RAF Rear Gunner

That's great. I am so happy that I saw this thread and it wasn't too late to add to the information already expertly gathered.

 

Just caught up on this story - great work all concerned! Impressive stuff, well done to you.

Cheers, Pat

 

Hi Dan,
Passed on your report ref, crash Halifax HX- 285, to Richard's (dick) daughter and she was thrilled with it.

Graham.

 

That's great to know. Thank you.

 

There's just one outstanding feature missing now. A photo of the crew together with their aircraft.I very much doubt such a photo exists. Perhaps a relative might have something tucked away, you never know.
Should I ever come across such a photo (Halifax HX285 and or it's crew together) I will post it here.
Currently my time is being taken up tracing my grandfather (Worcestershire Regt WW1, and a POW of WW2).

regards......Graham.

 

Here are some better quality photos of the men. The photos of just one person are Tony, Glen, and Walter. The three men pictured together are (from left to right) Skipper of the plane that crash landed, Tony (giving the "V" sign), and their Wireless Operator. The written message was on the back of the photograph of Walter.

 

Super photos Dan,well done mate.

Graham.

 

A. M. P. Camenzuli was a prisoner at Stalag Luft VII, Bankau. He was with the Malta Air Force in RAF Bomber Command.
I have a website dedicated to my father-in-law Robert Toomey that includes Allied Airforce Insignia drawings and Camenzuli signed the drawing for the Malta Air Force. See 'Wartime Diary of Robert Toomey/Scrapbook/pow-name-cards"

 

Hi Dan,
My father-in-law was with Tony Camenzuli (Malta Airforce) in Stalag Luft VII, Bankau. I have a website honouring my father-in-law and airmen prisoners of war. Camenzuli signed a drawing of the Malta Airforce Insignia that Robert Toomey drew. You can see this drawing with A.M.P. Camenzuli's signature here:
Wartime Diary of Robert E. Toomey - Name Cards Signed by the Prisoners

(Wartime Diary of Robert Toomey, RCAF)

 

UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945
Name: M P Camenzult
Rank: Flight Sergeant
Army Number: 1818930
Regiment: Royal Air Force : Officers & Other Ranks
Nationality: Maltese
Section: Royal Air Force : Officers & Other Ranks

From a family tree on Ancestry:
Antonio Marco Publo (Tony) Camenzuli
1926–2011
BIRTH 1926 • Malta
DEATH 2011 • Kent, England

There is a long family history on the Ancestry tree - too big to copy onto here


TD

 

May I have permission to include Tony Camenzuli's photo in my website on this page under the Insignia drawing?
Wartime Diary of Robert E. Toomey - Drawings of Allied Insignia Signed by POWs

Thanks.

 

Claude

I have sent you a 'conversation' - which is the sites messageing system between members

TD

There seems to be a photo of him in post 106 above

 

Thanks. Great photo..
Cheers.

 

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this.

 

Tony Camenzuli landed in Kreyel, hamlet of the Bocholt village. I live in the next village, east of Kreyel. Tony twisted his right ankle hitting the ground. Some people he met: Frans Bas ("Franz"). Frans was a carpenter and hid Tony in a small room that he had built above his workshop. Tony hid there until he had recovered. He also met Henri ("Harry") Geunis, butcher in Bocholt and Mrs. Bijvoet (M.D. as far as I know). At that time there was an American called Clerkin who stayed in Bocholt for some time. I can try to provide more information if required but will have to translate that first.

 

I believe "Clerkin" was 0-709469 2nd Lt William J. Clerkin, USAAF, navigator aboard B-17 42-31984 "Berlin Express" of the 407th Bomber Squadron, 92nd Bomb Group. Aircraft lost three engines and went down near Leopoldsburg which is pretty close to Bocholt. Lost on 20 July 1944. Missing Aircrew Report 7408 has the details.

Regards,

Dave

 

Clerkin, incredable story.

Graham..

 

Dear all,
What a wonderful stories coming together! Maybe I may add a possible link on the line between Bocholt and Antwerp, although it seems a detour.

In the documentation of resistance group 'De Vrijbuiters' of Maarheeze (not far from Bocholt in Belgium), next to over 20 aircrew members helped by this group, also 4 names of members of allied planes, connected to Maarheeze are mentioned, among who is "Sgt. Camenzuli. A.M.P. Leichester. England".

The writer, Dick Albers, one of the members of this resistance group, is unsure what the connection to 'De Vrijbuiters' group of Maarheeze had been. However, it is sure that this group, led by mr. Harrie Semler and his wife Catharina (Trien) Semler-Hendriks from their caravan in Maarheeze helped, as mentioned, over 20 documented allied crew members via the Budel (Netherlands)-Hamont (Belgium) border to the Belgian resistance (Secret Army/White Brigade). Several members of the Maarheeze group were members of this Belgian organisation too. Among the Maarheeze resistance group were some ('mounted') policemen, active at the nearby border between the Netherlands and Belgium. Thus, this group was part of/or linked to especially the Cometline, via Antwerp, France, Spain, to Gibraltar and back to the UK. All this, knowing that his name however is not mentioned on the Comet line website Sélection des fiches (evasioncomete.org) .
In E & E reports the 'stopover' in Maarheeze is often mentioned after this caravan, as Harrie Semler asked the crew members to mention 'The (little) red wagon'. So that stands for the Vrijbuiters group, for the Semlers, of Maarheeze (often wrongly indicated and located on the Cometline website). The airmen came from all directions, for sure some of them also from the nearby Limburg region (where also Bocholt is).

My question: could A.M.P. (Tony) Camenzuli have been helped from Bocholt via the connections in Weert/Stramproy, via this Maarheeze group, as that mentions his name? @ Dan Cooper: is there any clue for this in the writings of your great-uncle Tony?

As historian, tracing the history of the Maarheeze resistance group, I am most grateful for any information on this subject.
Thanks very much in advance!

Jac. Biemans

 

To be more clear, the village of Maarheeze is in the Netherlands, some 17 km south of Eindhoven and close to the Belgian border.