Stan Jones
Stan Jones served with the RAF/RCAF (101 Squadron) for two years during WWII. In the final days of the war, when he had just turned 20 years old, he and six other gutsy young men (including five Canadians) were chosen for a special test mission, which would serve to launch the Allies ambitious food relief scheme Operation Manna.
On April 29, 1945. Stan and his crew mates, led by Windsor, Ontario Pilot Bob Upcott, flew their Lancaster Bomber "Bad Penny" to Holland just a few hundred feet above the heads of German gunners.
Stan served as the Wireless Operator and recalls that the Germans said they wouldnt shoot but they wouldnt sign any papers. Obviously, Stan and the crew of Bad Penny risked their lives in this daring guinea pig mission.
The Bad Penny crews goal was to drop bundles of food in strategic spots to help feed the Dutch. This dangerous first mission by Bad Penny proved to be a resounding success. Lancaster squadrons in Operation Manna were able to dispatch 6,684 tons of food supplies to the Dutch in May 1945. Jones served 24 missions in Bad Penny.
A native of London, England, Jones moved to Windsor in 1982 after meeting his wife-to-be, Helen, on previous trips while visiting Upcott in Windsor.
Stan often spoke about his experiences on Bad Penny and was scheduled to appear in Ottawa this Sunday, May 10, 2009 at the Canada Aviation Museum during the "Friends are Forever" event before his sudden passing on May 9, 2009.
Windsor's Lancaster has been named Bad Penny in honour of Bob Upcott and his crew, and is currently being restored by volunteers of the Canadian Historical Aircraft Museum
http://www.ch2a.ca.
Glen Mitchell, author, A Bad Penny Always Comes Back
In the last days of WWII, seven brave young RCAF men and their Lancaster, Bad Penny, were chosen for a dangerous mission to help a country in need.
As in the old expression, ... like a bad penny, it keeps coming back Bad Penny and her crew returned from their April 29th, 1945 flight over enemy territory to Holland where they bombed the Dutch with food bundles. Their successful test run served to launch the Allies' Operation Manna; over 11,000 tons of food was dropped in 10 days.
A boy named Peter was one of the many Dutch children saved by Bad Penny and her crew.
First time writer Glen Mitchell has done great justice to this important moment in time with his charming and vibrant childrens book.
Operation Manna
Operation Manna was the code name for the Allied endeavour in 1945 to feed three million Dutch citizens in German-occupied western Holland, who were suffering from a severe food shortage. At the time the International Red Cross accused the Germans of planning to starve the Dutch people to death. By April 1945, desperate residents of western Holland had resorted to tulip bulbs as a source of nourishment.
On the morning of 29 April, two Lancaster bombers were seen near Waardenburg, flying at an estimated height of less than one hundred feet above the ground. Instead of bombs, they dropped food parcels from the open bomb bays of their aircraft. This event was witnessed by a teenager on his way to steal food from the Germans a crime punishable by death. The sight of the Lancaster bomber flying so low to the ground with some of the crew waving in friendly greeting to him, was something the young man vowed to remember and if possible memorialize.
The British government had received permission from the German authorities in Holland to fly a specific route and release their loads at a precise location. After guinea pig testing the peaceful conclusion of their mission resulted in the return that afternoon of hundreds more bombers carrying foodstuffs for the Dutch.
From April 29 to May 7, 1945, inclusive, RAF Bomber Command delivered 6672 tons of food to the people of western Holland. No. 1, 3 and 8 (Pathfinder). Groups flew a total of 2835 Lancaster sorties and 124 Mosquito sorties.
In July 1997, Peter Buttenaar, the teenager who risked his life to steal food from the Germans and now a developer with his own construction company, dedicated a housing development in Southampton, Ontario, to one of the two Lancaster crews who had bravely tested both Germans defenses and resolve. He called the street into the housing site Lancaster Road and he named each of the seven other streets after a crew member.
The story of Operation Manna is more than just an account of the largest single air transport operation of the war it is a remarkable tribute to the courage and suffering of the Dutch, and a grim reminder of the inhumanity of war and depravity of humans that made measures necessary in the first place.
Loading...
9:01
Avro Lancaster Walkthrough, and interviewby drake123josh1,411 views
impressive to see and hear this!
janlouwers 2 years ago
Im English and I first overheard this story whilst in the Flying Dutchman pub in Amsterdam in 2003. They were very grateful. I didnt join into the conversation because it was a private talk, they sat next to me and started to talk about the manna from heaven.
MrGrindergaz 2 years ago