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Wilfred Bowes
Wilfred Bowes, OBE (19 February 1904 – 6 June 1970), was a British Royal Air Force service police detective who ran the Special Investigation Branch from 1944. He headed the investigation into the murders of recaptured officers who had escaped in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944. Pre-war life Bowes was born 1903 in Heaton Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear the second son of John Bowes a Clark, his mother Elizaberth Cox. He Father died when he was young. He had 2 brothers and 4 sisters Early Royal Air Force career Bowes is reported to have joined the RAF under-age in 1918 and seen service in the Chanak Peninsula in Turkey.Andrews (1976), p.26 His formal service enlistment in the Royal Air Force dates from August 1919 as Aircraftman 2nd Class (service number 334463). During the 1920s he became a Royal Air Force policeman and married Amelia "Annie" Fisher in Bromley, Kent in late 1924 In the late 1920s as a Corporal Bowes transferred to the Royal Air Force P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in 1848 as an accompanying settlement for nearby railway and docks, which brought and exported coal from the area. The rail network grew, connecting to docks in Leeds and other cities. Further developments in the area led to the 1960s formation of Hartlepool as a town. History The town of West Hartlepool was founded by Ralph Ward Jackson who went on to become managing director of the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway in 1848. The area known as Newburn Raw, part of the ancient village of Stranton, steadily grew into a centre for shipping and railway transportation. The West Hartlepool Harbour and Dock () opened on 1 June 1847. Five years later, also on 1 June, the Jackson dock () opened as well as a railway connecting West Hartlepool to Leeds ... [...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] |
Stalag Luft III Murders
The Stalag Luft III murders were war crimes perpetrated by members of the Gestapo following the " Great Escape" of Allied prisoners of war from the German Air Force prison camp known as Stalag Luft III on March 25, 1944. Of the 76 successful escapees, 73 were recaptured, most within several days of the breakout, 50 of whom were executed on the personal orders of Adolf Hitler. These summary executions were conducted within a short period following recapture. Outrage at the killings was expressed immediately, both in the prison camp, among comrades of the escaped prisoners and in the United Kingdom, where Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden rose in the House of Commons to announce in June 1944 that those guilty of what the British government suspected was a war crime would be "brought to exemplary justice." After Nazi Germany's capitulation in May 1945, the Police branch of the Royal Air Force, with whom the 50 airmen had been serving, launched a special investigation into the killings ... [...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] |
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. On 20 April 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the (SiPo; Security Police). From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the (SD; Security Service). During World War II, the Gestapo played a key role in the Holocaust. After the war ended, the Gestapo was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at the Nuremberg trials. History After Adol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Nebe
Arthur Nebe (; 13 November 1894 – 21 March 1945) was a German Schutzstaffel, SS functionary who was key in the security and police apparatus of Nazi Germany and from 1941, a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. Nebe rose through the ranks of the Prussian police force to become head of Nazi Germany's Criminal Police (Kriminalpolizei (Nazi Germany), ''Kriminalpolizei''; Kripo) in 1936, which was amalgamated into the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) in 1939. Before the Operation Barbarossa, 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, Nebe volunteered to serve as the commanding officer of Einsatzgruppen, ''Einsatzgruppe B'', one of the four mobile death squads of the SS. The unit was deployed in the Army Group Centre Rear Area, in modern-day Belarus; it reported over 45,000 victims by November 1941. In late 1941, Nebe was posted back to Berlin and resumed his career with the RSHA. Nebe commanded the Kripo until he was denounced and executed after the failed attempt to kill Adolf Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bombing campaign against Germany became less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites and the civilian manpower base essential for German war production. In total 364,514 operational sorties were flown, 1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped and 8,325 aircraft lost in action. Bomber Command crews also suffered a high casualty rate: 55,573 were killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew, a 44.4% death rate. A further 8,403 men were wounded in action, and 9,838 became prisoners of war. Bomber Command stood at the peak of its post-war military power in the 1960s, the V bombers holding the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent and a supplemental force of Canberra light bombers. In August 2006, a memorial was unveiled at Lincoln Cathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank McKenna (RAF Officer)
Francis Peter McKenna OBE (28 February 1906 – 14 February 1994) was a British Royal Air Force service police detective, deputy to Wilfred Bowes who ran the Special Investigation Branch investigation into the murders of recaptured officers who had escaped in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944. McKenna personally arrested over 20 of the "Gestapo" agents involved in the murders. Pre-war life McKenna was born in Accrington, Lancashire on 28 February 1906, one of six children of Margaret and police constable Francis McKenna. The family moved to Blackpool shortly after his birth when his father was transferred to the Borough of Blackpool Police Force, they resided at 2 Huntley Avenue, Layton. Educated at Sacred Heart School, Blackpool he and his younger brother John later joined the police force where they both became detective sergeants. Frank McKenna married on 30 December 1934 in Blackpool to Eunice Naomi. With the outbreak of the second world war, McKen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. An air force squadron leader ranks above flight lieutenant and immediately below wing commander and it is the most junior of the senior officer ranks. The air force rank of squadron leader has a NATO ranking code of OF-3, equivalent to a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy or a major in the British Army or the Royal Marines. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was "squadron officer". Squadron leader has also been used as a cavalry command appointment (UK) and rank (France) since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such tasks are non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO), recovery of downed aircrew (joint personnel recovery – JPR), and in-depth defence of airfields by way of aggressively patrolling and actively seeking out infiltrators in a large area surrounding airfields. In addition the RAF Regiment provides Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) to the British Army and Royal Marines, and provides flight size commitment to the Special Forces Support Group. The RAF Regiment Gunners are personnel trained in various disciplines such as infantry tactics, force protection, field craft, sniper, support special forces operations, CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) defence, equipped with advanced vehicles and detection measures. RAF Regi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
