THE ELGIN MILITARY MUSEUM
  • The Elgin Military Museum
    • COVID - 19 NOTICE
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Research Veterans Collection
  • The Services
    • ARMY >
      • D-Day
      • The Elgins
      • The Perfect Man
      • The Kangaroos
      • Afghanistan
      • Links to Army Stories
    • Navy >
      • HMCS St. Thomas
      • Radar Man
      • Links to Navy Stories
    • Air Force >
      • Flying 001
      • Commonwealth Air Training Plan
      • First Radar Dome
      • Links to Air Force Stories
    • Women in the Services >
      • Donna Price
    • Services for the Services
  • Stuff
    • The Boss
    • The Chair
    • Pride Pets & Pests
    • National Winner
  • EXHIBITS & EVENTS
    • Cold War at Home
    • Vimy Centennial at EMM
    • THE VIMY POPPY
    • Fragments
    • Hall of Honour
    • Remember
    • Model Ships
    • Jumbo
  • Plan Visit
    • Tours EMM
    • Tours HMCS Ojibwa
  • Education
  • Blog

lives lived

take a moment to walk in their shoes

Stan's Summer of '44 Surprise

2/28/2018

0 Comments

 

Where there's a will there's a way

Picture
The 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1994 stirred memories far and wide including in the mind of a determined Frenchman who was only sixteen when a young Canadian 'soldier' turned up at the door of a neighbour in German occupied France.

Thus, Michel Juniau and his wife from Beaumont le Roger in the Commune d'Ecardenville la Compagne, France began the search for 'Jones Stanley.' Memories fade after fifty years; Michel thought that 'Jones' had lived on a farm somewhere in Canada before the war and that he had a sister named 'Lucie'. This was not much to go on but they persevered approaching the Canadian embassy in Paris and then writing countless letters to municipal offices all over Canada.  It was a long process.
Sixteen year old Michel put on his best clothes to pose with the Canadian 'Jones Stanley' who was being hidden from the Germans by neighbours.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

As luck would have it, one of those letters landed on the desk of the village of Port Stanley Council and quickly found it's way to the local newspaper in nearby St. Thomas, Ontario. At the time, the Elgin Military Museum was deep in preparations for their own D-Day celebrations but it didn't take board member Stan Jones more than a second to realize that he was the Canadian 'soldier' being sought.  The inverted name aside, it was all the more remarkable because he had not been a soldier (he was a rear gunner on a Halifax bomber) and his sister's name was Betty not 'Lucie'. He sat down and wrote a reply.
Picture

To capture the feeling of the moment, the following are excerpts from reporter Marg Berry's article in The St. Thomas Times Journal of June 22, 1994 highlighted with images from Stan Jones files at the museum and illustrative headings.

Stan Gets a Letter

Picture
 “I think it was through the newspaper article that you found trace of us. I have never forgotten you, and I didn’t know if you had died in the war. I still have several pictures, the letter of Christmas 1944 with your picture, a box of chocolates you sent me also a tie. I still have the little compass that you carried with you. I also Called Maurice Guillou the some of the people where you were hidden. I have tried to get news about you but nothing. I didn’t know if you were still living. This is a letter of massive joy.”    _ Michel Juniau

Mr. Jones, above reading one of the letters commented that they bring back many memories of the summer of 1944. He said he was able to move about in a limited way with the help of the people who sheltered him during his stay in the French countryside. He received help with his French from a school teacher who was a friend of the family where he was hidden that summer. The compass mentioned in the letter was part of his emergency kit and was to be used for escape purposes.

Getting there was half the 'Fun'

Mr. Jones was a tail gunner on a Halifax B III that flew out of Royal Air Force Base Lissett in Yorkshire, England on May 30, 1944 on a mission to destroy a rail yard in the town of Trappes near Paris.The raids were in preparation for the Allied landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944. It was his 12th mission with the RAF Squadron [158] and he was the only Canadian in the seven member crew. They had started back to home base when the plane was shot down by a German Messerschmidt 110 night fighter.After his plane was hit, Mr. Jones pulled on his parachute and jumped followed by the other crew members. The pilot broke his ankle on landing and was captured by the Germans but the other six members escaped. They all qualified for membership in the 'Caterpillar Club'.   

Picture

Sojourn in France

It was 1 am and Mr. Jones walked until late morning before feeling safe in approaching a farm house, where a man and women with two children took him in, took away his uniform and provided him with worn clothing. During his time in hiding, from June 3 to Aug. 27, 1944, Mr. Jones did go out, but he never traveled far from his shelter. His place of hiding was in close proximity to Falaise and he could hear the sounds of one of the fiercest battles of the campaign taking place nearby. At the end of August the battle of Falaise was won by the Allies. Mr. Jones was picked up by an American scout car and taken to a temporary camp housing other airmen who had escaped. He returned to England to find that he had been promoted from Flight Sgt. to Pilot Officer on the very day that he had been shot down.

Grateful Thoughts on Both Sides

Mr. Jones is grateful to the people in the French rural countryside who risked their lives to give him shelter 50 years ago. He said it is exciting to be in touch with them once again.

In Stan's files at the museum is another testimonial of thanks - from the municipal council of the area in France where he took refuge.
Picture

Picture

Sojourn in France
North Sea Adventure
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    The Elgin Military Museum has a vast collection of letters, articles, poems and pictures of veterans and others who served their community over a period of two hundred years.. This blog is our way of sharing them with you.

    Archives

    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016

    Categories

    All
    Air Force
    Army
    Bridge Too Far
    Caterpillar Club
    Ceremonies
    Christmas
    Churchill
    Citations
    Confidential Book Box
    D Day
    Devil's Brigade
    Dieppe
    Elgin Military Museum
    Elgin Regiment
    Goldfish Club
    Italian Campaign
    Late Arrivals Club
    Letters
    Merchant Marine
    Military Camps
    Military Cross
    Military Medical Care
    Momentous Events
    Nursing
    Obituaries
    PPCLI
    Radar
    Red Cross
    Roosevelt
    Royal Canadian Navy
    Royal Navy
    Tanks
    Trench Warfare
    U Boats
    WW I
    WW II

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • The Elgin Military Museum
    • COVID - 19 NOTICE
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Research Veterans Collection
  • The Services
    • ARMY >
      • D-Day
      • The Elgins
      • The Perfect Man
      • The Kangaroos
      • Afghanistan
      • Links to Army Stories
    • Navy >
      • HMCS St. Thomas
      • Radar Man
      • Links to Navy Stories
    • Air Force >
      • Flying 001
      • Commonwealth Air Training Plan
      • First Radar Dome
      • Links to Air Force Stories
    • Women in the Services >
      • Donna Price
    • Services for the Services
  • Stuff
    • The Boss
    • The Chair
    • Pride Pets & Pests
    • National Winner
  • EXHIBITS & EVENTS
    • Cold War at Home
    • Vimy Centennial at EMM
    • THE VIMY POPPY
    • Fragments
    • Hall of Honour
    • Remember
    • Model Ships
    • Jumbo
  • Plan Visit
    • Tours EMM
    • Tours HMCS Ojibwa
  • Education
  • Blog