Saved by the Resistance

WHEN Pat Brophy's plane crash-landed in Northern France after it was hit by gunfire from a German Ju-88 plane, he started walking towards the west. That was the potentially life-saving tactic drummed into British, American and Canadian servicemen flying over French soil. And even as they did, they risked capture by the German occupying force.

Many, like air gunner Andrew Mynarski, who flew with Brophy in the ill-fated Lancaster bomber from RAF Middleton St George, near Darlington, in June 1944, were not fortunate enough to reach the French soil with the hope of survival.

While the rest of his crew parachuted to safety, Mynarski, who was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for bravery, remained in the plane, trying desperately to free rear gunner Brophy, a long-serving pilot officer, who had become trapped in the flames.

Finally, realising there was nothing he could do to help, Mynarski turned to his comrade and saluted - and then jumped from the plane, his uniform and parachute on fire.

The 27-year-old, a national hero in his native Canada, was found, still alive, by French farmers but died a few hours later in terrible pain.

Brophy, however, miraculously escaped the bomber, which was laden with bombs, after it crashed.

Just hours later, he was lucky enough to fall into the hands of French Resistance member Paul Cresson. It was around 5am on June 13, 1944 when Monsieur Cresson, then in his early twenties, and with his older brother Pierre, first saw Brophy, who was suffering from a head injury.

Although M Cresson had married just two months previously, he was still living at home and worked for his widowed mother, who owned a textile business. But, at night, he worked with his brother for the Resistance as part of a group sabotaging German lines.

He spotted Brophy on the outskirts of the village of Pas-en-Artois, two to three kilometres from where the Lancaster bomber had crashed just hours previously. "We noticed someone walking west, but it was dark and he was wearing a grey-coloured uniform and we were worried he might be German," says M Cresson, now 84.

"We were scared of being captured. But Brophy, who spoke no French, was also afraid. He could easily have been found by someone who would expose him to the Germans. I took him back to the house and asked my mother if he could stay with us. She agreed."

Brophy, who was married with two children back in Canada, stayed in hiding with the Cresson family, where he was looked after by Paul's mother and sister Marie-Louise, for around three months.

He exchanged his uniform for French civilian clothes and was moved frequently between friends of the Cresson family sympathetic to the Resistance.

The Cresson family, who could only speak to Brophy with the help of a local woman who spoke English, were putting their own lives at risk by having the Canadian in their house.

Resistance members found harbouring enemies of the Germans risked being deported to work in German factories, sent to German camps or being shot.

But despite their kindness towards the Canadian, Cresson, who recently celebrated his diamond wedding with his 81-year-old wife, stresses that he only did what he felt was right and did not save Brophy's life.

"We just got on and did what we had to do. Mynarski tried to save Brophy's life and he was very grateful for that."

Brophy did not discover the fate of his fellow crew members, including Mynarski, for several months after the plane was hit.

"It wasn't an easy period, nor a very happy period," says M Cresson, who still lives in Pas-en-Artois. " It's very difficult to explain to people who weren't there what it was really like.

"But we must keep the memories alive. We must remember these young men, from England, Canada and America. They were so young."

Brophy remained with the Resistance until he made contact with British troops at the beginning of September, following the liberation of Paris.

He was flown to Britain and then back to Canada. M Cresson never saw Brophy again after his return to Canada, but he met Brophy's son at a ceremony during a trip to Canada with his wife in the 1960s. Brophy died two years ago.

M Cresson also met Mynarski's sister when she attended a ceremony in France in the early 1980s and also became friends with one of Brophy's crew members, Canadian Jim Kelly, whom he met after the war.

M Cresson, who has seven children, 21 grandchildren and seven great grand children, the youngest of whom is just eight months old, has attended a memorial service on June 12 at the site where the plane fell for 23 years. This year, the 60th anniversary, the event was attended by 300 people, including representatives from Canada.

But it may be the last ceremony at the spot, marked by a statue of Mynarksi, unless organiser and passionate historian Andre Coilliot, 74, president of the Arras branch of the Souvenir Francais, an organisation similar to the British Legion, can find someone to take over.

"There just doesn't seem to be anyone with the same enthusiasm to keep it going," says M Coilliot. "I would like to see it continue, even if it was on a much smaller scale."

Now, in the 60th anniversary year of Mynarski's death, The Northern Echo is spearheading a campaign to raise £40,000 to erect a bronze statue in Mynarski's honour at Teesside International Airport, formerly RAF Middleton St George.

M Coilliot, who has written four books about the period, including Mynarski's story, praised The Northern Echo's Forgotten Hero campaign.

"The campaign is a very admirable initiative," he says. "I'm not surprised that it has been set up because the British are very motivated by the history in this area and come in busloads to visit the battlefields.

"It is very important to remember this period. These people gave their lives and helped to liberate France. That's the ultimate sacrifice. There were many acts of bravery at that time by people like Mynarski and they must be remembered."

* If you want to support the appeal, send a cheque made payable to The Northern Echo's Forgotten Hero Appeal to: The Forgotten Hero Appeal, Newsdesk, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF.