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Evader Story

Sgt. Donald Scott Beckwith was the flight engineer of Lancaster ME684. After bailing out he landed east of Varsseveld (although he thought himself it was three miles east of Haaksbergen). He was seriously hurt at his back and face. Soon after the landing was found by a farmer, who procured first medical assistance. Beckwith was probably picked up by Jan Wikkerink at the farm. He took him to Aalten. Because of his injuries it was considered to bring Beckwith to a hospital, but eventually it was decided to keep the airman in hiding. Nearly two weeks he recovered in a bed in the house of doctor Joop der Weduwen in Aalten. Then Beckwith hid for a few days near Zutphen. According to his evasion report he hid in the house of a resistance leader in the area. This house was located about four kilometers west of Zutphen. On 15 April 1944 he was escorted by Joep ter Haar by train to Heerlen. From there he travelled to Maastricht where he joined two American airmen- 2/Lt. Carl I Glassman (E0427) and 2/Lt. Myrle J. Stinnett (E0428). On 4 May 1944 (according to Beckwith 5 May) Willem van Schaik (Loran) escorted the three through the Sint Pietersberg to Belgian soil. Stinnett: ' On May 4 we were guided across the Holland-Belgium border by an Underground worker. He took us through an old mine which has an entrance in Maastricht and which extends almost all the way to Liege, Belgium. We were told the mine was 18 Kilometers long. All the Dutch art treasures were stored in the mine, along with enough food to feed 70,000 people. A huge store of weapons and ammunition was kept in the mine. I noticed that huge ovens had been installed in the mine to feed persons who were hiding from the Germans. Some paintings on the walls marked with the year 1497.' Glassman, Stinnett and Beckwith crossed the border through the mine probably with four others: T/Sgt. Clifton E. Hanley, 2/Lt Russell H. Gecks (E0431), 2/Lt. Frank Deason (E0429) and S/Sgt. Richard E. Denny (E0430). Here they were handed over to a Belgian resistance organization. In the following days they moved to Liege. According to the EE-report of Stinnett they separated here from Glassman: 'I last saw Glassman in Liege. He left that city with an RCAF and an RAF flier to make his way to France'. Stinnett and Beckwith remained in Liege until 19 May and were joined by a Canadian airman: Sgt R.H.L. Potentier of 433 Squadron. On 24th March 1944 his Halifax-bomber was badly damaged by flak and the navigator wounded but although the captain did not give the order to abandon the aircraft, Potentier baled out near Membach. The aircraft with the rest of the crew limped back to England and landed at West Malling.

On 19 May (or 18 May) the four were convoyed by tram by eight escorts to Hognoul, where they stayed for six days and then were taken to a farm at 'Louvaige' (probably Lowaige/Lauw). They hid in this town near Tongeren from 24 May until 4 June 1944 at different addresses. Stinnett hid in this periode with Armand Rutten at Kleinstraat 6 in Lauw. Glassman stayed in the same period with Lambert Delvaux, Thyllerwg 9, also in Lauw. On 4 June they were taken to 'Hensay'. Stinnett, Beckwith and Potentier then 'left on their own' for the Belgian-French border. On 7 June they crossed the border into France. In this country the contacted the resistance in a cabin in a forest between Vireux-Wallerand and Haugnies. In this cabin they met seven other airmen. They stayed here until 15 July. They were 'forced to leave by the Gestapo' and then went to Hargnies, where they stayed until 21 July. On this date they left this village in order to try to reach Switzerland. On 26 July they arrived in Vienne-Le-Chateu near Verdun. They stayed here for about a week hiding with the Maquis in the woods. On 3 August Beckwith left the area with F/Sgt. Ross Morley and Sgt. Farmer. They walked to Passavant-en-Argonne. While doing this Beckwith and Ross Morley lost contact with Farmer. The two proceeded their hike and passed Chaumont-sur-Aire. They stayed from 5 til 8 August in Pierrefitte-sur-Aire. On 10 August they reached Delouze-Rosières where they remained with the Maquis. In this period, they fought with the Maquis. On 1 September they contacted the American Army. Soon after Beckwith was on his way home via Paris. Stinnett was probably liberated in (southern) Belgium in or near Sibret by the American Army in September 1944.

Source(s)

* H.B. van Helden, De lijst van Haeck. Een overzicht van de hulpverlening aan geallieerde bemanningsleden en ontsnapte krijgsgevangenen tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog (Hardenberg 2017), page 143-153

* Frank Govers, Pyama-House. Ontdekkingsreis door het uitgebreide netwerk van de pilotenhulp tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog: 1943-1944 (Uden 1992), page 77

* The National Archives, London, WO 208/3322/38

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