British colonies of St Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, that together make up the Windward Islands, themselves part of the group of islands called the Lesser Antilles.1 Apart from Trinidad, Tobago, and Barbados, they are the furthest east and furthest south of the Caribbean Islands.

  The largest of the Windwards, and considered to be the most picturesque of the group, is St Lucia.2 The island is mountainous – its highest point, Mount Gimie, is 3,145 feet above sea level – and is largely covered with forests and tropical vegetation. Its principal exports sixty years ago and more were sugar, limes (and their oil), coconuts, copra, cocoa, charcoal, bananas and other fruit, bay rum, syrup, and molasses.

  Capital of the island, in the north, is Port Castries (population 24,118 in 1943). At the opposite end of the island to Castries lies the town of Choiseul. It was here that the Barnard family lived, vastly rich plantation owners, and where Donald Beausire Barnard was born in 1918. His middle name, unmistakably French, was taken from the surname of his great-grandfather, a French nobleman from Alsace. Given the turbulent history of St Lucia this is not altogether surprising, for the island was fought over many times by soldiers and sailors of Britain and France. Though Spanish explorers were the first foreigners to land on the island, at the end of the fifteenth century, it was the French who were the first to colonise it, which they did in the seventeenth century, naming it after Saint Lucy of Syracuse. Keen to get their hands on the riches of the Caribbean, the British seized control of the island between 1663 and 1667, and over the years they were at war with the French no fewer than fourteen times until, in 1814, the British took control of St Lucia once and for all.

  The French, however, were the first to create sugar cane plantations, and there was a ready supply of labour in the local population, the Caribs. But, maltreated and overworked by their white masters, and with their bodies unable to fight European diseases such as smallpox and measles, they died all too easily. To replace the indigenous Caribs, therefore, the whites brought over, in the most inhumane and shameful conditions, thousands of African slaves to work in appalling circumstances on the plantations. The result of this forced influx was that by the middle of the nineteenth century those of African origin outnumbered the Caribs.3 Though the whites, predominantly the British, continued to wield power on the island, the influence of the French never completely disappeared, and today, despite English being the official language, an Antillean Creole based on the French language is spoken by four-fifths of the population. It was with this heritage, therefore, that the Barnards flourished on St Lucia. Despite owing allegiance to the British monarchy, the Barnards, as mixed race, self-made entrepreneurs, were first and foremost British West Indians, and Donald, though he was later schooled in England and was to spend much of his later life there, never considered himself to be English or British.

  The Barnard family home in St Lucia. (Richard Oliver)

  The Barnard family was long-established in the British West Indies by the time of Donald’s arrival. Research by Donald’s nephew Richard Oliver shows that they were already settled in the Caribbean in the eighteenth century, and that Donald’s great-grandfather Samuel, born in Antigua, is believed to have been a free coloured born about 1797. He migrated to St Lucia as a teacher around the middle of nineteenth century with his son, also Samuel, who was born in Antigua on about 6 June 1832. On 16 December 1862, the younger Samuel married Isabella Parker in St Lucia, and had seven children (six boys, one girl). She was the granddaughter of Joseph-Gabriel de Beausire and a coloured woman, and, it is said, of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker (1739-1807) and Elizabeth, a coloured woman from Martinique, who was reputed to be exceptionally beautiful.

  Florence Barnard 1881-1954. (Richard Oliver)

  George Barnard 1869-1952. (Richard Oliver)

  Donald with his mother and two sisters, c. 1930. (Richard Oliver)

  Their fourth child, George Ernest Beausire Barnard, was born on about 12 October 1869 at Choiseul, St Lucia, and on 7 June 1905, when living at Park Estate, St Lucia, he married Florence Winifred Hendy, in St Andrew’s Church, Fulham, London.4 Details of the ceremony were published on 24 June 1905 in ‘The Weddings of the Week’ column of The Gentlewoman:

  The officiating clergyman was the Revd C. S. Staples. The service was fully choral and the church tastefully decorated with flowers and palms. The bride, who was given away by her uncle (Mr. James), wore a robe of soft white satin with chiffon tucks, and a court train with chiffon and orange blossom. She wore a net veil over a coronet of orange blossom, and carried a shower bouquet of exotics, which, with a diamond and sapphire ring, was the gift of the bridegroom …

  … The bridegroom was supported by his brother, Mr. H. W. Barnard, as best man. After the ceremony a reception was held at 22, Gloucester Walk, Campden Hill, W., by the bride’s aunt, Mrs. Arthur Stopford, and later in the day the bride and bridegroom left for Devonshire for their honeymoon.

  Donald Barnard with two of his sisters St Lucia, c. 1930. (Richard Oliver)

  George and Florence also had seven children, three girls and four boys, Donald Beausire Barnard being their youngest. He was born on 21 October 1918 at the end of the Great War into the privileged, ruling classes of St Lucia.

  When Donald was born, his father was already approaching fifty years of age and his mother was in her late thirties. Donald grew up as a bit of a ‘savage’, as apparently did other siblings, and, with little incentive for him to seek proper and formal education, the young boy eschewed the classroom for a wilder and more interesting outdoor life.

  This is not to say that his parents were negligent towards his education. Whatever this might have been in St Lucia, he was sent to England in 1929, where he attended Pinewood Preparatory School in Farnborough, Hampshire, though given his background in the West Indies it was not easy for him to fit into the education system. Little enough is known of Donald’s time at Pinewood, but in 1933 he went not far away to Cranleigh School in Surrey. A prestigious public school, though with a relatively short history, Cranleigh had opened in 1865 as ‘the Surrey County School for parents of the middle class or moderate incomes’. By the time that Donald arrived, the school accommodated some 300 pupils boarding in six houses.5

  Acting as Donald’s guardian in loco parentis during his time at Pinewood was one of the school’s masters, Mr C. A. Ranger, but at Cranleigh this role was assumed by his eldest sister, Naomi Isabel (known as ‘Nibs’), who was a good twelve years older than him. Having come over to England, Nibs had married George Davern in the spring of 1934 at Steyning in Sussex, though during Donald’s time at Cranleigh she is noted as living at Chard, near Yeovil, in Somerset.

  At Cranleigh, though not academically brilliant in any way, Donald rose in time to become House Prefect of East House, and played rugby for the school in the 1936 and 1937 seasons, gaining his 1st XV colours. He also played 2nd XI cricket, and boxed for the school from 1934 to 1937, becoming captain in his last year. Cranleigh School also had a long-standing association with the Officers’ Training Corps (OTC). Set up prior to the First World War, the OTC became established in universities and public schools across the country, its aim being to prepare schoolboys for the basic skills and discipline required in military service. Cadets, as students in the OTC were known, attended Corps camps and wore the dress of military life. Donald experienced all the skills of shooting, drill, and military bearing during his Cranleigh School OTC service between 1934 and 1937. In his last year he passed the OTC exam Certificate A, Part 1. Had he decided to join the Officer Cadet Reserve on leaving school he would have had to have been ‘between the ages of 18 and 31, must have ceased to attend a Public or Secondary School, and must hold Certificate A or B of the Officers’ Training Corps’.6