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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Squadrons UK and Commonwealth No.439 Sqn to No.601 Sqn  No.514 Sqn |
[UP] - No.439 Sqn RCAF - No.441 Sqn RCAF - No.450 Sqn RAAF - No.455 Sqn RAAF - No.460 Sqn RAAF - No.464 Sqn RAAF - No.467 Sqn RAAF - No.485 Sqn RNZAF - No.487 Sqn RNZAF - No.488 Sqn RNZAF - No.489 Sqn RNZAF - No.501 Sqn - No.504 Sqn - No.514 Sqn - No.542 Sqn - No.550 Sqn - No.571 Sqn - No.576 Sqn - No.578 Sqn - No.601 Sqn |
Nil obstare potest - Nothing can withstand
No. 514 Squadron was formed at Foulsham, Norfolk, on 1st September 1943, as a heavy-bomber squadron in No. 3 Group. Beginning operations (in November 1943) with Lancaster IIs, it gradually changed over to Lancaster Is and IIIs during the summer of 1944, and, in all, over a span of 18 months, flew 3,675 operational sorties. Its personnel won 1 DSO, 84 DFCs, 1 bar to the DFC, and 26 DFMs. Immediately before the German capitulation the squadron dropped food supplies to the starving Dutch people and, subsequently, its aircraft were busily employed on ferrying liberated POWs to England from France and Belgium.
| No.514 Sqn Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Combat Over Domremy by Graeme Lothian. During WW II ofjuly 1944, the RAF Bomber Command were planning yet another bombing raid, this time over Stuttgart in Germany. The no.514 Sq., based in Cambridgeshire, England, were one of the Lancaster Bomber Squadrons chosen for the mission. Flight Lieutenant THOMAS HARVELL was a member of the 7 man crew for Lancaster Bomber no.LM206 selected, (the crew being Flt Lt. Robert Jones, Flt Lt Thomas Harvell, Co-pilot, Flt Lt Kenneth Hedley, Loader, Bomb Aimer, Sgt George Robinson, Navigator (survived) Sgt Robert Lane, Air Gunner, Flt Sgt Frank Stanley Johns, Wireless operator, and Sgt Alfred Braine, Air Gunner.) He was flight engineer and co-pilot with II missions already behind him. The RAF carried out nearly all their raids at night. This was the night of July 28/29 1944 and they were on course in the vicinity of Neuf Chateau (S.WNancy) France. Suddenly they were attacked by a prowling Luftwaffe Nightfighter aircraft, which later proved to be a JUNKERS 88 flown by HEINZ ROKKER. The Lancaster shuddered on the first hit but continued flying. THOMAS HARVELL was moving to the back of the aircraft and had dropped window, (strips of foil) to confuse ground radar, when they were hit again. This time they lost an engine after an explosion and LM206 started to plunge earthwards. (The Merlin Engine can been seen today at the French Airforce museum, St.Dizier, Lorraine) FI.Lt. HOMAS HARVELL was literally blown out of the doomed Lancaster, hitting his head and becoming unconcious. As luck was on his side, he regained his senses whilst falling through the air and pulled his chute at the last minute. He landed heavily and injured his leg. The pilot and four other members of the crew perished but navigator George Robinson also managed to use his chute and was captured after landing, by the german occupation forces. George Robinson now lives in South Africa. The other five crew members are all buried at Neuf Chateau and their graves can be seen to this day. THOMAS HARVELL was able to evade capture and was found by a member of the FFI (French Resistance), who hid him in various hideouts. After being treated for his wounds by Dr.CORNU, a prominent surgeon of Neuf Chateau, several attempts were made to smuggle THOMAS HARVELL back to England without much success. It was decided, by the FFI, to make one last attempt and this time THOMAS HARVELL was given a bicycle and new identity papers. He was told to cycle in the direction of the Swiss border west of Besacon and make contact with the Daubs area FFI commander, JEAN LAPPRAND.It was decided it was too dangerous to cross the border at this time and as THOMAS HARVELL had already become a member of the French Resistance, he continued fighting the war side by side with his French Resistance colleagues. It was in this part of France, that he witnessed a trial of a double agent/traitor of the FFI, who was quickly executed by firing squad. At this point in time, OREST BILAK came into the picture. He was born in Ukraine and had joined the Ukranian Army in 1942. He had become a senior NCO officer when his whole battalion were ordered to join forces with a german SS unit. They had much fighting experience and took part in some very bloody battles. Some elements of the Ukranian people had, at first, welcomed the germans but this soon changed and sometime in 1944 many were deserting. This was the case with OREST BILAKs battalion who had just been ordered to march into the mountain stronghold of JEAN LAPPRAND and wipe them out. Instead they had killed their german SS commanders and after talks with JEAN LAPPRAND had fought on with the FFI including THOMAS HARVELL. Together they liberated the region including the town of PIERREFONTAINE, ahead of the advancing allied forces Sept. 1944. It could be said that THOMAS HARVELL was the only British serviceman who fought with the german SS without being called a traitor. Another RAF pilot, Paul Bell a canadian and THOMAS HARVELL were now able to make contact with the 711 US Army. After six weeks, including a ride in the Dakota of General Patch, they finally made it back to England. On his arrival, THOMAS HARVELL became an instructor/advisor until the end of the war. He later made a career in the British Police Force. He regularily travels to France to meet all his wartime colleagues and now lives in Southampton, England. OREST BILAK was demobilised in 1946. Around this time he met his future wife (in France) who was also Ukrainian and had been working during the war in underground factories for the germans. By pure chance they had both attended the same school in Ukrainia. After the war OREST BILAK made a career in the clothing industry They live in retirement at a small mountain village near Lyon, France. They have 10 grandchildren. He has also devoted much of his time and money for a childrens home, in France, for the underprivileged from Ukraine. Out of his battalion of 450 men, of those who survived, 230 stayed with the French Foreign Legion, some emigrated to Canada, USA and Australia. 116 returned to the Ukraine, only to be arrested and sent to a Siberian prison for 10 years and a further 10 years hard labour. OREST BILAK and his wife visited the Ukraine for the first time in 1994 and met some of their old colleagues. JEAN LAPPRAND remains, to this day, secretive about his time in the FFI. Without a doubt he was very lucky to survive the war, considering his responsibility and fame. After the war he had his own carpentry business and lives in retirement with his wife at Pierrefontaine in good health. After much research we were able to trace and find HEINZ ROKKER, the Luftwaffe pilot who shot down Lancaster LM 206. We had a remarkable reunion at Neuf Chateau on September 14th 1999, where Thomas Harvell and Heinz Rokker met for the first time. It was a civic event with official invitation from the town mayor. A visit was made to the cemetery where the five Lancaster crew members are buried and HEINZ ROKKER laid a wreath on behalf of the german Nightfighters Pilots Association. This was followed by a speech at the town hall. A magnificent feast finished the event at the restaurant next to DOMREMY. |
| No.514 Sqn RAF Aircraft details |
 Lancaster Manufacturer : Avro Built : 7377 | Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
| No.514 Sqn RAF Pilot and aircrew signature details |
 Fl. Lt. Thomas Harvell RAF Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2012 | Fl. Lt. Thomas Harvell RAF Flight Engineer and Co Pilot Lancaster Bombers, N.514 Sq. RAF Bomber Command based in Cambridgeshire England. He completed 11 missions over Germany, before being shot down at Domremy (S.W. Nancy) in France. He then joined the FFI (French resistance) at Neuf Chateau. The mayor of the town later awarded Thomas Harvell the Medal of Honour in recognition of his wartime services an 50 years of continued friendship with his former resistance colleagues. He moved to another area, Doubs, near the Swiss border and helped the resistance liberate the town of Pierrefontaine. he was again awarded and became a 'Citizen of Honour'. The Resistance Veterans Association proposed him for the 'Legion of Honour' but as Thomas Harvell was still RAF/British he never received this award. The RAF did, however, award him several combat medals. Sadly, Thomas Harvell passed away in Southampton on 3rd June 2012. |
Warrant Officer Don Say DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Warrant Officer Don Say DFC Joined the RAFVR in March 1939 and was sent for Aircrew training to Calgary and Hamilton in Canada in 1941. He qualified as Observer (armaments) aimer and served first on Vickers Wellingtons with 466 Sqdn (Aus) completing 20 operations before moving on to 196 Sqn for a further ten operations over France and Germany on Stirlings. After six months as Instructor, his second tour of 23 operations in Lancasters was with 514 Sqn. The picture evoked memories of a daylight operation on oil refineries at Bordeaux on 4th August 1944. Crossing the Cornish coast on return at very low level, everyone reported nude sunbathers running for cover, as 300 Lancasters roared overhead. His total war service was six and a half years between 1939 and 1945, completing two operational tours. He was awarded the DFC in 1944. |
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