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Auction: 6007 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 404

An Outstanding 1940 Coastal Command D.F.M. to Hudson Pilot Sergeant E.B. ´Leatherneck´ Lascelles, No. 269 Squadron, for the Daylight Trondheim Harbour Raid on the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Hipper, where he and his Gunner Destroyed Two Fighters before the Aircraft was Shot Down in Flames; He was Taken Prisoner; An Escape Artist, He was Interred in Four Different Camps; in 1941 was Charged with Espionage and Enjoyed the Company of the Gestapo for Four Months; Successfully Escaping in 1945 he Tragically was Lost without Trace later that year Distinguished Flying Medal G.VI.R., 1st ´Ind: Imp:´ type (580224. Sgt. E.B. Lascelles. R.A.F.), extremely fine Estimate £ 3,000-3,500 D.F.M. London Gazette 11.12.1945. 580224 Sergeant Ernest Bruce Lascelles 269 Squadron. The Recommendation, dated 26.10.1945, states ´I was leader of a formation including Sergeant Lascelles´ aircraft on 11th June, 1940, which carried out a bombing attack on the German battleship "Scharnhorst", two cruisers, and several destroyers anchored in the harbour at Trondheim. The attack was carried out in daylight and at extreme range for a Hudson aircraft. We were attacked by a number of enemy fighters and two of the aircraft in my formation were lost. In my opinion, it was probably due to the excellent combat carried out by the aircraft of which Sergeant Lascelles was the pilot that no more of the formation was shot down. It is reported that this N.C.O. on one occasion during the sortie attacked and destroyed an Me. 110 which was preparing to attack another aircraft in the formation. Sergeant Lascelles so skilfully manoeuvred his aircraft that his gunner was able to shoot down an Me. 109 and an Me. 110, thus greatly assisting his comrades in the formation. Finally, with his aircraft on fire, Sergeant Lascelles made a successful landing and was taken prisoner. While a prisoner of war, this N.C.O. was suspected of espionage and, as a result, was harshly treated by the Gestapo from June 1941 to March 1942. He made repeated attempts to escape, the last ten days prior to the arrival of Allied Occupation forces. Sergeant Lascelles displayed great bravery and determination to aid his comrades and his country, both in action and later when in captivity. His conduct was in every manner exemplary and I most strongly recommend him for the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.´ Sergeant Ernest Bruce Lascelles, D.F.M., born Sydney, Australia, 1912; joined Royal Air Force 1936; served with 269 Squadron, Montrose (Ansons), in 1939 and converted with the Squadron to Hudsons, with its move to Wick, Caithness the following year; Lascelles flew mainly Anti-Submarine Patrols (including locating and believed to have sunk a U-boat in the North Sea, 15.9.1939) and Reconnaissance with the Squadron, in the two years before the bombing attack on Trondheim Harbour, 11.6.1940, ´At 1130 hours 12 Hudsons led by W/Cm Pearce took off from Sumburgh and making good a track of 51 degrees True arrived over target in Trondheim harbour at 1437 hours. Target consisted of 1 BS Scharnhorst, 2 Cruisers [Gneisenau and Hipper], 3 destroyers and 2 supply ships. Attack was carried out at 15000 feet down sun in four flights of 3 aircraft in line astern. The pattern of bombs fell among the enemy vessels and hits were observed in the 2 cruisers one of which was seen to be on fire. Smoke was also seen to be issuing from one of the supply vessels. 18-20 Flying Boats were observed anchored in the S.W. corner of the harbour. Heavy and accurate A.A. fire was encountered and five enemy aircraft of the Me 109 type were also encountered. Aircraft "G" Sgt. Lascelles, Sgt. Sherwood, Sgt. Craig, and Sgt. Napier failed to return to Sumburgh´ (Operations Records refer). Lascelles, who was flying Hudson N7361 UA-N, gives a lucid account of the next stage of his ordeal in his official report, ´We were first hit by flak and then attacked by enemy fighters. We shot two fighters down but had to force land in the sea. We got ashore by dinghy and were captured by Norwegian police. We were ten days in Oslo prison, then we were taken to Dulag Luft by air´, he was imprisoned in Stalag Luft I (Barth) July 1940-June1941; Stalag Luft III (Sagan) April 1942-July 1943; Stalag Luft VI (Heyderkrug) July 1943-June 1944, and Stalag 357 (Fallingbostel) June 1944-April 1945, ´While I was at Stalag Luft VI, Heyderkrug, we ran a theatre show, the properties of which were kept in a barn outside the camp. W/O Snowden planned that boxes of new stuff which were brought into the camp should be sent out as unwanted and that a prisoner should go out in the box. W/O Snowden got out but was later caught. Sgt. Stanford and I were taken out the next day in two separate boxes and put in the barn. The box went out by lorry and was put in the barn by prisoners. A German guard sat on the box and put his fingers in it. Feeling the warmth, he opened the box and I was discovered. A search of all the boxes was made and Stanford was found. I got 21 days confinement for this. Lascelles had also been an active member of the escape organisation at the POW camp at Barth and when they needed more information on what lay beyond the wire of the camp, ´Sergeant E.B. Lascelles (codename ´Leatherneck´) volunteered to go out on working parties to note items of a military nature such as the nearby Flak school, the aerodrome at Barth and gun emplacements near Zingst. In the spring of 1941, confined to sick quarters with impetigo, he found out from wounded prisoners being repatriated via Barth that large numbers of German troops were being moved eastwards. Technically spying and knowing that if caught he could face the death penalty, he nevertheless passed on this important information to Fanshawe. He was still in sick quarters when Fanshawe (codename now ´Murgatroyd´) told him that during a particularly thorough search the Germans had found the message about the troop movements hidden with several others behind a conceled panel in the officers´ canteen. Lascelles´ reply was also intercepted. Arrested and handed over to the Gestapo he was formally charged with espionage at the end of June. Moved from one prison to another, he was never actually tried (nor ever treated for the impetigo which had now spread to his chest). In the middle of August 1941, transferred from Barth to the Gestapo Headquarters at Stettin, he was interrogated for four months, eventually admitting that he had got the plans and information-but only for escape purposes.´ (Footprints on The Sands of Time, O. Clutton-Brock, refers). Fanshawe was to receive similar treatment, however in this instance both proved to be fortunate, ´On 18 March they had been informed that the spying charges against them had been dropped. Despite having been under interrogation at the Kriegsgericht in Charlottenburg, Berlin, since the previous year the Germans had been unable to discover any link between Barth and England, (Ibid) Lascelles was to finally be successful in creating his escape, ´On 8 April 1945 I escaped with W/O Brodie from a column marching from Fallingbostel. We hid up for ten days and got food from Russians who told us that the British had taken Fallingbostel so we returned there. I was liberated by the British at Fallingbostel on 18 April 1945.´ (POW Official report refers). Serving with 6OTU later in 1945 Lascelles was lost without trace in a Warwick I Aircraft 13.11.1945, and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

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£14,000