Welcome to RNZAF Wigram – The spiritual home of the RNZAF.
This cache is one in a series to remember the Base that was once here. In other Caches in this series, I have remembered aircraft that served in the RNZAF, and are in the street names. However, for this one, I will remember an unknown NZ airman who displayed the highest standards of leadership and courage in extreme adversity, and prevailed – Squadron Leader Phil Lamason DFC and Bar. (Apologies for the length of this, but I promise you, if you read to the end, you will be nothing short of A-MAZED!).
SqnLdr Lamason was born in Napier on 15 Sept 1918. He attended Napier Boys College and Massey University where he achieved a Diploma in Sheep Farming. He worked for the Dept of Agriculture as a stock inspector in New Plymouth. During this time he took flying lessons and managed to clock up 100hrs flying time.
He joined the RNZAF in Sept 1940, and eventually found himself in the European Theatre of Operations posted to 218 Sqn as a Pilot Officer flying Stirling Bombers. In April 1942, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for an incident on Ops. The citation reads:
“Pilot Officer Philip John. LAMASON, (N.Z. 403460), Royal New Zealand Air Force, No. 218 Squadron. One night in April, 1942, this officer was the captain of an aircraft which attacked Pilsen. During the return flight his aircraft was attacked by an enemy fighter and sustained damage; the hydraulics were shot away and the turret rendered unserviceable, while a fire broke out in the middle of the fuselage. Displaying great presence of mind, Pilot Officer Lamason coolly directed his crew in the emergency and, while 2 of them dealt with the fire, he skilfully outmanoeuvred his attacker and finally shook him off. By his fine airmanship and great devotion to duty, Pilot Officer Lamason was undoubtedly responsible for the safe return of the aircraft and its crew. This officer has completed 21 sorties and he has at all times displayed courage and ability.”
After his first tour ended with 218 Squadron, Lamason then instructed other pilots at 1657 Heavy Conversion Unit. Returning to operations with No. 15 Squadron RAF, Lamason was twice Mentioned in Despatches, first on 2 June 1943, and again, having received promotion to acting Squadron Leader on 14 January 1944. He was awarded a Bar (2nd award) to his DFC on 27 June 1944, for "courage and devotion to duty of a high order" and "vigorous determination" in attacks on Berlin and other heavily defended targets. Lamason was presented his award after the war by King George VI at Buckingham Palace, where he met and befriended a young Princess Elizabeth. On another day after making an emergency landing at an American base in England, Lamason was introduced to, shook hands and spoke with Clark Gable. None too shabby for just a good old Kiwi boy from Napier!
But this is where Lamasons War got tipped on its head, and his real story begins.
On 8 June 1944, Lamason was serving as a flight commander in a Lancaster on his 45th operation, when he was shot down during a raid on railway marshalling yards at Massy-Palaiseau near Paris.
Along with his Navigator, Lamason was picked up by members of the French Resistance and hidden at various locations for seven weeks. In August 1944, while attempting to reach Spain, Lamason and Chapman were captured by the Gestapo in Paris after they were betrayed by the French double agent Jacques Desoubrie for 10,000 francs each. (After the War, Desoubrie was found, tried and executed for his actions). After interrogation at the Gestapo headquarters in Paris, they were taken to Fresnes Prison. Many fliers were classified as "Terrorflieger" (terror flier) by the Germans, and were not given a trial. The most common act for Allied airmen to be classified a terror flier was to be captured in civilian clothing and/or without their dog tags. The German Foreign Office decided that these captured enemy airmen should not be given the legal status of prisoner of war (POWs) but should instead be treated as criminals and spies.
Consequently, Lamason was among a group of 168 Allied airmen from Great Britain, United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Jamaica who—along with over 2,500 French prisoners—were taken by train in overcrowded cattle boxcars from Fresnes Prison outside Paris to Buchenwald concentration camp. As the airmen were herded into the boxcars, Lamason protested about the poor treatment of the airmen, only to be struck in the face by an SS guard. Lamason fell to the ground and captured pilot Roy Allen watched as an SS Major pulled a Luger from his holster and thought Lamason would be shot on the spot. After five days travel, during which the airmen received very little food or water, they arrived at Buchenwald on 20 August 1944.
Buchenwald was a labour camp of about 60,000 inmates of mainly Russian POWs, but also common criminals, religious prisoners (including Jews), and various political prisoners. It was known for its brutality and barbaric medical experiments.
Upon arrival, Lamason, as ranking officer, demanded an interview with the camp commandant, Hermann Pister, which he was granted. He insisted that the airmen be treated as POWs under the Geneva Conventions and be sent to a POW camp. The commandant agreed that their arrival at Buchenwald was a "mistake" but they remained there anyway. The airmen were given the same poor treatment and beatings as the other inmates. For the first three weeks at Buchenwald, the prisoners were totally shaved, denied shoes and forced to sleep outside without shelter in one of Buchenwald's sub-camps, known as 'Little Camp'. Little Camp was a quarantine section of Buchenwald where the prisoners received the least food and harshest treatment.
After their first meal, Lamason stepped forward and said:
“Attention!... Gentlemen, we have ourselves in a very fine fix indeed. The goons have completely violated the Geneva Convention and are treating us as common thieves and criminals. However, we are soldiers. From this time on, we will also conduct ourselves as our training has taught us and as our countries would expect from us. We will march as a unit to roll call and we will follow all reasonable commands as a single unit”.
Lamason then instructed the group not to trust the SS, or provoke them in any way because as they had experienced on the train, the guards were unpredictable and trigger-happy. Also, they were not to explore the camp because of the chance of breaking unknown rules, but to stay together and keep as far away from the guards as possible. He further stated that acting on the group's behalf, he would make further contact with the camp authorities for recognition of their rights.
Lamason then proceeded to organise the airmen into groups by nationality and appointed a Commanding officer within each group. Lamason did not do this just to improve their morale but because he also saw it as his responsibility to carry on his war duties despite the adverse circumstances. Captured US pilot Joe Moser believed that Lamason also did this because if the right opportunity presented itself, the group would be able to operate much more effectively if military discipline and operations were applied.
Lamason's leadership boosted the airmen's spirits and gave them hope while instilling a level of discipline and bearing. One of the first assignments Lamason gave was to mount a guard detail, both day and night, to prevent pilfering by other inmates, which had begun during their first night at camp. During their incarceration, Lamason insisted the airmen march, parade and act as a military unit.
As senior officer, Lamason had access to the main camp and quickly built a rapport with the group. As a result, he was able to secure extra blankets, clothes, clogs and food for the airmen. Lamason also built a rapport with two other prisoners who had developed trustworthy contacts within the camp administrative area and were able to provide Lamason with reliable intelligence that assisted in the survival of the airmen.
For the next six weeks, Lamason negotiated with Pister and the German camp authorities, but his requests to have the airmen transferred to proper POW camps were denied.
As Buchenwald was a forced labour camp, the German authorities had intended to put the 168 airmen to work as slave labor in the nearby armament factories. Consequently, Lamason was ordered by an SS officer to instruct the airmen to work, or he would be immediately executed by firing squad. Lamason refused to give the order and informed the officer that they were soldiers and could not and would not participate in war production. After a tense stand-off, during which time Lamason thought he would be shot, the SS officer eventually backed down.
Most airmen doubted they would ever get out of Buchenwald because their documents were stamped with the acronym "DIKAL" (Darf in kein anderes Lager), or "not to be transferred to another camp". At great risk, Lamason secretly smuggled a note through a trusted Russian prisoner, who worked at the nearby Nohra airfield, to the German Luftwaffe of their captivity at the camp. The message requested in part, that an officer pass the information to Berlin, and for the Luftwaffe to intercede on behalf of the airmen. Lamason understood that the Luftwaffe would be sympathetic to their predicament, as they would not want their captured men treated in the same way; he also knew that the Luftwaffe had the political connections to get the airmen transferred to a POW camp.
Eventually, Lamason's persistence paid off. Under the pretence of inspecting aerial bomb damage near the camp, two Luftwaffe officers made contact with the airmen and also spoke to Lamason. Convinced the airmen were not spies, but bona-fide airmen, they reported their findings to command.After reading the report, an outraged Hermann Göring himself demanded 'at the highest level' the transfer of the airmen to Luftwaffe control.
Unknown to all airmen except Lamason, their execution had been scheduled for 26 October if they remained at Buchenwald. News of the airmen's scheduled execution had been conveyed to Lamason by a German political prisoner, who had a reliable contact within the camp administrative area. Lamason discussed the information at length with some confidantes and they concluded there was little that could be done to avert the mass execution. Lamason decided not to inform the airmen, but to keep this information to himself to keep morale high and in the slight hope the Luftwaffe would intervene in time. On the night of 19 October, seven days before their scheduled execution, 156 of the 168 airmen, including Lamason, were transferred from Buchenwald to Stalag Luft III by the Luftwaffe.
Two airmen died at Buchenwald. Another ten who were too ill to be moved with the main group, were transported to Stalag Luft III in small groups over a period of several weeks. In the two months at Buchenwald, Lamason had lost 19 kilograms (42 lbs) and had contracted diphtheria and dysentery. At Stalag Luft III, he spent a month in the infirmary recovering. In late January 1945, all Stalag Luft III POWs were force-marched to other POW camps further inside Germany. Lamason was marched to Stalag III-A outside Luckenwalde, where he remained until liberated by the Russian army at the end of the war in Europe. Lamason was taken to Hildesheim airfield and flown to Brussels and then onto England.
Many airmen credit their survival at Buchenwald to the leadership and determination of Lamason. Captured pilot Stratton Appleman stated that "they were very fortunate to have Lamason as their leader". Another airman, Joe Moser, stated that Lamason was a great leader whom he would have been glad to follow anywhere he asked. British pilot James Stewart described Lamason as "a wonderful unsung hero" (understatement of the century!!!). In the book 168 Jump into Hell, Lamason was described as having single-minded determination, selflessness, cold courage and forcefulness in the face of the threat of execution by the camp authorities because he was their leader and said that Lamason quickly established himself as a legendary figure in the airmen's eyes. In the National Film Board of Canada 1994 documentary, The Lucky Ones: Allied Airmen and Buchenwald, captured pilot Tom Blackham stated that Lamason was not only the senior officer, but also their natural leader. Lamason emerged from Buchenwald with a giant reputation. In the book Destination Buchenwald, Lamason stated he felt deeply honoured to have been the senior officer during the Buchenwald period.
On his eventual return to NZ, Phil Lamason fell back into civilian life, farming 400acres in Danneverke for 60yrs and died on 19 May 2012 aged 93.
“War is a horrid thing” said Pvte Balrdrick in Blackadder Goes Fourth. And Phil Lamason saw some of the more horrid aspects of this vicious conflict. Through his single minded determination, leadership and convictions, he stood up against brutal oppression, and undoubtedly saved the lives of all the airman in Buchenwald. And yet he received no formal recognition for his action from the NZ Government, and I bet you – you’d never heard of him till now.
None too shabby for a good old boy from Napier.
PER ARDUA AD ASTRA
BYOP. Small container. No room for much stuff.