A brief history of Operation Freshman and the stories of its casualties

Sunday 19 November will mark the 75th anniversary of a daring airborne raid. Codenamed ‘Operation Freshman’, the raid was an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the hydroelectric power station vital for German atomic research. The CWGC commemorates those who died and last month, HRH The Duke of Kent visited CWGC cemeteries in Oslo and Stavanger to pay his respects ahead of the anniversary. Here is more about the raid and the stories of some of the men who lost their lives.

Operation Freshman

By 1942 the German atomic weapons programme was making progress towards creating a nuclear bomb. A hydroelectric plant in Norway was the base for manufacturing and research, and a daring plan was created to destroy it.

A group of Royal Engineers was assigned the top secret mission.

On the evening of 19 November 1942, two Halifax bombers left RAF Skitten in northern Scotland, towing two Horsa gliders. On reaching the Norwegian coast the ground was obscured by thick cloud, and radio transmitters deployed by Norwegian agents at the landing site failed. Navigating by map and compass in atrocious weather the aircrews were unable to find the landing zone, and they reluctantly turned for home.

While still over Norway disaster struck. The tow rope on the first glider iced over in the freezing conditions and snapped, the glider crashing into the mountains in Fyljesdalen, Forsand. The second glider crashed into Benkja mountain, while its Halifax crashed into Hæstad Mountain.

Commemorating the fallen

Forty-one men died in the crashes or were later killed as prisoners of war.

The crew of Halifax is buried in Helleland Churchyard. Among the 100 Second World War burials at Oslo Western Civil Cemetery are five Royal Engineers who were executed by the Germans in January 1943.

The Second World War burials at Stavanger (Eiganes) Churchyard, include six Royal Engineers and crews from the gliders.

Among the 3,400 names listed on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial are four Royal Engineers who were executed, and their bodies thrown in the sea near Kvitsoy.

Casualties of Operation Freshman

Lieutenant Alexander Charles Allen

In charge of the assault force for Operation Freshman was 24-year-old Lieutenant Alexander Charles Allen. The son of Horace Charles and Edna Allen, he was the oldest of four siblings.

He attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Aston, Birmingham, and was a keen sportsman, playing rugby and athletics, and was also a fan of Aston Villa Football Club. After school he worked as an apprentice mechanical engineer for Dunlop and trained part-time at Birmingham Technical College. He joined the Dunlop Company's Territorial Battalion of Royal Engineers. At the outbreak of war, he volunteered for active service and was commissioned.

Alexander's father, Horace Charles Allen, was a Royal Engineer during the First World War and was badly wounded at Gallipoli in 1915.

Alexander was involved in Operation Freshman from the start, although he had worked in bomb disposal, he had expressed a desire for more action. He was regarded as firm, quiet-spoken, but commanded a natural authority and respect among his men. Alexander was engaged to April, the daughter of a Church of England reverend from North Devon.

Alexander survived the crash of his glider, and was taken prisoner along with 13 other Royal Engineers. They were executed in the woods near Slettebo Camp and are buried in Stavanger (Eiganes) Churchyard.

Driver Ernest Pendlebury

Ernest Pendlebury was born on 17 May 1917 in Heckmondwike, Yorkshire, the middle-child of three. He attended  school in Gomersal, Yorkshire, and later went on to Bradford Technical College. His father worked in the textile industry and Ernest also went into the trade.

Ernest joined the Royal Engineers in 1939-40 and was made a Driver, later becoming an Instructor. In 1940, he married Marjorie Housecroft in Spen Valley, Yorkshire.

He had not been with his unit very long before being selected for Operation Freshman, but he was popular with the others.

Driver Pendlebury was severely injured in the crash of his glider which killed the two pilots. His comrades managed to lift him out of the wreck, but he died shortly afterwards. He is buried in Stavanger (Eiganes) Churchyard.

Sapper Gerald S. Williams

Gerald Stanley Williams was born in 1924 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, the youngest of five children.

Gerald went to a Technical High School in Doncaster, where he excelled at carpentry and won prizes for his work. When war broke out Gerald was determined to join the forces, his older brother Jack was a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy. Gerald lied about his age to enlist at the age of 17.

Gerald was the youngest servicemen involved in Operation Freshman, having recently celebrated his 18th birthday. He was considered by his team as someone 'always ready to have a bash'. One of his officers described him as a 'good lad and an outstanding soldier for his age'.

Gerald survived the crash of his glider, and was taken prisoner along with 13 other Royal Engineers. They were executed in the woods near Slettebo Camp and are buried in Stavanger (Eiganes) Churchyard.

 

Photo credits:

Lieutenant Alexander Charles Allen - Photo courtesy of the Airborne Assault Museum, Duxford

Driver Ernest Pendlebury - Photo courtesy of Tony Dunlop

Sapper Gerald S. Williams - Photo courtesy of the Airborne Assault Museum, Duxford