MOOSE JAW — Two authors who sought information about a Moose Jaw airman have written a book about the navigator’s doomed airplane, using the additional stories they received from the community.
Dr. Trevor Kerry, an English professor, and Gaetan Sago, a French historian, have produced “The Lost Dambuster Lancaster: The Story of 617 Squadron’s Attack on Hitler’s V2 Rocket Site.” The book will be available on Nov. 30 from Amazon or local booksellers.
In 2014, Kerry discovered three graves of the crew of DV403 during a visit to Leulinghem, France, but knew nothing of their story, he said by email. He then researched the Lancaster bomber, which flew from Woodhall Spa airfield near his home in Lincolnshire.
The eight men were from 617 Dambusters Squadron and went on a bombing mission on June 24, 1944, to drop a 5,400-kilogram (12,000-pound) Tallboy bomb — one of the first missions to use it — on a V-bomb launch site at Wizernes, France. However, flak hit their aircraft.
“An engine stuttered and the aircraft began to burn. John Edward, pilot, tried to hold course, to stay aloft for long enough for the crew to answer the ‘Abracadabra’ call to evacuate the craft,” the book’s synopsis says.
“An eyewitness ran for cover to dodge the shrapnel. A (covert) Resistance worker (André Schamp) saw crew members falling ‘like candles’ below their parachutes.”
Of the eight crewmen, five died, while three survived the landing, and two sustained major injuries. The Germans captured the survivors, including Moose Jaw’s Lorne Thomas Pritchard, who was unhurt.
Continuing, Kerry said he gathered the story over a decade, using records from the United Kingdom and Canada, while he also found relatives of the crewmen. He later published what he knew in magazines, which sometimes resulted in readers emailing him information.
In 2024, Sagot — who has roots in Leulinghem — contacted Kerry since the former knew the family of Schamp and planned to hold an 80th anniversary memorial event. The two decided to pool their knowledge and combine all the data and photographs into a book, which became “The Lost Dambuster Lancaster.”
The authors knew Pritchard lived in Moose Jaw, enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), was a nursing orderly, transferred to aircrew training, and became a navigator. He had a distinguished career with the same crew members in 50 Squadron before joining 617 Squadron in January 1944.
Pritchard’s navigation skills earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), the third-highest military medal that Canada issued.
Kerry acquired further information about Pritchard from the Bomber Command Museum of Canada, residents Colleen Campbell and Michele Daniels, and Pritchard’s daughter, Bonnie. He corresponded with her intermittently, with “interesting details” emerging.
The author learned that Lorne was born in Birmingham, England, and later moved to Canada. Furthermore, after becoming a prisoner of war in 1944, he was repatriated to Canada in 1945 and promoted to flight lieutenant. Taking advantage of a government program, Pritchard attended the University of Saskatchewan to study chemical engineering.
Pritchard later worked for the Palmolive company, but died in Calgary at age 44, leaving behind a wife and three daughters.
Kerry noted that Pritchard’s recollections, as conveyed through Bonnie, gave him an interesting piece of information about the crew’s preparations on June 24. Moreover, Pritchard also told his daughter that the crew was concerned about the ethics of strategic bombing, which became a theme in the book.
“My personal approach to history writing is that it should be as accurate as possible, and that means not merely recording events but examining the context in which they happen,” said Kerry.
“Gaetan enjoys detail. We both believe that the process of recording these events is important so that the following generations do not forget the sacrifices that were made — in the name of duty,” he continued.
Kerry added that the book has several valuable features, such as its connection with the crew’s families, its English and French perspectives, its willingness to engage with controversial topics, its readability, and a deep exploration of the men, places, equipment and weapons related to the situation.
