My Grandfather : Stewart T.A. Lt 11/09/44

[EagerNoSkill]

My Grandfather was a navigator in 34 Squadron SAAF (South African Air Force)- who was killed on 11/09/1944 - as part of the Food drop for the Warsaw uprising.

He died 2 months before the birth of my father!
We never knew where he was buried till I found out in the roll of honour in the Imperial War Museum in London 2009.

Every year since I was 5, I attended the Polish War Memorial as a guest with my Grandmother and Father.
When my dad and mom were killed in a plane crash when I was 10 I continued attending with my Gran who then raised me and my 2 brothers.

Imagine my shock when i searched for his name mid 2011 to find the Polish commemoration and found the following link!
http://www.network54.com/Forum/180748/t ... ore+pieces!
In it you will find a photo of the headgearand microphone of my grandfather - with his name on it in his own writing!



The Mic is named to T.A Stewart, which is not a common name and could be South African.
Anyway I bought this chamois covered mic together with another one (which I sold to you) and three D-type masks and two type 21 mic's.
The lot was found in South Africa at an old airfield together with a containerload full of WW2 RAF stuff. This load included a fair amount of D-type masks. These survived somehow because most masks and mic's where burned to sell the copper parts.........

I found a T.A Stewart listed : Lt SAAF 34 SDN, KIA 11/09/44 Belgrade.

My comments below were!!!

"WOWOW

T.A STEWART is my Grandfather. He was part of 34 Squadron SAAF - killed in Crash over Yugoslavia.
He was a navigator.
Full names Timothy Arcadia Stewart
I have photos etc if you interested

TIM STEWART
LONDON "


Needless to say I have a quiet pilgrimage planned for later this year.

[EagerNoSkill]

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/storie ... -3470.html

Our South African friends...
August and September 1944 have poignant memories for Poles and South African airmen. By August 1, 1944, the Russians had advanced to within a few miles east of Warsaw. General "Bor" Komorowski and other leaders of the Polish underground resistance (the "Home Army") judged the time right for rebellion against Nazi occupying forces. Stalin thought otherwise, as he had his own plans for post-war Poland. He halted his troops 15 miles east of the Vistula River within 48 hours when the Home Army decided to go into action, encouraged by previous promises of Soviet's support.
In desperation, the Home Army appealed to Britain and America for much needed arms, amunition, and medical supplies. These could only be delivered by air-drops. Again Stalin said "Nyet". This time to the reasonable suggestion that aircraft might land in Russian-held territory to re-fuel. The Liberators of SAAF 2 Wing - 31 and 34 Squadrons - based at Foggia in Southern Italy, and Halifaxes, flown by the RAF, whose 148 and 178 Squadrons, as well as Polish Flight No. 1586, also took part. The proposed supply*drops meant a journey of 1600 km out over heavily defended occupied territory; roof-top height approach to the dropping zones in flames of the burning city; and another 1600 km back to base - if they were lucky.
Out of 186 sorties, 92 were considered successful. That is, the Home Army were able to retrieve some of the material dropped. Thirty-one aircraft were lost - 17 on the four terrible nights of August 13-16. 69 lives of South African pilots were lost during this operation.
The Poles have long memories for their friends. To this day, flowers are laid on the graves of the airmen who did not make it; a special memorial has been placed in St Anne's Church, Warsaw; and another built by the late Bronek Kowalski (former officer of the Polish Home Army) at Michalin where a Liberator piloted by Jack van Eyssen crashed after the supply drop, with the loss of three crew members. Those were Bob Hamilton, Leslie Mayes and Herbert Hudson.
Every year, without exemption, since 1947 a commemoration service and function is held by Polish Community in Johannesburg to honour those who fell. Initially the venue was a Cenotaph Memorial in the centre of the city. Since 1981, service is being held at the Katyn Memorial erected in memory of Polish prisoners of war who were murdered by the Soviet security forces. In 1989, monument was extended to honour South African Airmen who tookpart in the Relief Flights.
"Poland will never forget her faithful friends who went to her help in her hour of isolation and despair" - these were significant words of H.E. Stanislaw Cieniuch - first Ambassador of the truly independent Poland during the Warsaw Flights commemoration of the year 1991.
Relief Flights did not achieve its military objectives, mostly due to the political scene of post-war Europe. However, commemorations held through the years have cemented bonds of friendship between the Poles and their South African friends. SASF effort have become one of the important links in Polish struggle for independence, although it came 45 years later.
In Michalin near Warsaw there is an annual event taking place to commemorate Flights and Airmen who died there. After untimely death of Bronek Kowalski monument marking the place where they fell requires renovation. Polish artists who did visit South Africa are organising fund raising concert in the Ateneum theatre in Warsaw on the 1st of June 2001. It is entitled "Polish Artists for South African Airmen". List of the performers is compiled of the best in Poland. Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs is most likely to take patronage of this event. Support is also given by the diplomatic corps with South African Ambassador Sikose Mji heading the list. Chief of SAAF will sent his representative. Polish businessmen are also helping to collect funds. The monument will receive maintenance free finishes throughout.

[EagerNoSkill]

EW198 "C"

Capt E A Endler, Lt T.A Stewart, Lt. McCabe, F/O R G Devine (RAF) and Sgt C Manley (RAF) were all killed.

Lt. J P W Chapman and P/O G Crook (RAF) taken POW.

(source; "The Men who went to Warsaw" by Lawrence Isemonger.)

My grandmother received a letter from the on of the 2 survivors about 5 years after the war.. Until then she had lived with a small hope that he still lived.
The letter brought some closure!

[EagerNoSkill]

Last one for now ....

"Rising '44" and subtitled 'The Battle for Warsaw' and on page 380, the author (Norman Davies ... published 2003) states the following:

Quote:
Captain Erich Endler (SAAF) had used more fuel than his inexperienced crew had allowed for. He had made his drop and was already over the northern border of Yugoslavia before he was aware of his dangerously low fuel level ... there was no hope of putting a big aircraft down in the dark safely. There was nothing to do but to bail out and the pilot gave the order. The co-pilot, Lt Chapman and RAF pilot officer Crook jumped, landed safely, and fell into enemy hands. From the ground they saw their aircraft, its engine dying, rapidly lose height and crash into the towering crags of the Alps.

It is referenced as source 137 and source 137 in turn is:

Orpen, page 154.

This conflicts with the fact that it was shot down by a German night fighter (possibly noted in Lawrence Isemonger's book ... which I don't have) and a further conflict in that there was "no hope of putting a big aircraft down in the dark safely" and yet the two who bailed out "saw their aircraft, its engine dying, rapidly lose height and crash into the towering crags of the Alps" ... so, where is Orpen's source and better still, what became of Chapman, Crook and Davies?

Cheers

P.S. Also see http://worldwartwozone.com/forums/index ... ber-group/
which shows both EW198 and EW205 as missing on 11/9/44


The letter my gran received confirmed the fuel and the crash into the mountains of the Alps.

[20series]

Tim

What an absolutely fascinating story and discovery sign92

Good luck with your trip when you take it.

Alan

[Ovenpaa]

I read this twice and I am not really sure what to say. You should be very proud of your Grandfather, we will talk when we meet up next month.

[1066]

Well Tim,what a story - Sends a shiver down your spine when you read these things. So much of this quite recent history is slipping away before it is recorded and lost forever.

I, along with many of my generation had family lost in the war and it has been interesting tracking down information about my uncle who was a gunner on a Lancaster. Just a lad of 19 when he was shot down on his 13th mission, right at the tail end of the bombing in Feb 1945. He was on a mission to bomb the synthetic oil refinery in Politz in Poland, one of the longest missions flown. Two or three bailed out and survived but the rest of the crew were lost.

Investigating it has opened a whole "can of worms" as half the official documents and records show that the wrong plane was listed as "lost in action"

Some photos and story here:
http://squadronforum.freeforums.org/lan ... -t131.html

[bobbob]

Tim, all I can say is wow!

I hope you get to handle the items with your granddads name on, a hand reaching out from the past.

I recently found out where my dads uncle fought during the war in the trenches. It really choked me up so I can only imagine how you feel.

Have a good visit.

[Jenks]

Great thread, very interesting..


Jenks

[Jenks]

I had a good result myself last week. For what ever reason I was reading The Leicester Mercury. I came across a short article. About a lady who was doing a thesis on the battle of Loos as appertaining to the 1/4th Leicestershire regiment. I'm sure i have mentioned many times that my great uncle was Killed in an attack by the 46th north Midlands Division on the Hohernzollen redoubt at Auchy-le Mines. Well some years ago I did a search for him. I couldn't find him under his real name William Sanders, but I did find a William Saunders who's name was on the wall at Dud Corner cemetery at Lens. To cut a long story short. I contacted the lady doing the thesis, she said she would find out what she could. In a very short time she came back with several documents. His medical record clearly shows how he became Saunders it looks like an orderly room clerk simply inserted a 'U' in the name. Much more excitingly I have a document that proves that his body was recovered, Identified and buried. (temporarily I assume) I think perhaps that the site of his grave was subsequently destroyed by shell fire. It was right on the the front lines. I know have to track down the exact location which could prove to be impossible.

Williams Medical record..



Casualty form giving location of Williams grave.




Jenks