419 Squadron RCAF 1941 to 1945 Crew of Lancaster KB718

Crew of Lancaster KB718

The night of July 4-5 1944 , 419 squadron was on an operation to Villeneuve when three of their crews and aircraft were lost. Leaving Middleton St. George at 2150 hours, shortly before KB727 (which was also lost on the same mission along with KB723) while over France at about 0145 on the morning of July 5th a night-fighter attacked the Lancaster bringing the aircraft down near Chailly at the Fontainebleau Forest. The crew bailed out of the aircraft four of the crew became evaders there story is located on our webpage from the links below.
The remainder of the crew became PoWs, F/S Hayes, F/S Reynolds. Sgt. High was originally imprisoned at the infamous and deadly Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Set up as an extermination camp to hold Poles, Slovenes , Freemasons, Jewish prisoners from all over Europe and Soviet Union. But also and against the Geneva Convention were about 168 airmen from US, British and British Dominions . They were held under charges of being spies, sometimes caught in disguises as civilians supplied by the French underground in an attempt to evade the airmen's capture by the Germans. Some of the airmen were also listed on a death roll as "terror aviators" who would have been ordered executed had they remained at Buchwald. The airmen were all abused and maltreated both at the camp and the journey there. Cramped into poorly ventilated railway box cars , it the normal Nazi manner with little water or food, from the prisons they were held in to the concentration camp.
For some reason not explained Luftwaffe officers visited the camp and then reported to their superior officers and demanded the airmen’s release to the Luftwaffe . Sgt. High was sent to L3, he was not the only 419 squadron crewmen to have been at Buchenwald, four air man from Lancaster KB727 also were interned there before being transferred to Stalag Luft III.

Crew of Lancaster KB718

Flying Officer

Lorne W. Frame

Pilot
Evader

Sergeant

Phillip P. Barclay RAF

Flight Engineer
Evader

Flying Officer

W.B. Reynolds

Bomb Aimer
POW #4620 Stalg Luft I atBarth

Flying Officer

William "Bill" C. Watson

Navigator
Evader

FLight Sergeant

J Morris

Air Gunner
Evader

Flight Sergeant

H.B. Hayes

Air Gunner
POW# 361 at Stalag Luft VII at Bankau

Sergeant

D. High

WAG
Prisoner under Death Sentance
at Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Then resuced and sent to Stalag Luft III at Sagan POW# 8096

Crew of Lancaster KB718

Flying Officer

Lorne W. Frame

Pilot Evader

Sergeant

Phillip P. Barclay RAF

Flight Engineer Evader

Flying Officer

W.B. Reynolds

Bomb Aimer POW #4620 Stalg Luft I atBarth

Flying Officer

William "Bill" C. Watson

NavigatorEvader

FLight Sergeant

J Morris

Air Gunner Evader

Flight Sergeant

H.B. Hayes

Air Gunner POW# 361 at Stalag Luft VII at Bankau

Sergeant

D. High

WAGPrisoner under Death Sentance at Buchenwald Concentration Camp Then resuced and sent to Stalag Luft III at Sagan POW# 8096

Pilot
Evader

Flight Engineer
Evader

Bomb Aimer
POW #4620 Stalg Luft I atBarth

Navigator
Evader

Air Gunner
Evader

Air Gunner
POW# 361 at Stalag Luft VII at Bankau

WAG
Prisoner under Death Sentance
at Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Then resuced and sent to Stalag Luft III at Sagan POW# 8096