|
George McGill (RCAF Officer)
George Edward McGill (14 April 1918 – 31 March 1944), was a Royal Canadian Air Force officer, the observer (navigator) of a Vickers Wellington bomber, who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men recaptured and subsequently shot by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-war life McGill was the son of George Wellington and Rita (née Strahmayer) McGill of Toronto, Ontario. He studied chemical engineering at the University of Toronto between 1936 and 1938 . His wife was Elizabeth Louise (née Goodman) and his son Peter Edward. War service McGill enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at Toronto on 3 September 1940 and trained at No.1 Initial Training Squadron from 9 November 1940, graduating and being promoted Leading Aircraftman on 8 December 1940. His initial flight training as an observer and bomb aimer commenced 2 March 1941, he was promoted Sergeant on 12 April 1941 and posted to No.1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union. Warsaw is the nation's capital and largest metropolis. Other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin. Poland has a temperate transitional climate and its territory traverses the Central European Plain, extending from Baltic Sea in the north to Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains in the south. The longest Polish river is the Vistula, and Poland's highest point is Mount Rysy, situated in the Tatra mountain range of the Carpathians. The country is bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west. It also shares maritime boundaries with Denmark and Sweden. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmshaven is the centre of the "Jade Bay" business region (which has around 330,000 inhabitants) and is Germany's main military port. The adjacent Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park (part of the Wattenmeer UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site) provides the basis for the major tourism industry in the region. History The , built before 1383, operated as a pirate stronghold; the Hanseatic League destroyed it in 1433. Four centuries later, the Kingdom of Prussia planned a fleet and a harbour on the North Sea. In 1853, Prince Adalbert of Prussia, a cousin of the Prussian King Frederick William IV of Prussia, Frederick William IV, arranged the Jade Treaty (''Jade-Vertrag'') with the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, in which Prussia and the Grand Duchy ente ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Pohe
Porokoru Patapu Pohe (10 December 1914 – 31 March 1944), commonly known as John Pohe, was a New Zealand Māori Royal New Zealand Air Force officer and bomber pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. Notable for his part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, he was one of the men recaptured and subsequently murdered by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-War Of Māori descent, Pohe was born Porokoru Patapu Pohe but was usually known as Johnny or John, the son of Whatarangi Ropoama Pohe and Honoria Maraea Pohe. He grew up on his parents farm North of Taihape New Zealand with six sisters. He was educated at Putiki School, Turangarere School and Taihape District School, before Te Aute College where he excelled academically and at sport, his weak subject was the Māori language. After school he worked on the family farm and served two years in the Territorial Army with the Manawatu Mounted Rifles. Wartime service Accepted for aircrew training after volunteeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Leigh (RAF Officer)
Thomas Barker Leigh (11 February 1919 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian-born Handley Page Halifax bomber rear gunner who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-war life Leigh was born in Waverley, Sydney, Australia, on 11 February 1919. He was the second son of a British father and an Australian mother who resided in Shanghai, China. His mother had sailed back to Australia for his birth before returning to China. She died in 1926 and their father died in 1932, but the three children had lived in England since their mother's death where they attended boarding schools and spent holidays with family friends or their guardian. On leaving school Leigh passed the entrance examination for the Training Ship ''Mercury'' near Southampton and on 30 September 1934 began to train for a life at sea. From the training ship he could se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael James Casey
Michael James Casey (19 February 1918 – 31 March 1944), was a British Blenheim bomber pilot of Irish descent who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the Gestapo. Pre-war life Casey was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, where his father was the inspector general of police for the entire province. Casey was educated in Clongowes Wood College near Dublin, and later at Stonyhurst College boarding school. At both places, he excelled at boxing, rugby and cricket. On finishing school, he applied for a short service commission and joined the Royal Air Force as a flight cadet at the RAF College Cranwell passing out as an acting pilot officer on 1 August 1936. He was then posted to No. 57 Squadron RAFVance (2000), p.8-9 at Upper Heyford on 24 March 1937 to fly Hawker Hind bomber aircraft. Casey was confirmed in his rank on 29 June 1937. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Langford
Patrick Wilson Langford (4 November 1919 – 31 March 1944), was a Royal Canadian Air Force officer, the pilot instructor aboard a Vickers Wellington bomber, who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men recaptured and subsequently shot by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-war life Langford was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the son of Olive Mary and Captain Richard Wilson Langford an English couple. His father was Forest Ranger at the Jasper National Park and its first resident official and Chief Warden from 1911. He returned to England to serve in World War I and settled back in Canada at Jasper with his new wife in 1919 where they started their family. Patrick was their eldest son. He was educated at Jasper Public and High Schools from September 1926 to June 1936 and Banff High School from September 1936 to June 1937 and worked for Brewster Transport as a driver during the summers and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Birkland
Henry Birkland (16 August 1917 – 31 March 1944), was a Canadian Spitfire pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and murdered by the ''Gestapo''. Early life Birkland was born in Caldwell, Manitoba, Canada and educated in Calgary. He worked as a packer for the Burns Co. in 1937–38, as a truck driver for a gas company in the middle of 1938, briefly as a dishwasher and then a gold miner at Gold Belt mining company in British Columbia for the year until May 1940. War service Birkland enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in July 1940 as an aircrew candidate. Following basic training Birkland was promoted to leading aircraftman and posted for flying training to No.11 Elementary Flying Training School RCAF. Graduating in January 1941 he transferred to No.9 Service Flying Training School. As a fully qualified pilot he was promoted sergeant on 26 April 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Görlitz
Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia as well as the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia, after Cottbus. Görlitz is the easternmost town in Germany (easternmost village is Zentendorf, Zentendorf (Šćeńc)), and lies opposite the Poland, Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was the eastern part of Görlitz until 1945. The town has approximately 56,000 inhabitants, which make Görlitz the List of cities in Saxony by population, sixth-largest town in Saxony. It is the seat of the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz. Together with Zgorzelec, it forms the Euro City of Görlitz/Zgorzelec, which has a combined population of around 86,000. While not Sorbian languages, Lusatiophone itself, the town is situated just east of the Sorbian la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The50Memorial
The5 were an Arab pop boy band composed of Kazem Chamas, Ahmed Hassan, Adil Echbiy, Said Karmouz and Mohamed Bouhezza (aka BMd). They finished third in the fourth series of the Arabic televised singing competition ''The X Factor Arabia'' in 2015 ''The X Factor Arabia'' In 2015, Kazem Chamas, Ahmed Hassan and Adil Echbiy auditioned as solo candidates for the fourth series of the Arabic televised singing competition ''The X Factor Arabia'', whereas Said Karmouz and Mohamed Bouhezza (aka BMd) auditioned together. They were put together to form a five-piece boy band in Beirut, Lebanon, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. Elissa and Donia Samir Ghanem, their future mentor, have both come up with the idea of forming the band. They reached the finals and ended up as third (Groups category) losing to Hamza Hawsawi (International Solo category) and Hind Ziadi (Arab Solo category) on June 13, 2015. Music career After break-up The band broke up in 2019. The Egyptian Ahme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and RAF, and as FLTLT in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and has sometimes also been abbreviated as F/L in many services; it has never been correctly abbreviated as "lieutenant". A flight lieutenant ranks above flying officer and below a squadron leader and is sometimes used as an English language translation of a similar rank in non-English-speaking countries. The rank originated in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in 1914. It fell into abeyance when the RNAS merged with the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War but was revived in 1919 in the post-war RAF. An RAF flight lieutenant is the equivalent of a lieutenant in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Żagań
Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielona Góra Voivodeship (1975–1998), Żagań has been in the Lubusz Voivodeship since 1999. The town hosts the Polish 11th Armoured Cavalry Division. An American Armored Brigade Combat Team is constantly rotated through the town under Operation Atlantic Resolve. Etymology The town's name probably means "place of the burnt forest" (Polish: ''żegać'', ''żagiew''): probably referring to the burning of primaeval forest by early settlers. If this is correct, it is consistent with the names of nearby places: Żary, Zgorzelec, Pożarów. Geography Żagań is located roughly halfway between Cottbus and Wrocław, approximately 100 meters above sea level and at the centre of the Żagań administrative district. It is about north of the Polish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
