Page 22 - Robert Joseph Harding

Bob seen here to the left rear of Air Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw Chapman. During the
War this officer as Air Commodore was (13 Base) Commander at RAF Elsham
Wolds to the east of Scunthorpe. 576 Squadron were based at Elsham Wolds at this
th
th
time.On the night of the May 6 - 7 1944 Ivelaw-Chapman, flying as second pilot on
a 576 Squadron Lancaster piloted by Flight Lieutenant Max Shearer R.N.Z.A.F was
on a mission to bomb an ammunition dump at Aubigne in France. His aircraft was
shot down by a night fighter and Ivelaw-Chapman went on the run. Because of his
experience and knowledge of the D-Day invasion plans Churchill ordered the French
resistance to do all they could to help him return to England, he was to be killed if he
was in danger of being captured by the Germans. He was captured by the Gestapo
on 8 June 1944, the most senior Bomber Command officer to have been taken
prisoner of war. Churchill's fears were unfounded as the Germans did not realize his
importance and he was treated as an ordinary prisoner of war.