* The crew (a short introduction)




The pilot on Halifax BB378 and Table Jam 18 was 31-year-old Arthur Clement Bartter (with nickname Peter).

Bartter was born in 1912 and had flown for Imperial Airways from 1930 to 1940 in Italy and in Africa.

Bartter and his crew flew five successful S.O.E operations for 138 Squadron in September and November 1943. Prior to their last flight to Denmark in December 1943 the crew flew operations in France and Yugoslavia.

After the evasion from Denmark to Sweden and back to the UK Peter Bartter was employed at S.O.E.’s Special Training School (S.T.S. 40) in Howbury Hall near Waterend in Bedford.

The school was specialized in the use of radio navigation equipment as EUREKA, REBECCA and S-Phone, which was used in many S.O.E.-operations. Peter Bartter left Royal Air Force July 12, 1945. In the decades after WW2 Peter Bartter visited Denmark several times thanking the local people and resistance workers who helped him and two other crewmembers with the evasion to Sweden.

Navigator Clarence William “Joe” Fry (service number J 22493), Canada. Service: RCAF. After WW2 he visited Denmark several times thanking the Krügermeier family, local people near Holbaek and also the resistance workers who helped him and two other crewmembers (Bartter and Howell) to Sweden.
Joe Fry died July 31, 2002 in his 84th year.

Wireless operator Ernesto Howell (service number 144194) was born in Argentina Dec. 31th 1917. He evaded from Denmark after the emergency landing with his 138 Squadron crew and Halifax BB378. He got help from the danish resistance and was sailed to Sweden. When he later arrived back in the UK he soon continued his flights for 138 Squadron. He died Nov. 9th 1944 in the North Sea on S.O.E. Operation Crupper 11.

Howells aircraft Stirling LJ993 was lost in bad weather in the North Sea. On board were 2 agents, Peter Deinbull and Arne Gjestland, 12 containers and 11 packages. Howell has no known grave but his name is listed at the Runnymeede Memorial in the UK.

Mid upper Flight Sergeant Gunner Stanley Gordon Grieve Smith – Service number 1890877. Born: April 5th 1924. Dead: February 2016.

Brian H. Atkins was a british NCO who served as bomb-aimer with 138 (Special Duties) Sqdn, RAF in GB and with 148 Sqdn, RAF in North Africa 1943; POW in Germany 1943-1945.

Flight engineer Nicholas Anderson was born March 4th 1921 and he died in 1993 in Shrewsbury, UK. Anderson was prisoner in Stalag 4B Mühlberg from January 1944 to March 1945.

He escaped 3 times from Stalag 4B. The third attempt was successful and he managed to contact US Army 69 Division.

Rear gunner Walter Ralph Riggs was born June 23th 1922 and he died in 2005 in Blandford Forum, UK. If you have information about Riggs please contact me.

2nd pilotfrederick Turvil (only on  TABLE JAM 18 & 19). Born: July 20th 1915. Dead: March 2000 in Slough, United Kingdom.

Turvil was captured Dec 13th 1943 in Denmark and sent to the Stalag 4B camp in Germany were he stayed until May 23th 1945. If you have information about Turvil please contact me.

E-mail: jan_christensen@hotmail.dk