One who almost made it back : the remarkable story of one of World War Two's unsung heroes, Sqadron Leader Edward 'Teddy' Blenkinsop, DFC, CdeG (Belge), RCAF

346 Pages·2008·3.72 MB·English

by  Blenkinsop

Published by
Grub Street Publishing
4 Rainham Close
London
SW11 6SS
Copyright © Grub Street 2008
Copyright text © Peter Celis 2008
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Celis, Peter
One who almost made it back: the remarkable story of one
of World War Two’s unsung heroes, Sqn Ldr Edward ‘Teddy’
Blenkinsop, DFC, CdeG (Belge), RCAF
1. Blenkinsop, Teddy 2. World War, 1939-1945 – Prisoners
and prisons, German 3. Bomber pilots – Canada – Biography
4. Belgium – History – German occupation, 1940-1945
I. Title
940.5′47243′092
ISBN-13: 9781906502164
Digital Edition ISBN: 9781908117519
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
Typeset by Pearl Graphics, Hemel Hempstead
Printed and bound by MPG Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
Grub Street Publishing uses only FSC
(Forest Stewardship Council) paper for its books.
Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
Author’s Introduction
Foreword by Air Marshal C.R. Dunlap
Foreword by Lieutenant-General R.J. Lane
CHAPTER ONE Roots
CHAPTER TWO The Call of Duty
CHAPTER THREE Into the Service
CHAPTER FOUR Going Down Under
CHAPTER FIVE To Father’s Land
CHAPTER SIX Into the Ops Zone
CHAPTER SEVEN Four-Engine Bombers
CHAPTER EIGHT 405 ‘Vancouver’ Squadron
CHAPTER NINE Disaster over Montzen
CHAPTER TEN On the Run
CHAPTER ELEVEN The Belgian Resistance
CHAPTER TWELVE The Tragedy of Meensel-Kiezegem
CHAPTER THIRTEEN In Prison
CHAPTER FOURTEENExtermination through Labour
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Epilogue

APPENDIX A 27/28 April 1944 – Montzen Raid Aircraft Losses
APPENDIX B Victims at Meensel-Kiezegem
Bibliography & Sources
Index of Personnel Names
Acknowledgements

The author received the generous assistance of many people in the preparation of
this story of Squadron Leader Ted Blenkinsop. Without it this project could not
have been undertaken, and to them a great debt of gratitude is owed.
The lion’s share of the credit for this book must go to J.R.W. Wynne, himself
a retired RCAF colonel and amateur historian, who provided much-needed
assistance in various ways. In 1989, Dick generously volunteered to analyse the
Blenkinsop files held by the Provincial Archives of British Columbia, after
which he selected for microfilming the relevant records for use in this project,
provided countless other documents and leads, and led the way in assisting the
search for ‘lost’ documents and persons who were related to Ted Blenkinsop. In
addition to his invaluable material help, his constant enthusiasm and
encouragement went a long way in seeing this book through to completion.
Much to my grief, Dick passed away on January 6, 2006, when I was just about
ready to show him the first version of the manuscript.
Ted Blenkinsop’s flying school classmates, Jim Grant and Bob McRae, helped
me by providing an insight into a substantial part of Ted’s life, his flying
training. Jim also helped trace many of the individuals who had crossed Ted’s
path in the RCAF. I am greatly obliged to both of them.
I want to thank the late Air Marshal ‘Larry’ Dunlap and the late Lieutenant
General ‘Reg’ Lane, both former commanding officers of Teddy’s, in addition to
being his friends. Larry Dunlap kindly volunteered, at an early stage, to copy
large parts of Ted Blenkinsop’s files kept in the Provincial Archives of British
Columbia and sent me countless pages of his carefully handwritten copy notes.
Reg Lane gave me a sense of a pathfinder’s duties and a feeling for the events
surrounding that fateful night when Ted’s Lancaster bomber was shot down.
Both these noted men of Canadian aviation agreed to write the foreword to this
book.
I must acknowledge John Neroutsos, a retired air force brigadier general, who
furnished many of Teddy’s insightful letters written to his family around which I
moulded this incredible story. It was also John to whom I turned to discuss the
quandaries associated with putting together this manuscript. His wise counsel,
together with the sharing of his considerable aviation knowledge, is ultimately
reflected in the quality of this project.
I’m grateful for the help of Philip Neroutsos, also a first cousin of Teddy’s,
who was my first contact with Ted’s direct descendants. Philip, together with
Teddy’s friend Yvonne Jukes, was my greatest supporter. Right from the start of
this project they were convinced this story had to be told and recorded. Yvonne,
although aging and infirm, provided many of the anecdotes associated with
Ted’s early life.
The late Wilfried Roels, a Belgian, provided illustrations, maps, artwork and
technical insight. He was undoubtedly one of the most erudite aviation and
aeronautical devotees I ever had the pleasure to meet.
I am beholden to Faith Gildenhuys, a retired professor of English literature at
Ottawa’s Carleton University, who undertook the final edit. Finally, I am very
indebted to John Davies of Grub Street, who has proved to be the most
understanding and considerate of publishers.
I would like to thank again the many people from around the world, many
who have now passed on, who gathered the pieces for this amazing life story.
Without all their effort in providing their recollections, their wartime letters,
aiding in research, or sharing their photos this book would never have come to
fruition. Their names can be found in the Bibliography and Sources section at
the back of this book.
Finally, I must express my deepest appreciation to my beloved late
grandfather, Albert Stas, for suggesting that I research Ted Blenkinsop’s life,
and to my wife Hilde and children Frederik and Kaat, for their patience and
understanding.
Preface

Edward ‘Teddy’ Weyman Blenkinsop was the product of a transplanted English
gentleman-turned-rancher from the Chilcotin area in the British Columbia
interior and a mother whose enthusiasm as a rancher’s wife belied her sheltered,
cultured upbringing. Teddy’s childhood of hardship with the ranching life,
interspersed with periods of learning, and warm, loving attention provided by his
grandparents in Victoria, produced a young man with all the skills of leadership
and attributes he would need to face the challenges brought on by a world in
conflict.
Those who knew Teddy at that time were impressed by the dedication of this
young man, mature beyond his years, who possessed all the gallant and virtuous
traits of the Victorian era. It would be difficult for today’s younger, post-heroic
era generation to fully comprehend his idealism but, nevertheless, one cannot
help but be drawn to this man by virtue of his exemplary strength of personality,
his intellect, his intense professionalism and courage.
This story recounts the short life of a master pilot and his crew, as told from
the perspective of a young Belgian air force officer and pilot, Peter Celis. It has a
sad ending, but it is an uplifting story, which needed to be told after 50 years
being dormant. It is also the story of 67 brave Belgians from Meensel-Kiezegem,
whose fates were intertwined with that of Teddy. This account records the
experiences and impressions of a young Canadian airman, drawn by the imperial
call of duty into a global war and its fast-moving series of events. He, in the
space of four short years, experienced circumstances and events, sufficient to
say, one would never experience in a lifetime.
The family never fully recovered from the loss and the unknown events
surrounding Teddy’s final months in the infamous concentration camp at
Bergen-Belsen. We thank Peter Celis for his dedication and persistence in
determining the details to write this portrait of an air force officer and, more
particularly, a story that gives a glimpse into the lives of those Canadian youth
who chose voluntary service during that tremulous era, the Second World War,
the greatest human event of the twentieth century.
John Rolf Neroutsos
Montreal, January 1991
Introduction

Brave men are not fearless. Brave men are ordinary men with normal fears who
accomplish their dangerous duties or missions in spite of their fears. This is the
story of one such man.
I must have been nine or ten years old when I first asked my grandfather about
the stranger who was being remembered amidst the victims of the August 1944
raids on our hometown Meensel-Kiezegem, Belgium. Every year in August, this
tiny village remembers the brutal crimes committed on August 1 and 11 by
armed German troops and Flemish collaborators who encircled the community
and let loose atrocious brutalities on its innocent inhabitants.
My late grandfather, who had lost some of his best friends in these raids,
visited the memorial cemetery in Meensel regularly. While walking and holding
his hand, I became intrigued by the many faces on the individual headstones, in
particular the one with a different flag below the face. When my grandfather
explained to me that this man was a Canadian pilot, my interest was aroused and
I never gave up asking questions about ‘the Canadian pilot’. Nobody in the
village seemed to be able to provide any answers. Several years later, when I
was in high school, my grandfather became a bit tired by my incessant cross-
examination, and asked me, ‘Why don’t you find out about him yourself?’ I did,
and this is the story.
In 1984, I started writing letters to archives and institutions in England and
Canada. Little by little the story came together, and before long it became
apparent that Edward Blenkinsop had been a remarkable person. Supported by
his cousins, I accepted the task of sorting the story out so I might write this book.
The resulting manuscript – originally written in Dutch – of Teddy Blenkinsop’s
story was essentially completed in the mid-nineties. The unsuccessful and
frustrating search for a publisher, as well as rewarding but time-consuming
matters, such as starting a family and pursuing an air force career that included
countless assignments away from home, caused my interest to temporarily wane.
Teddy’s first cousin, John Neroutsos, deserves the credit for motivating me to
translate the story from my native language into English.
This is the life story of Edward Weyman Blenkinsop. The reader will notice
that I occasionally take the liberty of interpreting what Teddy might have been
thinking. I venture to do this for the following reasons; first, my background of
20 years in the air force allowed me to step quite easily into Teddy’s psyche.
Furthermore, in-depth research into his life provided me with a very clear picture
of his personality. It is almost as if I had known him in person. Third, I have
made a great effort to find as many testimonies as possible, including written
reports of people who knew him during the war and even those who were with
him right up to the point of his demise. Finally, having read many accounts of
the air war over Europe, one is able to construct a somewhat clearer picture of
what a crewmember’s thoughts might have been during his moments of distress.
Although this book is about the life of a ‘pathfinder’, a specialised elite
airborne soldier, I do not intend to discuss the merits of a strategy of war but
rather to paint a picture of the war as seen through the eyes of a single crew. The
crews were doing their job as military aviators, which was to execute orders
directed towards ending the aggression of a rogue nation-state while attempting
to stay alive. I leave the questioning of strategy and morality to others.
Additionally, I never intended to pass judgement on any of those concerned in
the atrocious events of August 1944 in Meensel-Kiezegem. I have endeavoured
to patch together the bare facts that led to the demise of 67 men in that ill-fated
town, including Teddy Blenkinsop, based on available and reliable sources. If I
have offended anyone with my writings, I sincerely apologise.
I have attempted to develop and connect the events that I have uncovered
which I believe moulded and nurtured this future pathfinder, into what one could
only judge to be, a most remarkable individual. Speaking as a Belgian, I can
only say, Canada, you must be proud to have this man as your native son.
Peter Celis
Belgium 2008
Foreword

Air Marshal Clarence R. ‘Larry’ Dunlap CBE, CD, DCL, DEng, BSc
Teddy Blenkinsop arrived in North Africa in July 1943 while my wing left there
in October. The overlap was brief but quite long enough for me to recognise his
talents as a pilot as well as those of his crew. Indeed his worth as an operational
pilot was so quickly established that he and his crew were selected as ‘target
illuminators’ – illuminators are a sort of pathfinder – on six separate occasions
during the month of September, an assignment reserved for the best crews.
When Peter Celis contacted me in 1987 to seek my help with his
commendable undertaking of writing Teddy Blenkinsop’s life story, I was
delighted to offer my assistance. What I was able to do by way of archival
research I found both stimulating and nostalgic. What little work was involved
was the very least I could do in memory of a gallant young man who served me
well during the critical days of war. So, if what I did could in any way be
described as working, I would say I was doing so for Teddy Blenkinsop, for his
late mother, and for my very esteemed friend Cyril Neroutsos, his uncle.
Lastly, may I say that I regard it as a privilege to have been able to help Peter
Celis in his efforts to record the story of this outstanding young man who, like so
many others, sacrificed his life to the fight against Nazi tyranny.
Victoria, October 1987
Air Marshal Clarence R (Larry) Dunlap, born January 1, 1908, in Sydney Mines,
Nova Scotia, died in Victoria, British Columbia, October 20, 2003, at the age of
95. The Air Marshal, a former Chief of the Air Staff, was inducted into Canada’s
Aviation Hall of Fame in May 2002.