NEW ZEALANDERS SHOT DOWN

Southland Times, Issue 25478, 26 September 1944, Page 3

NEW ZEALANDERS SHOT DOWN

SHELTERED BEHIND GERMAN LINES

(Official News Service) LONDON, September 24.

Shot down 50 miles behind the German lines in eastern France while their New Zealand Mosquito squadron was carrying out a low-level attack on an SS barracks near the border, two New Zealanders are now > safely back in London. They lived for a week in a village well in the rear of the enemy lines and owe their escape to the French villagers and British paratroopers.

They are Flying Officer E. C. Heaton (Greenmeadows) and Warrant Officer K. G. Mason (Wellington), pilot and navigator respectively. They had bombed their target and were making their third low-level attack with cannon when the port motor of their Mosquito was hit by flak. They managed to fly on for 10 minutes, but found it impossible to gain height and made a forced landing on a rough field. The Mosquito tore through two fences and came to rest in a potato patch. Shaken, but fortunately unhurt, the New Zealanders started walking westwards across the fields, heading for the battle line. At dusk they met a French boy and tried their schooldays French on him. He took them home, where they were warmly welcomed as soon as they identified themselves as British. That was typical of the reception given them by all Frenchmen. MEETING WITH MAQUIS

After walking towards the battle all next day, during which the only sign they saw of the enemy was a couple of truck loads of German troops, the New Zealanders met more Frenchmen, who took them to a nearby village and put them in the care of the local Maquis leader. “He said the safest course would be to stay there a few days, by which time the Americans would over-run the locality,” said Flying Officer Heaton. “We took his advice. The whole village knew we were there. People would come into the Maquis leader’s cottage to hold councils of war and even bring the children along to see us.”

Warrant Officer Mason said he thought he met more people in those few days than he ever did in his life. Flying Officer Heaton said: “There was one scare when scouts reported that Germans had been seen moving in the neighbouring hills and they took us from the village to hide us, but nothing happened. On the fifth day in the village there was great excitement when about'six jeeps came racing in. The villagers first thought they were the Gestapo, but they turned out to be British paratroopers operating behind the German lines, beating up enemy convoys. We were thinking of throwing in our lot with them, but next day they went off on patrol and made contact with the American line. They came beck the following day, picked us up ar.d drove us to the Americans. It was a long drive, between 50 and 60 miles, through the rain, yet we saw nothing of the enemy, except that we once avoided a road where a German batteiy was said to be sited. f

The two men came back to England after 13 days’ absence, spending three days in Paris on the way.