Wartime Heritage
ASSOCIATION
Mystery Flight
Royal Air Force Squadron 525
525 RAF Squadron Vickers Warwick C Mark I,
BV247 was one of fourteen Warwick transports
converted for use by British Overseas Airways
Corporation (BOAC) and reverted to the Royal Air
Force in September 1943.
The Squadron operated on routes throughout
Europe and was mainly manned by Canadian personnel.
The usual base of the aircraft BV247 was Asmera in
Ethiopia (now Eritrea) where Squadron 525 also had a
secondary base.
The flight of BV 247, a scheduled service flight
from the United Kingdom to Maison Blance airport,
Algiers, via Gibraltar, began on April 15, 1944.
The point of departure was RAF Transport
Command's main base at RAF Station Lyneham in
Wiltshire.
After a routine air-test, 1680 lbs of freight
was loaded, and in the late afternoon twelve
passengers boarded for the first leg of the flight to RAF
Station St Mawgan, the overseas departure point in
Cornwall.
The aircraft with a crew of four and twelve
passengers departed RAF Station Lyneham in the late
afternoon.
“The routine for overseas flights was that
unarmed transport aircraft would position at St
Mawgan during daylight, and await darkness before
proceeding further - the purpose being to use the
cover of darkness for that part of the journey down
through the Bay of Biscay, and so hopefully avoid
German fighters that ranged out from bases in
occupied France.
1
In the late afternoon of 15 April 1944, Warwick BV 247 arrived at St Mawgan. The scheduled time for take off on the
second leg of the flight (St Mawgan to Gibraltar) was in the early hours of 16 April 1944, but because of adverse weather, the
flight was postponed for 24 hours. The aircraft, with its cargo in locked cargo-holds, was left parked on dispersal at Green Site,
on the St Mawgan Village side of the airfield, guarded by fixed sentries and dog-patrols, whilst crew and passengers went into
transit-accommodation.
The re-scheduled time for the Warwick’s departure was the early hours of 17 April 1944, and it was one of several aircraft
scheduled to leave that night (16/17th April) for such places as Lisbon, Gibraltar, the Azores, Maison Blanche, Malta, Cairo, and
India.
The passengers for BV 247 checked in at the Despatch Office at about midnight and according to the rule for take-offs out
over the sea, were fitted with Mae Wests [life jackets]. Passengers and crew were then bussed across the blacked-out airfield
to Green site, and the Despatch Officer supervised their embarkation and the reloading of their hand-luggage. Then as a final
task, he [the Despatch Officer] handed over to the pilot, Flying Officer Arthur Gavel, two Secret Mail Bags (SM18 and SM19).
The bags had been delivered to St Mawgan Despatch Office late on the afternoon of 16 April 1944, with instructions that they
were for conveyance to Maison Blanche - "by the safe hands of the pilot of Warwick BV 247".
The conveyance of diplomatic, departmental and secret mail bags by the "safe hands of pilots" of transport aircraft had
been agreed between the Foreign Office and the Air Ministry, and although it was not a regular routine it was an occasional
requirement which pilots were conversant with and didn't question.
The pilot of the Warwick expressed his intention of carrying
them up-front in his stowage compartment, and with that the cabin door was closed and the aircraft prepared to leave.
At 0004 hrs. GMT 17 April 1944, Warwick BV 247 (Code DNY-A) was given the 'green' for take-off on St Mawgan's new main
runway - on a heading straight out over the sea. A good lift-off was observed by the airfield controller in the caravan at the 32
end of the runway. The aircraft came unstuck at the intersection of runways 19 and 32. Climb-out was perfectly normal and he
watched until navigation lights were routinely switched off, and then went about his other duties.
Everything was perfectly normal until the Warwick reached a height of approximately 2000 feet, and then at a point
about mile off the coast (still in line with the end of the runway), a Home Guard Sergeant saw an explosion, and the aircraft
going down. He immediately reported what he had seen by wireless.”
1
At day break, a total of fourteen bodies were recovered from the sea immediately below the position where the explosion
had been seen, and plotted, by the Home Guard Sergeant. Missing on the morning of the crash were the Pilot, Arthur Gavel, and
the Second Pilot, Michael Rowe. Their bodies were recovered in the following weeks. The body of Arthur Gavel was recovered on
Whipsiderry Beach on April 25th and the body of Michael Rowe was recovered from the sea off Watergate on May 8th.
A Court of Inquiry was convened within 48 hours but failed to
consider all evidence available. The report concluded that factors
contributing to the incident were “not known”.
The mystery of what happened to the flight of Vickers
Warwick C Mark I, BV247 has lingered for years.
It began, first, as a result of the recovery of bodies and debris
the following morning. “The crews of the rescue boats soon
realized that the Warwick had not been engaged on a routine
transport flight; a body belt recovered from the sea by the
Lifeboat Mechanic was found to contain $69,000 in press packed
$100 bills, sewn into pouches around the belt; a small suitcase
recovered [… ] was found to contain £45,000 brand new £5 Bank of
England notes; and from personal effects recovered from the sea, it was apparent that several of the passengers were agents of
different nationalities.”
Various reports, written in subsequent years, about the flight, indicate that the passengers included two French officers en
route to meet with General Charles De Gaulle in Cairo; two Polish couriers en route to Warsaw; one senior staff officer en route to
Cairo; one Greek expert en route to Greece; one Hungarian/Canadian en route to Hungary on an Special Operations Executive
(SOE) mission, and three SOE officers; and one Russian-speaking MI6 officer en route to Yugoslavia to meet with Tito partisans.
Special Operations Executive was a secret British Second World War organization created in July 1940.
The Home Guard Sergeant the man who had seen the explosion and the aircraft going down into the sea stated years later:
"The atmosphere in the town was electric. It couldn't have been worse if the Germans had landed. There were a few people
around who were thought to be in the know, but if they were they weren't saying anything." (2)
“Every story and every rumour added to the mystery. Just over one week after the crash a Coastguard Officer walking on
the beach at Watergate Bay found bits and pieces of wreckage thought to have come from the Warwick, and among them was a
corner section of a very well made box which had the last three letters of a word marked thereon. The letters were 'ANK', and
it was immediately assumed that the full word was BANK and because of the obvious quality of the box, it must have been from
the Bank of England.
At this stage talk of gold turned to 'bullion', and because it appeared that the aircraft had only just
cleared the cliffs before crashing into the sea, the story got around that it must have gone down like a stone because of the
weight of the bullion on board.” (2)
Eight days after on April 25, 1944, the body of Flying Officer Gavel was found. He had sustained serious injuries, was
wearing items of clothing of a Canadian Flying Officer Pilot and a wrist-watch which had stopped at the time of the crash;
however, the identification disc was missing. The body was taken to the mortuary at RAF St Mawgan and identification fell to the
"Crash Officer". He contacted 525 Squadron Adjutant at Lyneham, and having established that a personal friend and squadron
colleague of Arthur Gavel could identify the wrist watch taken from the body, he arranged for its immediate despatch there by air.
There it was seen and positively identified by Flying Officer Bill Bristow as being that of his best friend, Arthur Gavel, and this was
communicated back to St Mawgan.
All bodies recovered on the morning of April 17, 1944 had injuries consistent with those caused in an air crash; however,
Arthur Gavel had other injuries which indicated “proximity to an explosion” and once the Commanding Officer was informed,
instructions were issued to prevent viewing or discussion.
On April 26, the body of the pilot was removed from RAF St. Mawgan, the Crash Officer being told it was for specialist post-
mortem examination. The personnel assumed that it was because of the injuries caused by an explosion and which had caused the
Station Commander concern.
On April 27, an inquest at Newquay, accepted evidence of a Pathologist, that death was due to drowning and there was no
evidence to show how, when and where the deceased met his death. The body of the pilot was buried with a tombstone inscribed
"Unknown Sailor of the Second World War" in Fairpark Cemetery, Newquay.
World War II ended in 1945, the parents of the pilot, were told the body of their son was never recovered and he would be
commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, England. The Salvage Vessel failed to find the wreckage in 1944, but local
fishermen had trawled their nets for years in Newquay Bay, hoping that one day they will haul up some of the Warwick’s ‘gold’.
The flight of 525 RAF Squadron Warwick C Mark I, BV247 would become known as the “mystery flight” and the plane itself
referred to the “gold plane”.
Chief Inspector Derek Fowkes, one of Cornwall's most respected police officers, served in Newquay from 1970 to 1984 and
became interested in the crash when he was examining wartime records. Because of the location where the unidentified body
was located, he began to think it could be that of the pilot of the downed Warwick BV247, Flying Officer Arthur Gavel. In 1984,
forty years after the crash, Derek Fowkes, in collaboration with Murray W. Gavel of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the brother of
Arthur Gavel, was able to ensure that the body of Arthur Gavel was identified.
Derek Fowkes continued to investigate the unexplained aviation accident, and in 1995 finalized an extensive report on his
discoveries. He interviewed surviving primary and secondary witness; checked all documentary evidence compiled at the time by
those in authority; considered circumstantial evidence and corroborated hearsay evidence; and finally drew inferences from a
series of unexplained coincidences. He concluded the loss of the aircraft was due to sabotage and covered up and not by the
enemy.
Fowkes surmised someone with official authority did not wish one of the passengers on the flight to reach their destination
and that the two mysterious Secret Mail Bags were taken on board the Warwick just prior to take-off, “could have provided the
means whereby an explosive device was inveigled on board and into a position behind the Pilot's seat”.
The Warwick flight is a 'classic deniable accident' by official agencies, and with no clear evidence, it is officially “deniable”.
Flight Crew
Arthur Douglas Gavel
Duty on Flight: Captain
Royal Canadian Air Force
Flying Officer
Service No: J/23107
525 Royal Air Force Squadron
RCAF Flying Officer, Arthur Douglas Gavel, was from Swift Current,
Saskatchewan, in Canada. Arthur was born on February 12, 1921. His parents
were George William Gavel and Vera Bell (Campbell) Gavel. In April of 1944, as
he climbed into the cockpit of his Vickers Warwick I (BV247) he was 23 years old.
He had been assigned to RAF 525 Squadron based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire
UK since February 1944.
Following the crash the bodies of the crew and passengers were recovered, but
the remains Arthur Douglas Gavel were not identified and he was initially buried
in a grave in the Fairpark Cemetery. The headstone, as was the custom for
unidentified bodies recovered from the sea, read:
A Sailor of the Second World War
Merchant Navy
24 April 1944
Known Unto God
Derek Fowkes became interested in the crash when he was examining
wartime records.
Chief Inspector Fowkes, because of the location where the unidentified
body was located began to think it could be that of the pilot of the
downed Vickers Warwick I (BV247). In 1984, forty years after the crash,
Derek Fowkes in collaboration with Murray W. Gavel, a Saskatchewan
wheat farmer, and the brother of Arthur Gavel, were able to finally
identify the body of Arthur Gavel.
Two RAF Officers, Group Captain Tony Balfour of the RAF’s Institute of
Pathology and Tropical Medicine and Group Captain David Chapman-
Andrews, a consultant in oral surgery confirmed the unknown sailor’s
grave was that of pilot, Arthur Douglas Gavel.
In 1988, Flying Officer Arthur Douglas Gavel was re-interred in Plot 687
with full military honours, including a Royal Air Force honour guard. A
new headstone was placed on his grave.
Arthur Gavel had family connections in the Tusket and Richfield areas of
Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia
Age: 23
Cemetery: Newquay (Fairpark) Cemetery, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Grave Reference: 687
Memorial: Listed on Runnymede Memorial (Part V)
Sources:
Remembrance Page - Arthur Douglas Gavel
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Library and Archives Canada
Research by Derek Fowkes
Michael Kingston Rowe
Duty on Flight: 2nd Pilot
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Flight Sergeant (Pilot)
Service No: 1383712
525 Royal Air Force Squadron
Michael Kingston Rowe was the son of Walter Stanley and Dorothy
Florence Rowe, of Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey.
Flight Sergeant Rowe, although not an acknowledged regular crewman,
he had flown previously with Arthur Gavel. Flight Sergeant Rowe was
missing on the morning of the crash; however, his body was recovered
from the sea off Watergate on the May 8, within the general area of the
crash.
Age: 22
Cemetery: Newquay (Fairpark) Cemetery
Sources:
findagrave.com
Research by Derek Fowkes
Albert George Tracey Gardiner
Duty on Flight: Navigator
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Flying Officer (Navigator)
Service No: 134548
525 Royal Air Force Squadron
Born in June 1917 in Dorking, Surrey, England, Albert George Tracey
Gardiner was the son of William T. Gardiner (1889-1951) and Ruth
Mary Greenaway (1889-1951) and brother to Rosemary Muriel Gardiner
(1918-2001) and Evelyn B. Gardiner (1920-1999).
Age: 27
Cemetery: St James Churchyard, Abinger, Surrey, England
Grave Reference: 315
Sources:
findagrave.com
Harold Calven Austen
Duty on Flight: Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Flying Officer
Royal Canadian Air Force
Service No: 134548
525 Royal Air Force Squadron
Born on August 15, 1918 in Oyen, Alberta, Flying Officer Austen was
the son of Henry John Austen (1892–1956) and Mary Alice (Gibson)
Austen (1886–1922) of Oyen, Alberta, Canada. At the age of 22, he
enlisted on May 21, 1941 in Edmonton, Alberta. Prior to his enlistment
he was employed as a mechanic.
Age: 25
Cemetery: Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, England
Grave Reference: 48. H. 1.
Commemorated on Page 240 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance
Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on May 21
Sources:
The Canadian Virtual War Memorial
findagrave.com
Passengers
George Lionel Seymour Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow
Passenger on the flight
Air Commodore
Special Operations Executive (SOE)
Parent Unit: Royal Air Force (Auxiliary Air Force)
600 Squadron RAF
Service No. 90078
Born December 20, 1907, George Lionel Seymour Dawson-Damer,
Viscount Carlow was the son of Lionel Arthur Henry Seymour Dawson-
Damer, 6th Earl of Portarlington and of the Countess Portarlington
(nee Winnifreda Yuill), of Westminster, London, and husband of
Viscountess Carlow (nee Peggy Cambie) of Dunsfold, Surrey. He
married on January 7, 1937.
Various records indicate that RAF Air Commodore George Lionel
Seymour Dawson-Damer, Viscount Carlow was attached to MI9 amd
was en-route to meet with Tito in Yugoslavia.
Age: 36
Cemetery: Golders Green Crematorium, London Borough of Barnet, Greater
London, England
Reference: Panel 1
Sources:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
findagrave.com
Unearthing Churchill's Secret Army (p.256)
Noel Spencer Nicklin
Passenger on the flight
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Flying Officer
Service No: 145574
525 Squadron Royal Air Force
Born on December 19, 1909, Flying Officer Nicklin was the son of Frederick
William (1869–1919) and Selina (Spenser) Nicklin (a866-1953), of Waterloo,
Liverpool, UK ; husband of Norah (Mossman) Nicklin (1914-2001), of
Waterloo, Liverpool, UK.
He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby, and joined the staff of
Westminster Bank at its Liverpool Waterloo branch in December 1926. Over the next 15 years he spent time working in
the bank's branches at Seaforth, Blackburn, Aigburth, Warrington and Lymm. Outside work he was a keen amateur
magician.
In 1941 Noel Nicklin left Lymm branch and enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve attaining the rank of
Flying Officer. In addition to his conventional duties, he used his magic skills to entertain at military hospitals and
camps and organised concert parties for troops.
He was en route to India and a passenger on the flight.
Commemorated on the War Memorial, Westminster Bank, NatWest Stockton Heath branch
Age: 34
Cemetery: Great Crosby (St. Luke) Churchyard, Lancashire, UK
Reference: Section C, Grave 627
Sources:
findagrave.com
Westminister Bank Memorial
George William Lamb
Passenger on the flight
Pilot Officer
Service No: 53922
525 Squadron Royal Air Force
Born August 9, 1916, Pilot Officer Lamb was the son of William Saunders Lamb (d.
1941) and Jeannie Noble (Byth) Lamb (1896-1970) of Hull and husband of Doreen Alice
(Wilson) Lamb (1916-2009), of Hull.
Age: 27
Cemetery: Hull Crematorium
Reference: Screen Wall, Panel 3
Sources:
findagrave.com
Thomas Percival Ward
Passenger on the flight
Major
Service No: 100464
Royal Army Medical Corps
Born in 1908, Thomas Percival Ward was the son of Thomas Ward (1872-1949)
and Alice Josephine Ward (1888-1970) and husband of Dorice Bentley (Gunn)
Ward (1909-1996). He was educated at Cambridge and St. Thomas College. He
obtained degrees: M.A., M.B., B.Ch. (Cantab.). L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S.
He was married on December 10, 1931.
During World War II he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps.
Commemorated at the St. Thomas Hospital, Kings College (London)'s War Memorial.
Age: 35
Cemetery: Brookwood Military Cemetery
Grave Reference: 33A. A. 3.
Sources:
findagrave.com
kingscollections.org
www.cwgc.org
William Godfrey Tilley
On the Flight: Passenger
Squadron Leader
Service No: 45766
525 RAF Squadron
Award: Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Born in Colerne, Wiltshire, England, February 27, 1910 the son of
William Tilley (1872-1952) and Emma Selina (Holder) Tilley (1884-
1966). He was the brother of Jocelyn Richard James Tilley (1921-
2002) and Joyce Marguerite Tilley (1912-1918).
From May 22, 1941 to July 18, 1943, he was with 31 OTU (Operational Training Unit) at Debert, Nova Scotia first with the
rank of Flight Lieutenant, and later as Squadron Leader. During the period he was serving in Canada, he was awarded the
MBE(M) (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) on September 23, 1941.
Age: 34
Cemetery: St John the Baptist Churchyard, Colerne, Wiltshire Unitary Authority, Wiltshire, England
Grave Reference: 126
Sources:
findagrave.com
Stephen Mate (Maitland)
Passenger on the flight
Special Operations Executive (SOE)
Parent Unit: British Army (General List) Special Forces
Lieutenant
Service No: 84000
Stephen Mate was born on August 20, 1911 in Kurd, Tolna, Hungary the son of
Ferenez Mait (1889-1970) and Maria (Horvath) Mait. He was the brother of
Rozalia Mate (Matyasovszky) (1922-2005) and Marie Mate.
Ferenez Mait immigrated to Canada in 1927; his wife and three children
arrived in 1929 when Stephen was age eighteen. The family lived in Ontario.
Stephen enlisted on August 28, 1942 at Port Arthur, Ontario. however, on
October 18, 1943. Fluent in both the English and Hungarian languages he
was accepted for training with British Security Co-ordination (BSC), and was
discharged from the Canadian Army on October 18, 1943. He then began
training at Camp X for service with Special Operations Executive (SOE) a
secret British World War II organisation. The purpose of SOE was to conduct
espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe and South-east
Asia against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements.
Following a three month training Stephen Mate moved to England and was
given a new identity by the SOE as Lt. Stephen Maitland. He joined SOE in
October 1943. He was en-route to Hungary via Brindisi in Italy to Hungary on
an Special Operations Executive (SOE) mission.
Age: 34
Cemetery: Newquay (Fairpark) Cemetery, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Grave Reference: 686.
Sources:
cbc article
findagrave
Ivor Watkins Birts (Listed as Bitts on official document)
Passenger on the flight
Lieutenant Colonel
Special Operations Executive (SOE)
Parent Unit: Royal Artillery
Service Number: 132903
Born January 11, 1910, Ivor Watkins Birts was the son of William Thomas Watkins
Birts (1883–1942) and Lilian Grace (Stephens) Birts and the husband of Marie
Josephine Birts (nee Bain), of Westminster, London. He took a B.A. at Merton
College, Oxford and qualified as a Barrister, but later practiced as a stockbroker.
He married Josephine Bain in 1934 and had two children, Carol and Douglas. On
the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Artillery, serving at Larkhill, Salisbury Plain and South Eastern Command,
Home Forces. He was promoted to Captain in 1941 and Major in 1942.
He was posted to General Head Quarters in Cairo with MO4,
the Middle East and Balkans branch of the Special Operations
Executive (SOE) and subsequently in Eritrea. In November
1943 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel as GSO 1
(General Staff Officer Rank 1) and served with Force 133, a
subsidiary SOE headquarters in Bari, Southern Italy under
Cairo in Egypt, set up to control operations in the Balkans
and Northern Italy and support the Greek and Yugslav
resistance movements. He was en-route to Yugoslavia.
Age:
34
Cemetery:
Newquay (Fairpark) Cemetery, Cornwall, UK
Grave Reference: C. of E. plot. Cons. Grave 685.
Sources:
findagrave.com
cwgc.org
Special Forces Roll Of Honour
Stanley Casson
Passenger on the flight
Lieutenant Colonel
Service Number: 98094 (Listed as 90894 on official document)
British Intelligence Corps
Stanley Cassonwas, born May 7, 1889, was the son of William
Augustus and Kate Elizabeth Casson and husband of Nora Elizabeth
Art scholar and distinguished Army officer, Stanley Casson read
Classical Archaeology at Lincoln College and St. John's College,
Oxford, and was admitted to the British School at Athens.
During the First World War he enlisted in the East Lancashire
Regiment, and as an officer with an infantry regiment in the trenches
of Flanders before becoming part of the British Salonika Force in
1916 and finally serving on the General Staff in 1918. He was
wounded in Flanders in 1915. His war poetry is now in the War
Poetry Collection at Napier University in Edinburgh. He subsequently
served on the General Staff in Greece, Constantinople and Turkestan,
and was mentioned in despatches.
After demobilisation in 1919 Casson returned to academia, becoming
Assistant Director of the British School at Athens, Fellow of New
College, Oxford, and Lecturer in Classical Archaeology. He directed
British Academy excavations in Constantinople in the late Twenties.
During this period he published thirteen books of archaeology, art
history, philosophy and autobiography.
At the outbreak of the Second World War he resumed his Army
career, first in Holland and later returning to Greece as Lieutenant
Colonel in the Intelligence Corps, where he was a liaison officer until
his death, at age 58 years, in a plane crash in 1944 at sea near
Newquay, Cornwall.
Age: 54
Cemetery: Newquay (Fairpark) Cemetery, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Grave Reference: 684
Sources:
cwgc.org
findagrave.com
Edmund J. Gójski
Passenger on the flight
Captain
Polish Army (Polish Courier)
Born July 25, 1907 at Skarżysko-Kamienna, Poland. On the flight, he was
one of two Polish couriers en route to Warsaw.
Age: 36
Cemetery: Brookwood Military Cemetery
Grave Reference: Plot 27 Row C Grave 2.
Sources:
findagrave.com
polishwargraves.nl
Maurice Schwob
Passenger on the flight
M.O.S.F.F. (Free French Government Agent)
Maurice Schwob was born on July 20 1897 in Paris, France, the son Leon and Helena Schwob. He was the husband of
Marjorie (Stralem) Schwob (1901-1995) and father of Anne Marie Stehlin (Schwob) (b.1926 Paris, France) and Diane
Helene (Strong) Schwob (b. 1932 Paris, France). Marjorie (Stralem) Schwob was born in the United States and married
Maurice Schwob on December 10, 1925 in New York.
He was six feet, one inch in height, with a dark complexion, brown hair, and blue eyes.
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, Maurice Schwob was an industrialist and merchant and travelled extensively,
including visits to France, England, Switzerland, China (Shanghai), Canada, and the United States. During World War II
he served as a Free French Government Agent and travelled to the United States, Australia, Canada, and the Pacific.
In 1942 the Free French High Commissioner for the Pacific, Thierry d’Argenlieu, was located in Nouméa, the capital of
the South Pacific overseas French territory, New Caledonia, and Maurice Schwob served as Attaché to the Civilian
Cabinet. In January 28, 1942, he carried a letter of introduction to Washington and the request for assistance
necessary to ensure the defence of the French possessions in the Pacific and met with Summer Welles , a major
foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1936 to 1943.
Maurice Schwob travelled via Australia on the SS President Coolidge, Melbourne, Australia to New York on February 15,
1942, travelling as a Free French, Government Agent.
On April 17, 1944 he was travelling from London to Algiers carrying documents to meet with General De Gaulle in
Algiers.
Age at Death: 46
Burial information: unknown
Sources:
US Office of the Historian
Roger Achille Albert Baudouin, (Baudoin)
Passenger on the flight
Commandant
Free French
Date of birth:
November 6th, 1896
Roger Baudoin, born in 1896, distinguished himself as a young Lieutenant in
World War I and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and
was honoured as a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of
Honor).
After 1918, as a poly technician, he became a specialist in cryptography, and
was recognized worldwide. He was the author of the book Elements of
Cryptography.
On June 13, 1940, he left France to join General de Gaulle in London and worked with MI.6 and the British
Government Communications Headquarters at Bletchley Park with the decoding intelligence services. Roger Baudoin
was promoted to Commander in 1943. He participated in Operation Fortitude the code name for the World War II
military deception employed by the Allies during the build-up to the 1944 Normandy landings, disinformation and
diversionary operations which made the Germans believe that the landing would take place in Pas-de-Calais and not in
Normandy.
As a passenger on the flight he was en route from London to Algiers.
His funeral took place in Westminster Cathedral, attended by Winston Churchill.
At the request of Stéphane Baudoin, his grandson, and members of the family, the elected officials, the Associations of
Veterans and the Prefecture of La Chapelle-Yvon honoured Roger Baudoin, whose parents were married in the town,
when his name was inscribed on the La Chapelle-Yvon War Memorial.
Date of death:
April 17th, 1944
Age at Death:
47
Cemetery:
Brookwood Military Cemetery (French War Graves)
Plot: 29. Row: D. Grave: 14.
Awards:
Croix de Guerre
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
Knight of the Legion of Honor
Sources:
Traces of War
Ouest France
Free French Cemetery
Józef Król
Passenger on the flight
Major
Polish Forces (Senior Chaplain)
Cemetery: Brookwood Military Cemetery, Brookwood, Woking Borough, Surrey, England
Grave Reference: Polish
Sources:
findagrave
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Mystery Flight
Royal Air Force Squadron 525
Sources:
Derek Fowkes (December 1995)
Remembrance Page: Arthur Gavel
BBC2
Notice: This page is currently under revision and ongoing research