Jorgen Thalbitzer
Encyclopedia
Flying Officer
Jorgen Billy Thalbitzer (22 May 1920 – 29 March 1943), was a Danish pilot who joined the British Royal Air Force
during the Second World War, became a prisoner of war
(POW) and died following escape from prison.
Following the German invasion of Denmark
in April 1940, Thalbitzer escaped to England; he left Denmark on 26 December 1940 and travelled via Istanbul
, Cyprus
, Suez
and Cape Town
. He was accompanied by Sigfred Johannes Christophersen, who was later to become a British agent in Denmark before being killed in 1943.
He was commissioned into the Royal Air Force
on 28 October 1941 as a Pilot Officer
and trained to fly Hurricane
s.
He first served with 32 Squadron, before being re-trained to fly Spitfires and joining 234 Squadron
at Tangmere
.
During 1941 and 1942 a group of Danish businessmen living in England collected £38,000 among themselves. This sum was used to purchase three Spitfires. The money was handed over to Winston Churchill
by a group of Danish pilots, including Thalbitzer, on 9 April 1942. One of the aircraft bought with the money, serial BL855 (named Niels Ebbesen), was later flown by Thalbitzer.
and crashed into high tension wires near Plouescat
He evaded capture for around 14 days, before being caught and becoming a POW. He used the assumed name of 'John Thompson' to hide his real identity from the Germans, to help protect his family who were still living in occupied Denmark.
He was initially sent to Stalag Luft III
where he became involved with the escape organisation headed by Lieutenant Commander Jimmy Buckley
. In November 1942 he was sent with Buckley, to Oflag XXI-B
in Poland
.
An escape tunnel had been constructed at Oflag XXI-B, aided by Thalbitzer; it was used for a mass escape on 5 March 1943. Thalbitzer escaped with Buckley, together they first travelled to Stettin hoping to find a Danish or Swedish ship which might be able to take them to neutral Sweden
. However they were unable to locate any suitable ships, and after narrowly avoiding recapture, they 'jumped' onto a train bound for Rostock
. Here they also found no suitable ships. From Rostock they decided to head for Copenhagen
and reached the city after passing through numerous identity checks using forged papers created in the POW camp. In Copenhagen, Thalbitzer contacted his father, Billy, and through the Danish underground forces, it was arranged for Thalbitzer and Buckley to make the crossing to Sweden using a canoe
.
They departed the Danish coast at 10pm on 28 March 1943, but were never seen alive again. Thalbitzer's body was later recovered, but Buckley's was never found.
Thalbitzer was first buried on 7 July 1943 at Tibirke churchyard
, however after his body was identified, by means of his ring with the family coat-of-arms, his urn was interred on 31 July 1943 at Vestre Cemetery
.
He is also commemorated on the Maidenhead Register, a memorial for non-Commonwealth nationals killed on British Military Service during World War II.
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
Jorgen Billy Thalbitzer (22 May 1920 – 29 March 1943), was a Danish pilot who joined the British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during the Second World War, became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(POW) and died following escape from prison.
Royal Air Force Service
Thalbitzer learnt to fly and qualified for a private pilots licence at the age of eighteen.Following the German invasion of Denmark
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
in April 1940, Thalbitzer escaped to England; he left Denmark on 26 December 1940 and travelled via Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. He was accompanied by Sigfred Johannes Christophersen, who was later to become a British agent in Denmark before being killed in 1943.
He was commissioned into the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
on 28 October 1941 as a Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
and trained to fly Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s.
He first served with 32 Squadron, before being re-trained to fly Spitfires and joining 234 Squadron
No. 234 Squadron RAF
No. 234 Squadron RAF had a long career within the RAF, being operational on flying boats in World War I and on fighter aircraft in World War II. After the war it remained a fighter unit till 1957. In its last incarnation the squadron was in turn Operational Training Unit , Tactical Weapon Unit and...
at Tangmere
Tangmere
Tangmere is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Located three miles north east of Chichester it is twinned with Hermanville-sur-Mer in Lower Normandy, France....
.
During 1941 and 1942 a group of Danish businessmen living in England collected £38,000 among themselves. This sum was used to purchase three Spitfires. The money was handed over to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
by a group of Danish pilots, including Thalbitzer, on 9 April 1942. One of the aircraft bought with the money, serial BL855 (named Niels Ebbesen), was later flown by Thalbitzer.
Prisoner of War and Escape
On 23 July 1942, while flying Spitfire AB864, Thalbitzer was shot down during a Rhubarb mission to LannionLannion
Lannion is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a subpréfecture of Côtes-d'Armor, the capital of Trégor and the center of an urban area of almost 60,000 inhabitants.-Population:...
and crashed into high tension wires near Plouescat
Plouescat
Plouescat is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. It is a seaside resort, complete with a casino and a large camping and caravanning site, adjacent to its beautiful extensive beach of fine, powdery sand...
He evaded capture for around 14 days, before being caught and becoming a POW. He used the assumed name of 'John Thompson' to hide his real identity from the Germans, to help protect his family who were still living in occupied Denmark.
He was initially sent to Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
where he became involved with the escape organisation headed by Lieutenant Commander Jimmy Buckley
Jimmy Buckley
Lieutenant Commander James 'Jimmy' Brian Buckley DSC was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot who became a notable prisoner of war during the Second World War, and died during an escape attempt on 21 May 1943.-Fleet Air Arm:...
. In November 1942 he was sent with Buckley, to Oflag XXI-B
Oflag XXI-B
Oflag XXI-B and Stalag XXI-B were World War II German prisoner-of-war camps for officers and enlisted men, located at Szubin a few miles south of Bydgoszcz, in Pomorze, Poland, which at that time was occupied by Nazi Germany.-Timeline:...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
An escape tunnel had been constructed at Oflag XXI-B, aided by Thalbitzer; it was used for a mass escape on 5 March 1943. Thalbitzer escaped with Buckley, together they first travelled to Stettin hoping to find a Danish or Swedish ship which might be able to take them to neutral Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. However they were unable to locate any suitable ships, and after narrowly avoiding recapture, they 'jumped' onto a train bound for Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
. Here they also found no suitable ships. From Rostock they decided to head for Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and reached the city after passing through numerous identity checks using forged papers created in the POW camp. In Copenhagen, Thalbitzer contacted his father, Billy, and through the Danish underground forces, it was arranged for Thalbitzer and Buckley to make the crossing to Sweden using a canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
.
They departed the Danish coast at 10pm on 28 March 1943, but were never seen alive again. Thalbitzer's body was later recovered, but Buckley's was never found.
Thalbitzer was first buried on 7 July 1943 at Tibirke churchyard
Tisvildeleje
Tisvildeleje is the village and coastal part or of the area known as Tisvilde located in on the north coast of the island Zealand in Denmark 60 km/40miles north of Copenhagen in the municipal of Helsinge....
, however after his body was identified, by means of his ring with the family coat-of-arms, his urn was interred on 31 July 1943 at Vestre Cemetery
Vestre Cemetery
Vestre Cemetery is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark.Beautifully landscaped, it also serves as an important open space,...
.
He is also commemorated on the Maidenhead Register, a memorial for non-Commonwealth nationals killed on British Military Service during World War II.