OPERATION FRESHMAN November 19/20 1942
And the involvement of
Ernest Pendlebury (1917 – 1942)
Complied by Tony Dunlop
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Background Ernest Pendlebury was married to my mother’s sister, Marjorie. He was killed in action in the commando raid that was code named FRESHMAN. This happened in November 1942, over four years before I was born. I understand that Ernest was posted missing and it was long after the end of the war before details of his death were revealed. She knew he was killed in Norway in an attack on the German Heavy Water factories and that he was buried in Stavanger but few other details came to light. My aunt married again in the early fifties and had a son David. Whilst reference was made to Ernest it was always in a quite way, as it was from the past, and there was no desire to cause embarrassment. I read an article about the attack so decided then to research the background to this now famous operation. Tony Dunlop – June 2008
Content of this Document x The Story of OPERATION FRESHMAN x The HORSA GLIDERS and the Flight to Norway x The Geography of OPRATION FRESHMAN x What Happened to Ernest Pendlebury x Pictures found on various websites
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The Story of OPERATION FRESHMAN At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, scientists throughout the world were aware that it was theoretically possible to develop a nuclear weapon which would have devastating effect. Heavy water (deuterium oxide) was essential for nuclear research. The only source of heavy water in Europe was the Norsk Hydro factory at Vemork near Rjukan in Telemark and following the occupation of Norway this heavy water was available to German scientists. In 1942 the Allies decided to destroy the heavy water plant at the Norsk Hydro factory to prevent Germany developing a nuclear weapon. Various options for an attack were examined; bombing, use of the Norwegian resistance, use of the Norwegian Kompani Linge or British airborne troops. It was decided to use glider borne troops from the British 1st Airborne Division in a small scale, commando-style operation. The attack would be carried out at night in November 1942 when moonlight and weather conditions were suitable. A small team of 4 Norwegians were dropped by parachute on the Hardangervidda in October 1942 and made their way to mark the landing area which was on frozen marshes to the west of Vemork. This team (known as Operation Grouse) consisted of Jens Anton Poulsson, Arne Kjelstrup Knut Haugland and Claus Helberg. Two Horsa assault gliders would be used for the attack; each glider would carry a section of 15 airborne troops in addition to the 2 pilots. The gliders would be towed to the target area by Halifax 4engined bombers. The 2 attack sections would operate independently to give a greater chance of success. They were to take off 30 minutes apart. When the landing area was in sight, the gliders would be released to make a silent landing. After landing the troops would move rapidly down the road to Vemork and attack the Norsk Hydro factory. After the attack the troops would disperse and attempt to reach Sweden. For the night of 19/20 November 1942 moon conditions were good and the weather in the target area was forecast to be suitable. However, over western Norway there was a lot of cloud. It was decided to proceed with the operation and the aircraft took off from the airfield at Skitten near Wick in Scotland at about 1800 hrs. The 2 tow/glider teams flew separately about 30 minutes apart. Unfortunately the weather in the target area was worse than expected; the aircraft were unable to locate the landing area and Complied by Tony Dunlop
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turned to return to base in Scotland. On this return journey they flew through weather over western Norway and experienced problems with icing. Heavy ice formed on the gliders and the tow cables. When the first Halifax was in the Lysefjord area the tow cable broke and the glider crashed. The Halifax returned to Skitten. In the Lysefjord crash, of the 17 on board the glider, 8 including the 2 pilots were killed in the crash. The 9 survivors were captured by German forces and handed over to the Gestapo. Four were tortured and murdered in Stavanger; their bodies were thrown in sea and never found. The remaining 5 were sent to Grini concentration camp near Oslo where they were executed in January 1943. It is assumed that the second glider had similar icing problems which caused it to crash near Helleland, north of Egersund. In this case it is assumed that the Halifax tow aircraft descended in an attempt to locate the downed glider. Unfortunately in doing so, it flew into a mountain about 5 km away from the glider crash site. All 7 in the Halifax crew were killed. In the Helland glider crash 3 were killed, including the 2 Australian glider pilots, and 14 survived. The 14 survivors were captured by German forces, taken to Slettebø barracks near Egersund where they were executed. The 14 bodies were buried secretly in the sand on the beach at Brusand where they remained hidden until after the war. Those killed in the aircraft crashes were buried in the hills near the aircraft crash sites. As a result of these tragic events Operation Freshman was a complete failure. It was surrounded by great secrecy on both British and German sides and the true account of events did not emerge until after the war. However, the Operation Grouse team survived the winter of 1942/43 on the Hardangervidda and in the spring of 1943 were joined by a further group of Norwegians dropped by parachute in Operation Gunnerside. A famous, successful attack was made by the Gunnerside group in the spring of 1943 which damaged the heavy water plant and stopped production for several months. Following this, a bombing raid was made by US aircraft (176 B-17s and B-24s) in autumn 1943 which failed to stop production but caused significant civilian casualties and damage in Rjukan. Finally, when German forces attempted to move the heavy water plant to Germany by rail, members of the Norwegian resistance made a successful attack and sank the ferry carrying the heavy water and the plant. This whole sequence of events and operations is well known in annals of Norwegian military history and many books have been written and films made (Heroes of Telemark, Fight against the Atom, etc.).
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At the end of the war, on 8th May 1945, the British 1st Airborne Division came to liberate Norway. As part of their work in taking the surrender of German occupying forces, a thorough criminal investigation was carried out into the events of Operation Freshman. It was discovered that in October 1942 Hitler had issued an order that any enemy troops engaged in commando style operations were to be executed, even if they surrendered. The bodies of the 14 executed at Slettebø were found and recovered from the beach at Brusand and buried at Eiganes cemetery in Stavanger. The bodies of the 3 killed in the Helleland glider crash, including the 2 Australian glider pilots, were recovered and buried at Eiganes. The bodies of the 8 killed in the Lysefjord glider crash were recovered and buried at Eiganes. The bodies of the 5 executed at Grini were recovered and buried in Oslo. The bodies of the 4 tortured and murdered in Stavanger were never found. The crew of the Halifax which crashed near Helleland were buried in Helleland cemetery. Several of those involved in the torture, murders and executions were tried by British military courts martial in 1945/46 and some were sentenced to death. Details of the trials can be found on the internet at www.stephen-stratford.co.uk. Many books have been written in both English and Norwegian covering both the disastrous Operation Freshman and the successful Norwegian follow-up operations. The terrible and tragic story of Operation Freshman has been remembered by the Norwegian authorities, especially Rogaland fylke and the kommunes of Egersund, Forsand and Stavanger, and by the local communities in the years since the Second World War. British war graves are cared for and memorials have been built in several locations. Those who lost their lives in Operation Freshman are remembered, together with other casualties of war, in ceremonies on the Norwegian national day on 17th May, and on the British Commonwealth Remembrance Sunday services held in Stavanger in November each year. (Taken from the Luftled Website – report by Wing commander Peter Jevons)
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The HORSA GLIDERS and the Flight to Norway
Horsa Glider HS114 – as used on OPERATION FRESHMAN
Halifax Bomber towing a Horsa Glider On November 19th, 1942, two Halifaxs, towing two Horsa gliders, set off from RAF Skitten, near Wick in Caithness, in Scotland with a target objective in southern Norway. The importance of the objective was such that all risks had to be taken. (The Commandos, code named Washington Party, were 34 specially selected men from the Royal Engineers. Part of their training was carried out at Fort William) This was the first time that British gliders set out to attack the enemy. They were flown, one by Sergeant M. F. C. Strathdee and Sergeant P. Doig of the Glider Pilot Regiment, the other by Pilot Officer Davis and Sergeant Fraser of the Royal Australian Air Force. Each glider carried fifteen sappers, all volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant Methven, G. M. Their task was to destroy the objective, and the difficulties were great. In the first place, the towing of gliders was an art in which the crews had not as yet had much practice. Secondly, the tugs had to be adapted and their engines, having to pull the added weight of the glider behind, developed defects, particularly in the cooling system.
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Fortunately these and other troubles were discovered during the practice tows and were remedied, so that on the night of the operation two Halifaxes were serviceable, though a third held in reserve could not be flown. The greatest difficulty of all was that caused by the distance to be covered, some 400 miles, and the necessity for extremely accurate navigation over the mountainous district in which the objective lay. In every air operation all ultimately depends on the weather, and on this occasion a correct forecast was of vital importance. On the morning of the attempt, thick cloud for most of the way, but clear skies and a good moon over the target area were promised. The two Halifaxes took off at 1800 hours while it was still light and set course for Norway. Almost immediately the intercommunication system connecting the gliders and the tugs broke down. One Halifax kept low, seeking to fly beneath the cloud and then to gain height on nearing the Norwegian coast, where the pilot hoped for clear weather. What happened is not exactly known, but at some moment the tug hit the side of a mountain, crashed, and all its crew were killed. The violence of the shock loosed the glider, which made a very heavy landing close by, killing and injuring several of its occupants. The other Halifax was more fortunate. It flew high and approached the Norwegian coast at 10,000 feet. Here, as promised, the weather cleared, but it was found impossible to locate the landing zone. Though they were the best that could be got, the maps were exceedingly inaccurate, and the necessary pin-point could not therefore be obtained. The whole district was covered with snow which made the identification of objects on the ground even more difficult. The pilot of the Halifax, Squadron Leader A. B. Wilkinson, with his commanding officer, Group Captain T. B. Cooper, DFC, on board, made every effort to find the right spot, until, with petrol running low, he was forced to turn for home. The glider was still at the end of the rope, but on crossing the coast the combination ran into heavy cloud and icing conditions, the air became very bumpy, and the two parted. This glider, too, made land and crashed not very far from the other. (Taken from wikipedia.org – Norwegian Heavy Water Sabotage)
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The Geography of OPERATION FRESHMAN
HS114 Planned flight from Wick to Rjukan in Norway
HS114 Target of Rjukan and
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Crash Site of Helleland
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What happened to Ernest Pendlebury? Ernest was in the Horsha Glider which crashed soon after the towing ‘tug’ Halifax Bomber B for Baker crashed. The crew and passengers were as follows: Name and Rank
Crew Position
Age
Outcome
P/O. Norman Arthur Davies
Pilot, RAAF
28
KIA
P/O. Herbert John Fraser
Co Pilot, RAAF
28
KIA
Name and Rank
Unit
Age
Outcome
Lt. Alex Charles Allen
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
24
EXECUTED
L/Sgt. George Knowles
9th.(Airborne) Field Coy 28
EXECUTED
Spr. Ernest William Bailey
9th.(Airborne) Field Coy 31
EXECUTED
Dvr. John Thomas Vernon Belfield
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
26
EXECUTED
Spr. Howell Bevan
9th.(Airborne) Field Coy 22
EXECUTED
L/Cpl. Frederick William Bray
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
29
EXECUTED
L/Cpl. Alexander Campbell
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
24
EXECUTED
Spr. Thomas William Faulkner
9th.(Airborne) Field Coy 22
EXECUTED
Spr. Charles Henry Grundy
9th.(Airborne) Field Coy 22
EXECUTED
Spr. Herbert J. Legate
9th.(Airborne) Field Coy -
EXECUTED
Dvr. Ernest Pendlebury
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
25
KIA
Spr. Leslie Smallman
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
-
EXECUTED
Spr. James May Stephen
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
-
EXECUTED
Cpl. John George Llewellyn Thomas
261st.(Airborne) Field Coy
23
EXECUTED
Spr. Gerald Stanley Williams
9th.(Airborne) Field Coy 18
EXECUTED
Killed in the crash were the two Australian Pilots and Ernest Pendlebury. There appears to be some confusion as to what happened to Ernest’s body.
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It is reported that the surviving crew buried the bodies on the hillside and they were recovered after the war and moved to the Eiganes Cemetery in Stavanger. It is known that the 14 survivors realised that they had little chance of escaping by making the journey to Sweden. Wearing full British Forces uniforms they surrendered to the local German garrison. Unfortunately on October, barely a month before the raid Hitler had issued a new order for the treatment of commandos and agents. The Fuehrerbefehl On 18th October 1942, Hitler issued the Fuehrerbefehl which accused Germany's opponents of using methods that did not conform to the international agreements of the Geneva Convention. He singled out commandos for special mention, describing their behaviour as 'especially brutal and cunning'. Commandos, he stated, were partly recruited from among hardened criminals in their own countries, and it appeared from captured documents that they were instructed not only to bind prisoners, but also to kill defenceless prisoners out of hand as soon as they believed they could be an obstacle to their purpose. Orders had been found in which the killing of prisoners had been demanded on principle. The crux of Hitler's order was this: From now on all opponents brought to battle by German troops in so-called Commando operations in Europe or in Africa, even when it is outwardly a matter of soldiers in uniform or demolition parties with or without weapons, are to be exterminated to the last man in battle or while in flight. In these cases it is immaterial whether they are landed for their operations by ship or aeroplane or descend by parachute. Even should these individuals, on their being discovered, make as if to surrender, all quarter is to be denied them on principle. The order continued: If individual members of such commandos working as agents, saboteurs, etc, fall into the hands of the Wehrmacht by other means - e.g., through the police in any of the countries occupied by us - they are to be handed over to the SD immediately. It is strictly forbidden to hold them in military custody, e.g., in PW camps, etc., even as a temporary measure.
As a result of the order the 14 survivors were taken to the Slettebo German camp where they were interrogated then executed by firing squad in the late afternoon of November 14th. They were buried in shallow sand pits at the side of a lake which was observed by a local man who, next day, took a photograph of the site. At the end of the war the photograph was passed to the Allied Forces and the bodies were taken to the Eiganes Cemetery in Stavanger.
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Pictures found on various websites
From the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
In Memory of Driver ERNEST PENDLEBURY 2000197, 261 (Airborne) Field Park Coy., Royal Engineers who died age 25 between 19 November 1942 and 20 November 1942 Son of William and Polly Pendlebury; husband of Marjorie Pendlebury, of Batley, Yorkshire. Remembered with honour STAVANGER (EIGANES) CHURCHYARD
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The Memorial to the two Australian pilots of HS114 at the crash site
The memorial plaque of the soldiers executed at the Slettebo Camp The last three lines list the three killed in the crash, and the last line is DRIVER E PENDLEBURY
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From the Cemetery at Eiganes in Stavanger
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Memorial Plaque in Wick near the wartime RAF Base of Skitton
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Photograph taken July 2008
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