First, a recap…
In August, I wrote about an aspect of the WWII Black March of prisoners of war of Stalag Luft IV, the Combine. My father, George Edwin Farrar, who was a waist gunner in the 384th Bomb Group based in Grafton Underwood, England, was one of the prisoners on the March. Dad’s B-17 went down on September 28, 1944 and after a lengthy hospital stay, he was placed in Stalag Luft IV around Thanksgiving.
I have found that when the prisoners of Stalag Luft IV were marched out of the prison camp on February 6, 1945, Dad, RAF airman Laurie Newbold, and 351st Bomb Group waist gunner Cecil McWhorter likely made up a three-man combine. I learned of these men through a letter Laurie Newbold sent Dad on July 15, 1946.
I wanted to know more about the two men my dad spent his darkest days with in the prison camp and on the March. I have already researched and written about the man I learned was “Old Mac Whorter.” He was Cecil Carlton McWhorter and you can read more about him in these previous posts, Cecil Carlton McWhorter –
…End of recap
My search for Laurie Newbold began with his letter. I had his address, 6 Forest View Cottages, Belton, NR Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. Belton is a parish, or small village, in the district of North West Leicestershire in England. A Google Maps search today does not find “6 Forest View Cottages” in Belton.
I learned a few other things from the letter. Laurie was married and his wife’s father ran the local pub. Laurie had one son before his war service. And after he returned home from the war, he had a second son.
In an internet search, I recently found a pub in Belton called “The Queen’s Head Pub.”
Queen’s Head Pub in Belton
The Queen’s Head Pub in Belton, Leicestershire has been a village pub for over 200 years. The building is a historic coaching inn which was built in the 1700’s. It has been a pub since 1800. Now it is a restaurant with a bar and accommodations. The Queen’s Head is situated in the center of the village facing the square. The pub is located at 2 Long Street, Belton, Loughborough, LE12 9TP.
I e-mailed the pub and quickly received a response from Jo Newby, General Manager of the Queen’s Head. Jo did some checking and discovered that I had the correct Belton, England (there are two), but possibly not the right pub. Jo said that there were once two pubs in Belton. The other, the George Hotel, is no longer there, but she thinks it was the George which Laurie Newbold’s father-in-law ran.
Jo found a few folks who remember Lawrence (Laurie) Newbold. A couple of Jo Newby’s regulars at the Queen’s Head, Barry and Mary-Jean, know a lot about Laurie. He was Mary-Jean’s uncle and they lived next door to him. Laurie Newbold had three children, Michael, Stephen, and Janice. Laurie has passed away and so have Michael and Janice. But Stephen is still alive and lives in the adjacent village of Long Whatton.
Jo found an interesting photo hanging on a wall of the Queen’s Head Pub. It is a picture of Laurie Newbold and the Long Whatton and Belton Home Guard. In the photo, Laurie Newbold is standing second from left in the second from top row. I have circled him in the photo.
Lawrence Newbold, second from left in the second from top row
Long Whatton and Belton Home Guard
Photo courtesy of Jo Newby
More internet searches revealed that L.E. (Laurie) Newbold was a Sergeant in the RAF, in the No. 50 Squadron of Bomber Command. He became a POW on March 18, 1944 when his Avro Lancaster #ED-308 went down on a mission to Frankfurt.
The No. 50 Squadron flew out of RAF Skellingthorpe in Lincoln, England, from November 26,1941 to June 20, 1942 and October 17, 1942 to June 15, 1945. Skellingthorpe was about seventy miles north of Grafton Underwood (where my dad was stationed) and Polebrook (where Cecil McWhorter was stationed).
The Back to Normandy website has a photo of ED-308 and some information about the March 18/19 mission. The site’s publisher, Fred Vogels, wrote,
On Saturday, 18 March 1944, (a part of) the aircraft of the 50 squadron (RAF), took off for a mission to Frankfurt in Germany from a station (airfield) in or near Skellingthorpe.
One of the crew members was Flight Sergeant H J Rouse. He departed for his mission at 19:15.
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, with serial ED308 and code VN-J). His mission and of the other crew members was planned for Sunday, 19 March 1944.
I found a list of the crew aboard ED-308 on March 18, 1944 on the UK’s National Archives website. Once the page opens, scroll down and click Preview an image of this record. Select Image 12 and then go to full screen. About halfway down the page, you will see 18/19 March 1944 in the left column. Zooming in helps immensely. You can view the crew listing and comments even though viewing is obstructed by a water mark. The pilot’s last name is Miller, and fourth line down on Miller’s crew is Sgt. L.E. Newbold.
The Sortie notes state: Bombing Attack on Frankfurt. Aircraft Missing – no signal received.
I’m happy to have learned more about Laurie Newbold and have a photo of him thanks to Jo Newby. Perhaps someday Stephen Newbold and I will be able to meet face to face. I think that if I can look directly into his eyes, I will be able to see the ghost of his father and he will be able to see the ghost of mine, how they appeared seventy-four years ago when they helped each other survive what was probably the most fearful time in their lives, and watched each other waste away from lack of food, illness, and other hardships of marching across Germany, not knowing if they would live to ever see their families again. Stephen Newbold, this is our shared history. The history of our fathers, two survivors of WWII.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2018
The Arrowhead Club 