FRANK TROTT - RAF Bomber Command.
Sgt.C.F.Trott
THIS IS THE TRUE STORY OF A YOUNG RAF OFFICER, A MEMBER OF THE CREW IN A LANCASTER BOMBER SHOT DOWN IN FLAMES OVER GERMAN OCCUPIED FRANCE IN WORLD WAR II.
My grandmother Gertrude Trott sat up in bed just after 2:00 am on the 20th June 1943 . She woke her husband and said, “ Ted, Ted, something has happened to Frank ! “ He replied, “Don’t worry love, get some more sleep, he’s not due to be flying tonight .”
What neither of them knew was, that night, their son Frank had volunteered to be one of the crew of a Lancaster Bomber on a mission to drop landmines over La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France.
The Germans had established a submarine naval base at La Pallice - the main port of La Rochelle.
( A German stronghold, La Rochelle was the last French City to be liberated at the end of the war. )
What neither of them knew was, that night, their son Frank had volunteered to be one of the crew of a Lancaster Bomber on a mission to drop landmines over La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France.
The Germans had established a submarine naval base at La Pallice - the main port of La Rochelle.
( A German stronghold, La Rochelle was the last French City to be liberated at the end of the war. )
This is Frank Trott’s personal account, shared with family and friends, of his escape through German Occupied France with the help and bravery of the incredible people in the French Resistance.
115 Squadron
Members of The Lancaster Bomber crew -
F/O - D. Paston-Brown ( Died )
W/O - A.Davidson ( Taken Prisoner )
Sgt. - R. Gould ( Taken Prisoner )
F/Sgt. - L.F. King ( Taken Prisoner )
P/O - C.N. Pitchford ( Taken Prisoner )
Sgt. - A.H. Sheppard ( Evaded Capture )
Sgt. - C.F. Trott ( Evaded Capture )
115 Squadron
Members of The Lancaster Bomber crew -
F/O - D. Paston-Brown ( Died )
W/O - A.Davidson ( Taken Prisoner )
Sgt. - R. Gould ( Taken Prisoner )
F/Sgt. - L.F. King ( Taken Prisoner )
P/O - C.N. Pitchford ( Taken Prisoner )
Sgt. - A.H. Sheppard ( Evaded Capture )
Sgt. - C.F. Trott ( Evaded Capture )
During their homebound trip in clear moonlight they were attacked by Oblt. Erich Gollasch (3) of II/.NJG5 for an amazing 14 minutes before he managed to bring the Lancaster Bomber crashing down in the Loire Valley 02:01 hrs.
All the crew managed to bale out safely, but tragically the pilot, F/O. Derek Brown landed in the Loire river and was reported as drowned.
All the crew managed to bale out safely, but tragically the pilot, F/O. Derek Brown landed in the Loire river and was reported as drowned.
EXTRACTS FROM R.A.F. SGT. C.F.TROTT DEBRIEFING RECORDS NOW HELD IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
My father was half way over the bridge when he saw a German Sentry walking towards him......
In that moment, Frank decided to give himself up ! The German soldier got nearer but instead of putting his hands in the air to surrender, my father put them in his trouser pockets . As the two men crossed on the bridge my father said “Bon Jour”, the German soldier nodded and both continued walking on their way. Heart pounding Frank was expecting a bullet in the back but non came and he made his way alone into Champtoce. Uncertain what to do next, he was looking in a shop window, when two girls, ( about 15 years of age, ) approached him, one of the girls was pushing a bicycle. Incredulous she said, “Vous êtes Anglais” ? Followed by “Viens vite avec nous” ! The girls took him to a schoolteacher’s house, where he was reunited with Alan Sheppard another crew member . ONE WEEK AFTER THE CRASH OF THE LANCASTER BOMBER, FRANK TROTT AND ALAN SHEPPARD WERE TAKEN TO NANTES - THE CITY AT THE HEART OF THE FRENCH RÉSISTANCE MOVEMENT. |
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Farmers, Doctors, Teachers, Priests, Nuns, housewives and school children helped my father. He slept in homes, lofts, cellars, barns and sheds. In Nantes the two airmen were separated and guided individually through France into The Pyraneans, through Andora and into Spain.
FRANK LEFT GIBRALTAR ON THE 4Th OCTOBER 1943.
He was 19 years of age.
FRANK LEFT GIBRALTAR ON THE 4Th OCTOBER 1943.
He was 19 years of age.
Ten year old daughter and her Mother, the wife of Charles Briaudet.
Charles Pierre Briaudet born on 31st May 1911 in Nantes, was shot by the Germans on 11th of May 1944 in Angers.
Charles Pierre Briaudet born on 31st May 1911 in Nantes, was shot by the Germans on 11th of May 1944 in Angers.
Memorial card for The Comte and Comtesse Jean Saint-Bris who sheltered Frank and gave him civilian clothes. They were later betrayed by their gardener and taken prisoner by The Gestapo.
In 1940 the BBC opened it’s studio to the first members of the resistance who fled France’s occupation by Germany. By means of broadcasts from Britain the French Résistance found a voice that could be heard on the Continent serving to counter the Nazi propaganda broadcasts from Radio Paris and Radio Vichy.
Broadcasts would begin....”Ici Londres - Les Français parlent aux Français ” !
The Germans promptly prohibited anyone listening to Radio Londres.
BBC messages for the French Résistance were in code. Broadcasts would begin” Before we begin, please listen to some personal messages.” It was clear to nearly everyone that they were coded messages, often amusing and completely without context. Representative messages such as “ There is a fire at the insurance agency ” had a meaning to a certain resistance group. They were used primarily to provide messages to the resistance but also to thank their agents or simply to give the enemy the impression that something was being prepared. Because these messages were in code not cipher the occupiers could not understand them, so they had to focus their efforts on jamming the messages instead.
Broadcasts would begin....”Ici Londres - Les Français parlent aux Français ” !
The Germans promptly prohibited anyone listening to Radio Londres.
BBC messages for the French Résistance were in code. Broadcasts would begin” Before we begin, please listen to some personal messages.” It was clear to nearly everyone that they were coded messages, often amusing and completely without context. Representative messages such as “ There is a fire at the insurance agency ” had a meaning to a certain resistance group. They were used primarily to provide messages to the resistance but also to thank their agents or simply to give the enemy the impression that something was being prepared. Because these messages were in code not cipher the occupiers could not understand them, so they had to focus their efforts on jamming the messages instead.
Behind the broadcasts the background noise of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.....the first four notes of which correspond to the dot-dot-dot-dash of the Morse code letter V for Victory.
AFTER MY FATHER’S DEBRIEFING IN ENGLAND, RADIO LONDRES BROADCAST THE MESSAGE......
“J’AIME BEAUCOUP LE ROSÉ D’ANJOU”
A HUGE CHEER ECHOED AROUND THE LOIRE VALLEY.........
ONE MORE BRITISH AIRMAN HAD MADE IT HOME SAFELY.
“J’AIME BEAUCOUP LE ROSÉ D’ANJOU”
A HUGE CHEER ECHOED AROUND THE LOIRE VALLEY.........
ONE MORE BRITISH AIRMAN HAD MADE IT HOME SAFELY.
After Sgt. C.F.Trott returned to England in September 1943, he
was transferred to a different squadron so that he would not be flying over Europe. He joined ferry command - flying Lancasters to north Africa. He also took place in the food drops on Holland at the end of the war. After the war he was stationed in The Sudan, Nairobi and Egypt. Information on the Pilot :-
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/brown-derek-frank-paston.html This account by my father is shared by my brother Tony......
......................................................... The Pilot was unconscious and was thrown out of the aircraft on a static line by F/S. Trott and landed face down unconscious in water and drowned. The crew with the exception of F/S. Trott were a relatively new crew with limited operational flight time. F/S. Trott was awaiting the paperwork to come through for his promotion at the time of this mission and volunteered for the mission to replace their regular F/Eng. who was LMF ( lack of moral fibre and refusing to fly. ) The crew that F/S. Trott normally flew with had completed a tour of duty and were due to become a training crew. Upon bailing out of the aircraft F/S. Trotts parachute was ripped because the Radio operator had not retracted the radio antenna. Also the Navigator upon entry to the aircraft threw his parachute onto the bunk of the aircraft and failed to place it in the correct position in a rack next to his station. His parachute was placed into its correct position by the F/Eng. So when the aircraft was going down the Navigator was panicking. It was in fact the F/Eng. C.F. Trott who kept the aircraft flying whilst the crew bailed out. |
More information about the French Résistance :-
www.ww2escapelines.co.uk/Belgium-France/Marie-Claire/
www.ww2escapelines.co.uk/Belgium-France/Marie-Claire/