NZ Great Escape Hero dies

[Dave Homewood]

Great Escape hero from World War II dies at 94 From: AAP February 10, 2010 12:00AM

WELLINGTON: A New Zealand officer who was a leader of two of the most celebrated escapes from German prisoner of war camps in World War II, including "the Great Escape", has died, aged 94.

Wing Commander Henry William Lamond was one of the first three men to escape from a tunnel at Stalag Luft III, Goering's showcase camp near Sagan in Poland for captured Allied airmen -- one he claimed was escape-proof.

In a tribute to the war hero whose death on January 15 came to light yesterday, Britain's Telegraph newspaper relates that in 1942 the New Zealander and two Britons were sealed into a tunnel and burrowed for 36 hours, piling the soil behind them, and breathing through air holes poked through the surface. They escaped into the woods but were recaptured a week later.

Wing Commander Lamond worked on three more tunnels at the camp before the Great Escape of March 24, 1944, when he was the dispatcher who controlled the flow of prisoners into the tunnel.

Just after he had sent off his 87th escaper, the tunnel was discovered: seventy-six men had broken free, of whom 50 were later murdered by the Gestapo.

In January 1945, the camp was evacuated. The prisoners marched west in terrible winter weather to avoid the advancing Soviet army and were repatriated from a camp near Lubeck.

Born on August 26, 1915, at Kaukapakapa, Wing Commander Lamond went to Auckland Grammar School, then served in the 1st Battalion Auckland Regiment before joining the RNZAF in 1938. He transferred to the RAF in 1939 and on arrival in England joined No 210 Squadron.

In December 1940 he ferried a Sunderland flying boat to Malta, and flew it there for No 228 Squadron. When the remnants of the squadron had to leave in March 1941, he flew one of the two surviving Sunderlands to Egypt.

On April 24, 1941, he was sent to Suda Bay in Crete and flew to Kalamata, where he picked up 74 men of an RAF squadron fleeing the German invasion. Ordered to fly back to Kalamata that night, without a flare path, he and three members of his crew were captured after the plane hit an obstruction.

Wing Commander Lamond remained in the RAF and was an operations controller in Germany during the Berlin Air Lift of 1949. In December 1942 the King of the Hellenes awarded the New Zealander the Greek Distinguished Flying Cross. For his activities as a PoW he was mentioned in dispatches, and in 1953 he received a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air.


www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/great-escape-hero-from-world-war-ii-dies-at-94/story-e6frg6so-1225828516854

[Dave Homewood]

From The Telegraph
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/7190761/Wing-Commander-Henry-Lamond.html

Wing Commander Henry Lamond
Wing Commander Henry Lamond, who has died aged 94, was one of the first three men to escape from a tunnel at Stalag Luft III and remained at large for a week; he had been captured in Crete after gallant attempts to rescue stranded personnel in his Sunderland flying boat.

Published: 6:46PM GMT 08 Feb 2010

In the spring of 1942 Lamond was among the early arrivals at Stalag Luft III at Sagan, Goering's show camp for captured Allied airmen and one he claimed was escape-proof. Lamond and his colleagues immediately set about proving him wrong.

Lamond had already developed a reputation as an inveterate tunneller during his time at another prison camp. He and Bill Goldfinch, who had been his co-pilot when they were captured in April 1941, invited another PoW, Jack Best, to join them in an audacious attempt to dig their way out of Sagan.

The prisoners had managed to block and flood the latrines in order to convince their captors that it was necessary to dig a drainage ditch to a point near the perimeter wire. Lamond intended to use the ditch to dig a tunnel, from where they would "mole" – or burrow – their way out.

Just after the evening roll-call their helpers sealed them into the tunnel. The three men burrowed towards the wire, piling sand behind them. Kept alive by air holes pushed up through the soil, they worked all night; but the following morning their comrades were horrified to see wisps of steam rising from four air holes. Fortunately they remained undetected and carried on digging. After 36 hours underground and "moling" for 150ft they broke the surface outside the wire and crept to the nearby woods.

They headed for a local training airfield, intending to steal an aircraft in which they would fly to Sweden. Arriving at dawn, they hid all day, but then failed to locate a suitable aircraft. They spent the next five nights walking to the river Oder, where they found a rowing boat and set off for Stettin, 200 miles away, with the aim of finding a ship going to Sweden. While they were resting on the river bank they were arrested by local police.

The three men were the first to escape from Sagan by tunnel and were at liberty for seven days. Lamond later wrote: "This escape destroyed the Germans' overbearing sense of superiority, and re-established the morale of the PoWs, allowing them with great delight to jeer at the Germans about their escape-proof camp." Goldfinch and Best were sent to Colditz, where they were to build their famous glider. It was never explained why Lamond was left at Sagan.

Henry William Lamond was born on August 26 1915 at Kaukapakapa, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. He was educated at Auckland Grammar School before serving in the 1st Battalion Auckland Regiment. In 1938 he joined the RNZAF, transferring to an RAF scheme in 1939; he completed his pilot training and was commissioned.

After arriving in England he joined No 210 Squadron, and in December 1940 was ordered to ferry a Sunderland to Malta. Instead of returning to England, he was sent to No 228 Squadron and started operational flying. In March 1941 the remnants of 228 had to leave Malta, and Lamond flew one of the two surviving Sunderlands to Alexandria; on April 24 he was sent to Suda Bay in Crete.

With Goldfinch as one of his co-pilots, he reconnoitred the Greek coastline looking for RAF personnel fleeing the German advance. After a successful first mission Lamond was ordered to fly to Kalamata, where he saw signals from the shore. Although short of fuel, he landed and picked up 74 men of an RAF squadron.

Later the same evening, he was woken up and ordered to fly back to Kalamata. With no flare path for the night take-off, or for the landing at Kalamata, Lamond would have been justified in refusing. However, as he commented later: "In those days one did not." On landing, he hit an unseen obstruction and his Sunderland sank.

He and three members of his crew survived, and after several hours clinging to a wing they were picked up by a Greek boat. A few days later the Germans occupied the area and the men were captured.

Lamond was taken to Dulag 185 at Salonika, where conditions were primitive and the PoWs badly treated. It was here that Lamond and Goldfinch first met Best. They remained together during a desperate march in November over the mountains to a railhead at Corinth, where they were loaded into cattle trucks. After travelling through Yugoslavia, Austria and Germany, the RAF prisoners arrived at Stalag Luft I at Barth on the Baltic coast.

After his recapture and return to Stalag Luft III, Lamond was a member of numerous tunnelling teams. He worked on the three tunnels before the Great Escape, and on the night of the breakout – March 24/25 1944 – he was the dispatcher. Positioned in Hut 104 at the top of the entrance shaft which led to the escape tunnel "Harry", Lamond checked each prisoner and his chattels to ensure that they would not block the narrow tunnel.

He was also responsible for controlling the flow of prisoners into the tunnel. Just after he had dispatched his 87th escaper, "Harry" was discovered; 76 men had broken free, of whom 50 were later murdered by the Gestapo.

In January 1945 the camp was evacuated with minimum notice and the PoWs marched westwards to avoid the advancing Soviet army. During one of the worst winters on record, the prisoners suffered greatly on "the Long March". Eventually they reached a camp near Lübeck from where, in late April, they were repatriated.

Lamond remained in the RAF and flew transport aircraft. During the Berlin Air Lift of 1949 he was an operations controller at Gatow airfield in Germany, where he later served for two years. He was a flying instructor and served in Southern Rhodesia before becoming the chief instructor at No 2 Flying Training School at Syerston, near Newark, Nottinghamshire.

He retired from the RAF in 1962, and four years later joined the RAF Reserve of Officers. For the next 15 years he worked with the Air Training Corps, of which he later wrote a history.

A keen golfer, he did not allow hip and knee replacements to interfere with his enjoyment of the sport, but continued playing until late in life.

In December 1942 the King of the Hellenes awarded Lamond the Greek Distinguished Flying Cross. For his activities as a PoW he was mentioned in despatches, and in 1953 he received a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air.

Henry Lamond died on January 15. He married, in 1945, Nesta John; she predeceased him, and he is survived by two sons and a daughter.

[Andy Wright]

I did a fair bit of hunting on this subject yesterday on another forum. Even went as far as emailing the Greek AF museum to see if they knew anything of the Sunderland wreck.

Of the six who died in the crash in Kalamata Harbour, the 2nd pilot was also a Kiwi - F/O John Clement Julius Lylian (of course listed in Vol 1 of Errol Martyn's For Your Tommorow.

Huge respect for those who escaped by 'moling' their way out. RIP.