Flying Officer R G Beaune RCAF

His experience in World War 2 began shortly after his 19th birthday in the winter of 1942. By this time almost all young men were in uniform. At the time he belonged to the U & I table tennis club in Windsor Ontario. When a club member enlisted, a drinking glass was placed on a special shelf of honour. The members joined the army, navy and air force. When a member was killed, his glass was turned over. He chose the air force.

His training began in the spring of 1942. It would take a full two years to be ready for operational flying with Bomber Command. The summer of 1944, he and his crew and were assigned to RAF 90 squadron at Tuddenham. Here they flew Wellingtons, Stirlings and Lancaster's on both day and night bombing missions. By the end of July, after 5 short weeks and 17 missions , they were the senior crew on station.

The crew then requested and received transfer to 8 Group Bomber Command, Pathfinder Force.

After a week of Navigation training at Warboys, they were assigned to No 7 squadron at Oakington flying Lancasters. After several successful missions they were finally assigned to be lead plane on a mission to Scholven for bombing of an oil plant. They took off this day October 6, 1944 in Lancaster PB241 coded MG-X. Their luck ran out. They were hit by enemy fire and forced to bail out over enemy territory.*

It didn't take long to be captured, interrogated and sent to POW camp Stalag Luft 3 at Belaria. He remained there from October 1944 until January 1945. The Russians were advancing so the Germans moved the POW's out to another camp many miles away. This was the infamous Death March that winter of '45. Their next camp they shared with lice, fleas and bed bugs. The meals were watery soup once per day with bread made from sawdust.

Towards the end of April, the German guards evacuated the camp ahead of the advancing Russian army. They thought they were to finally be liberated. But the excitement was short lived. The Russians intended to keep them prisoner as insurance that their countrymen would return home to Russia. Shortly after midnight, May 7 He escaped and made his way to an American camp. Free at last!

After repatriation, he visited his old table tennis club. Of all the drinking glasses for members of the air force, his was the only one left upright.

* Crew of Lancaster BIII - PB 241 - MG-X of 7 Sqdn

F/O Beaune, RG Pilot POW

F/Sgt Etheridge, FG Navigator POW

A/F/L Milligan, KIR Air Bomber POW

F/Sgt Davidson, AC W/Op (Killed when Lancaster exploded)

Sgt Forster, JG Engineer POW

F/Sgt Sweet, WH MUG POW

F/Sgt MacWilliam, WA Rear Gunner (Parachuted to safety, later shot and killed.)

F/Sgt's Davidson & MacWilliam are both buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery