"It seemed like good thing; but wait till I tell you"
 | On 2 June 1944, Flight Sergeant Stanley Jones, a Tail Gunner of 4 Group, 158 Squadron took off from RAF Station Lissett at 2200 hours in Halifax 877A to carry out a bombing raid on the rail marshalling yards at Trappes, a suburb of Paris. |
| All went well; the target was successfully bombed, and the aircraft turned for home. A short time later they were attacked by a German fighter aircraft and unceremoniously shot out of the sky. There was enough time, however, for all seven members of the crew to bail out. It was later determined that the Pilot was injured on his descent and was captured by the enemy, but the remaining six crew members all landed safely and were sheltered by French families until their return home. Photo right shows the bombed area at Trappes |  |
Mme Gabriel Opened the Door
Stan landed in an open field in very bright moonlight and, while gathering up his parachute for proper disposal in accordance with escape instructions, discovered that he had sprained his ankle. He then found a temporary resting spot for the remainder of the night and set about stripping the rank insignia, the wing, and the Canada badges from his uniform. This done, he used his escape knife to cut his flying boots down to acceptable shoe height. At dawn, Stan found a satisfactory sleeping hole in which to spend the day (sleep all day, walk all night) and settled down. After two hours, however, he had a change of mind and decided to risk a direct approach to a French house. He then hobbled to the selected house, knocked at the front door and stood there holding out his insignia. The lady who answered the knock, Mme Gabriel, took one look at his badges, immediately opened the door, and whisked him into the house.
Two Bedrooms for Eight People
The two bedroom house now held eight people, M. and Mme Gabriel, two children ages 10 and 11, three visitors, one man, a 15 year old girl and her mother and Stan. There was no question in the minds of the Gabriel family that Stan was going to remain with them as long as necessary. They slept four to a room for three weeks, at which point the three visitors departed. Leaving Stan in a room of his own. Meanwhile, D-Day had happened, so the Gabriels were determined that Stan would simply stay with them until the Allied forces overran the house.
Ring Side Seat for Show Overhead
The Gabriel family had a shed in the back yard which had a large hole in its thatched roof. This was a very good place for Stan to while away his days, out of sight, and able to watch the continuous air show of both German and Allied aircraft every day.
Returned to Blimey
On 24 August American soldiers, having been informed of Stan’s location by French Underground forces, arrived in a Jeep and, after a most emotional and tear-stained farewell to the Gabriel family, took him to a personnel depot behind the American lines. After a short stay, he was removed to a holding depot for RAF repatriates, then in a short while he was flown by Dakota to RAF Station Croydon. There, during the MI9 Intelligence debriefing, Stan found that he had been granted a Commission on 2 June, the day of his bailout.
The Last Lap
 | After a medical examination, a period of observation and some trauma leave, he was sent back to Canada for thirty days Compassionate Leave. Stan was then posted back to England so he returned to Bournemouth on the liner Ile de France. From there he was sent to 5 Group 619 Squadron, and continued Operations on Lancaster Bombers until V-E Day.  |
The Story Doesn't End Here
Coming soon - a surprise update fifty years later.
About Stan Jones
| Stanley B. Jones enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in November of 1942 and served as a rear gunner on bomber aircraft such as the Halifax series and the Lancasters. After one of his ‘adventures’ he became an official member of the exclusive “Goldfish Club”. Membership in this club is awarded to airmen who were forced to leave an aircraft and were saved by using a life jacket or dingy type craft. Those airmen who parachuted to safety became members of the "Caterpillar Club". Stan qualified for both!  |  After the war, he purchased a farm west of Port Stanley, Ontario about 15 kilometers south of St. Thomas. Stan was a member of the Board of the Elgin Military Museum for many years. |
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