Acthim, John (Pilot Officer)

Prisoner of War 1944-February-26

Pilot Officer John Acthim RCAF

Birth Date: 1924-February-21

Born:

Parents:

Spouse:

Home: Rainy River District, Ontario

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

50 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Sic Fidem Servamus Thus we keep faith

Base

RAF Skellingthorpe

Rank

Pilot Officer

Position

Air Gunner (Mid-Upper)

Service Numbers

J/88492
Prev: R/191209
PoW: 248

Home
Google MapRainy River District, Ontario
Target
Google MapAugsburg Germany
Final Burial
Google MapForest Lawn Cemetery

Took off from Skellingthorpe at 18:37 in Lancaster Mk I (Sqn code VN-O Bomber Command) on an operation to Augsburg Germany.

Shot down outbound by a pair of night fighters and crashed near Embermenil (Muerthe-et- Moselle) 40 km ESE of Nancy France.

Killed: Sergeant Kenneth Edric Gilson RAF KIA Embermenil Communal Cemetery.

POWs includes Acthim: Flight Sergeant John Ansell RAAF 410615 POW Stalag Luft L7 Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia. Flight Sergeant David Thomas Balmanno RAAF 426020 POW Stalag Luft L7 Bankau near Kreuzburg, Upper Silesia. Sergeant Thomas James Taylor RAF POW camp not listed. Pilot Officer William Herbert Taylor RAF POW Stalag Luft L3 Sagan and Belaria.

Evader: Sergeant Harry S Cammish RAF Evader.

Pilot Officer Acthim broke his foot on landing after bailing from his aircraft. He was found by members of the French Underground the following day and moved around the country until captured in 1944-04-21. Acthim was severely beaten by the Gestapo when captured but eventually moved to Stalag Luft 7 as a Prisoner of War.

In Enemy Hands - Canadian Prisoners of War 1939-1945, pages 66,67,291 Footprints on the Sands of Time, RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock, page 232 The Long Road, Trails and tribulations of Airmen Prisoners from Stalag Luft VII (Bankau) to Berlin, June 1944-May 1945 by Oliver Clutton-Brock and Raymond Compton, pages 109,110,286

Unvetted Source Memorable Manitobans

Find-A-Grave Finadagrave.com

Crew or Other Personnel

Lancaster LL791

Pilot Officer John Acthim RCAF

Pilot Officer Acthim, John (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Mid-Upper)
Prisoner of War
1944-February-26
Forest Lawn Cemetery, Rainy River, Ontario, Canada

John Ansell RAAF

Ansell, John (RAAF)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Prisoner of War
1944-February-26
cemetery unknown

Flight Sergeant David Thomas Balmanno RAAF

Flight Sergeant Balmanno, David Thomas (RAAF)
Bomb Aimer
Prisoner of War
1944-February-26
cemetery unknown

Sergeant Harrison Stanley Cammish RAF

Sergeant Cammish, Harrison Stanley (RAF)
Flight Engineer
Evader
1944-February-26
cemetery unknown

Sergeant Kenneth Edric Gilson RAFVR

Sergeant Gilson, Kenneth Edric (RAFVR)
Navigator
Killed in Action
1944-February-26
cemetery unknown

Sergeant Thomas James Taylor RAF

Sergeant Taylor, Thomas James (RAF)
Air Gunner (Rear)
Prisoner of War
1944-February-26
cemetery unknown

Pilot Officer William Herbert Taylor RAF

Pilot Officer Taylor, William Herbert (RAF)
Pilot
Prisoner of War
1944-February-26
cemetery unknown

Mission

Lancaster Mk.I LL791

Bombing Augsburg Germany 1944-February-25 to 1944-February-26

50 (B) Sqn (RAF) RAF Skellingthorpe

50 Squadron (Sic Fidem Servamus) RAF Skellingthorpe. Lancaster BI aircraft LL 791 VN-O was attacked by two night fighters during an operation against targets in Augsburg, Germany. A fire started in the bomb bay when incendiaries caught fire, which was also fed by hydraulic fluid and with the bomber uncontrollable, the order to bail was given. The aircraft crashed near Embermenil, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France

Sergeant KE Gilson (RAFVR) was killed when he bailed from the aircraft, possibly due to a parachute malfunction

Pilot Officer J Acthim (RCAF), Flight Sergeant J Ansell (RAAF, Flight Sergeant DT Balmanno (RAAF), Sergeant TJ Taylor (RAF) and Pilot Officer WH Taylor (RAF) and Sergeant HS Cammish (RAF) survived and evaded with the aid of the French Underground until five of the six were captured 1944-04-21 at Luchon, near the French-Spanish border, part of a group of 30-35 evaders who were captured at this time and became Prisoners of War. Only Sergeant Cammish continued to escape capture as an Evader

Unvetted Source [Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database]...

Unvetted Source Research of France-Crashes 39-45