Simpson, Thomas William (Flying Officer)

Evader 1943-July-16

Flying Officer Thomas William Simpson RCAF

Birth Date: 1917-August-04

Born:

Parents:

Spouse:

Home: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: unkown date

Service

RCAF

Unit

405 (PFF) Sqn- Squadron
Ducimus We Lead

Base

RAF Gransden Lodge

Rank

Flying Officer

Position

Air Gunner (Mid-Upper)

Service Numbers

J/12681

Home
Google MapWinnipeg, Manitoba
Target
Google MapMontbeliard France
Walking and Train Route of Simpson Evader

16 July baled out near Orleans

I was a member of the crew of a Halifax bomber which took off on 15 July from Gransden Lodge, Cambridge, at 2230 hours to drop markers and bombs at Montbeliard France. We reached our target, dropped our flares, etc. And we're on our return journey when at about 0200 hours 16 July, we were attacked by two fighters east of Orleans France. We were flying at about 5,000 feet and two starboard engines were hit the pilot gave orders to bail out.

I landed in the middle of a forest in a small clearing. I buried my parachute and mae west, and started walking south, keeping to small roads. Shortly before dawn, I crawled into the bushes in which I slept until midday. When I woke, I opened my escape box, ate some Horlick tablets and continued my journey. At about 18:00 I saw a farm which I approached. A woman and two children were in the farmhouse and they gave me food when I told them that I was a member of the RAF. I returned here until about 2230 hours.

I then took off my badges and started again to walk south. I walked all night. I sheltered from dawn till midday 17 July, and then continued my journey. On the road I was overtaken by a Frenchman in a car who motioned to me to take a seat. He gave me to understand that his wife spoke English and that he would pick me up again on his way back after completing his errand. At about 20:00 he returned and drove me to his farm, north of Gien France. I was given civilian clothes and stayed here until the morning of 20 July when I left with his two small sons who escorted me across a river. They left me in the neighbourhood of Saint Floren. They had given me plenty of food and I walked for four days resting by day and walking by night until I reached Chateaumeillant France on 23 July during this period I met nobody.

On the evening of 23 July some people at Chateaumeillant France took me in for the night and helped me to get a ticket for Toulouse France via Chateauroux France. I reached to loose on 24 of July without incident. From here, I started to walk Southwest. After about two hours, I was approached by a lad who asked me for a match. He was trailing a bicycle with a punctured front tire. We walked along together. He indicated that there was a German aerodrome nearby which it would be dangerous for me to pass, and offered to take me to his home for the night. We walked back to the suburbs of Toulouse. He told me he had a friend who could speak English. On the afternoon of 25 July the friend turned up and told me that he knew somebody who could help me.

RAF Evaders, The Comprehensive Story of Thousands of Escapers and Their Escape Lines, Western Europe, 1940-1945, pages 226, 399

Evader Report to MI-9WO-208-3315-36

Operatins Record Books MI-9 Evader Report

Unvetted Source Escaper List

Crew or Other Personnel

Halifax HR854

Flight Lieutenant James Henry Foy RCAF

Flight Lieutenant Foy, James Henry (RCAF)
Pilot
Evader
1943-July-16
cemetery unknown

Flying Officer Hugh Thompson Huston RCAF

Flying Officer Huston, Hugh Thompson (RCAF)
Observer
Evader
1943-July-16
cemetery unknown

Squadron Leader Albert Lambert RCAF

Squadron Leader Lambert, Albert (RCAF)
Navigator
Evader
1943-July-16
cemetery unknown

Sergeant Gregor MacGregor RAFVR

Sergeant MacGregor, Gregor (RAFVR)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner
Evader
1943-July-16
cemetery unknown

Pilot Officer John Bert McDougall RCAF

Pilot Officer McDougall, John Bert (RCAF)
Flight Engineer
Evader
1943-July-16
cemetery unknown

Warrant Officer 1st Class Arthur Osbourne Prior RCAF

Warrant Officer 1st Class Prior, Arthur Osbourne (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Rear)
Prisoner of War
1943-July-16
cemetery unknown

Flying Officer Thomas William Simpson RCAF

Flying Officer Simpson, Thomas William (RCAF)
Air Gunner (Mid-Upper)
Evader
1943-July-16
cemetery unknown

Mission

Halifax B/GR.Mk.II HR854

Combat Montbeliard France 1943-July-15 to 1943-July-16

405 (PFF) Sqn (RCAF) RAF Gransden Lodge

Battle of the Ruhr

405 Vancouver Squadron (Ducimus) RAF Gransden Lodge. Halifax II aircraft HR 854 LQ-A was homeward-bound from an operation to bomb the Peugeot motor factory at Montbeliard, France, when it was attacked by (unidentified) German night-fighters and the two starboard engines were shot up. After losing considerable altitude over 35 minutes, the pilot finally ordered the crew to bail out before the Halifax crashed near Tonnerre, France

Rear Air-Gunner, Flight Sergeant Arthur Osbourne Prior (RAFVR) survived and was captured to become a Prisoner of War

Flight Lieutenant James Henry Foy DFC MiD (RCAF), Squadron Leader Albert Lambert DFC & Bar (RCAF), Flying Officer Hugh Thompson Huston MiD (RCAF), Pilot Officer John Bert McDougall MiD (RCAF), Sergeant Gregor MacGregor (RCAF) and Flying Officer Thomas William Simpson (RCAF) all survived and became Evaders and these crew members eventually made their way over the Pyrenees Mountains, through Spain, on to Gibraltar, ultimately returning safely to the UK

The crew came down at about 03:15 hours, just West of Beliecarde. They buried their parachutes and mae wests in thick undergrowth and pulled briar over them. They moved South, reaching a canal, walking along it, for about 30 minutes. As it became light, the crew hid in a wood along the canal bank. At 23:00 hours on 16 July 1943, they continued along the canal, endeavoring to find a bridge. They eventually crossed the canal and continued walking until 02:00 hours, when they again hid in woods. The crew spent all of the day, 17 July 1943, in the woods, and began to walk South at 23:00 hours., eventually reaching the outskirts of Les Bordes at 05:30 hours. From the cover of a wood, they watched a nearby farmhouse, which they eventually approached, were taken in, fed and sheltered. Those who dared - A Comprehensive List of World War ll Allied Escapers

Unvetted Source Royal Air Force Serial and Image Database

Unvetted Source France-Crashes 39-45 Search

Unit Desciption

405 (PFF) Sqn Ducimus ("Vancouver")

Group
Squadron
Base
County
Arrived
Comments
4
405
Driffield
Yorkshire
1941-April-23
Formed. Wellington II, 05/41.
4
405
Pocklington
Yorkshire
1941-June-20
Halifax II, 04/42.
4
405
Beaulieu
Hampshire
1942-October-25
4
405
Beaulieu
Yorkshire
1943-March-01
Detached Coastal Command.
6
405
Topcliffe
Yorkshire
1943-March-01
Rejoined from Coastal Command.
6
405
Leeming
Yorkshire
1943-March-14
To 8 Group, 18/04/43.
8
405
Gransden Lodge
Bedfordshire
1943-April-18
Ex-6 Group. Lancaster I, 08/43. Lancaster III, 08/43. Lancaster X, 05/45. To 6 Group, 26/05/45.
6
405
Linton-On-Ouse
Yorkshire
1945-May-26
Ex-8 Group. To Canada 16/06/45.

History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Wellington II, Halifax II, Lancaster I, III & X)

This was the first RCAF bomber squadron to be activated at Driffield, Yorkshire, England and flew its first mission on 12/13 June 1941. At that time it was a member of 4 Group of Bomber Command, and flew successively from Driffield, Pocklington and Topcliffe, Yorkshire, England. With Code Letters LQ It flew Wellington Mk II aircraft until converting to Halifax II in April 1942, in time for the first 1000-bomber raid on Cologne. In October 1942 it was transferred to Coastal Command No 18 Group, flying over the Bay of Biscay from Beaulieu, Hampshire. Returning to Bomber Command, the squadron joined No 6 (RCAF) Group and flew from Topcliffe and Leeming, Yorkshire in March and April 1943. It was then seconded to No. 8 (Pathfinder) Group and for the rest of the war flew from Grandsen Lodge, Bedfordshire, UK . Its first Pathfinder mission was on 26th April 1943, and its last on 25th April 1945. It was slated to become part of the "Tiger Force" to attack Japan, but the surrender of Japan precluded that, and the Squadron was disbanded at Greenwood, Nova Scotia on September 5th, 1945. One of the aircraft that flew briefly with the squadron was the first Canadian-built Lancaster Mk. X, KB700, christened the "Ruhr Express", which was subsequently transferred to 419 Sqn RCAF in December 1943. Overall, the squadron flew 4427 sorties, of which 349 were with Coastal Command and 41 were in Operation Exodus, the repatriation of POWs. Nearly 25000 operational hours were logged together with 12,000 non-operational, and 12,856 tons of bombs were dropped. In the course of operations, 167 aircraft were lost with 937 aircrew. In the course of its history, squadron members were awarded 9 DSO's, 161 DFC's and 24 Bars to DFC's, 38 DFM's, 2 CGM's 2 BEM's and 11 MiD's. Battle Honours were: Fortress Europe 1941-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1941-45, Ruhr 1941-45, Berlin 1941; 1943-44, German Ports 1941-45, Normandy 1944, Walcheren, Rhine; Biscay 1942-43.Moyes, Kostenuk and Griffin

Squadron History (Bomber Command Museum PDF)

Maps for Movements of 405 Squadron 1941-45

MAP 1: 405 Squadron Movements in Yorkshire 1941-45 (right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab)
MAP 2: 405 Squadron Movements in England 1941-45

405 Sqn History Summary 1941-45

405 Sqn History Summary 1941-45 Page 2

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Lancaster X, Neptune, Argus I & II, Aurora)

The squadron was re-formed as No 405 (Maritime Reconnaissance) Squadron at Greenwood, Nova Scotia on 31 March 1950, and redesignated No 405 (Maritime Patrol) Sqn on 17 July 1956. The squadron was the first of four formed in Maritime Air Command. It flew modified Lancaster Mk. X aircraft until mid-1955, when they were replaced by P2V7 Lockheed Neptunes, which gave an enhanced anti-submarine capability. and the first to fly Lancaster, Neptune and Argus aircraft on East Coast maritime duty. In April 1958 the squadron was given the distinction of being the first to fly the Canadian-built CP-107 Argus. The squadron made its last flight in the Argus on 10 November 1980 before introducing the CP-140 Aurora. On 1 February 1968 the squadron was integrated into the Canadian Armed Forces. It is now designated No 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron, flying from Greenwood, NS.

The squadron’s primary combat functions are Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Anti-Surface (ASUW). The Squadron regularly trains for its roles by participating in a number of naval exercises at home and abroad. However, most of its time is taken up in a number of non-combat roles, including search and rescue and support to other government departments, including counter-drug operations with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and fisheries patrols with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Year-round, the Squadron carries out sovereignty patrols covering the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and maritime areas of interest . During these patrols, 405 LRPS crews maintain a constant vigil for ships that discharge pollutants illegal at sea. Similarly, its crews verify that foreign and Canadian fishing vessels abide by their Canadian licensing agreements and report suspected violators to DFO patrol boats.

405 LRPS regularly deploys to a number of allied bases for an assortment of exercises and missions. Among its international training sites are US NAS Keflavik (Iceland), US NAS Sigonella (Sicily, Italy), US NAS Oceana (Virginia, USA), US NAS Jacksonville (Florida, USA), US NAS Roosevelt Roads (Puerto Rico), UK RAF Kinloss (Moray, Scotland),UK RAF Station St. Mawgan (Cornwall, England) and NL NAS Valkenburg (Netherlands).

Unvetted Source Government of Canada RCAF Website