RAF pilots who bombed Berlin, 1941
Description
On April 9 1941, these men were some of the pilots in the RAF who unleashed the heaviest night of bombing that Berlin had seen in the Second World War.
Among them, was Deryck Polley, who was from Cardiff.
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Comments (2)
Submitted by Anthony Plunkett on Fri, 14/02/2020 - 19:33
The photo shows aircrew from RAF 75 (NZ) squadron, based in Norfolk. Deryck Polley from Cardiff is third from left. The photograph is not in the IWM collection and doesn't seem to be available anywhere else on the web.
Submitted by Anthony Plunkett on Fri, 14/02/2020 - 19:57
Deryck Polley was the navigator in a Wellington which was shot down in August 1941 and came down in the North Sea. After 6 days in a rubber dinghy, the 4 survivors were picked up by an E boat and taken into captivity. On 12 May 1942, Deryck Polley and Ian Millet, the Wellington pilot, took part in an escape of 52 men from Stalag IIIE at Kirchhain. All of the escapees were recaptured (in the case of Deryck Polley and Ian Millet after about 2 weeks on the run) and eventually transferred to Stalag Luft III. They took no part in The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III as they were in a different compound of the camp.
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