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