Bertram James
Encyclopedia
Squadron Leader
Bertram Arthur "Jimmy" James, MC
, RAF
(17 April 1915 – 18 January 2008) was a British survivor of The Great Escape
.
, the son of a tea-planter, and was educated at The King's School, Canterbury
. He worked in British Columbia
from 1934 until volunteering for pilot training with the RAF
in 1939 after seeing a recruiting poster in Vancouver
.
, and was promoted to pilot officer (on probation) on 9 December 1939. That rank was confirmed on 28 February 1941 (back-dated to 1 May 1940) when he was also promoted to war substantive flying officer
with effect from 9 December 1940.
James was posted to No. 9 Squadron RAF at RAF Honington
in April 1940 after completing his flying training. He was shot down over Holland
on 5 June 1940 while second pilot of a Wellington bomber
and taken prisoner. Over the next five years, he made 13 efforts to escape from various prisons and camps, including Stalag Luft III
, the site in January 1944 of the so-called Great Escape. James took part in this, disguised as a worker at a wood mill, but was among the 73 of the 76 escapers who were eventually recaptured. Fifty were then executed, James being one of a handful sent instead to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
. Along with more than 130 other prominent inmates he was transferred to Tyrol in April 1945
and finally liberated by American troops in May 1945. At the end of the war he was awarded the Military Cross
(MC) and Mentioned in Despatches for his repeated escape attempts. The citation for his MC was published in a supplement to the London Gazette
of 14 May 1946 (dated 17 May 1946) and read:
After the war, James was initially transferred to the reserve, but retained on active service, but was later granted a regular commission in the RAF (though in a non-flying role). On 9 December 1952 he transferred to the RAF Regiment
, and retired as a squadron leader on 11 June 1958.
sponsored Great Britain
-USSR
Association, until joining the Diplomatic Service in 1964. He subsequently held posts in Africa
, Western
and Eastern Europe
and London
. After retiring in 1975, he visited Sachsenhausen with Jack Churchill
and other survivors of the camp. He also toured the country talking about his wartime experiences, and was President of "Project 104", a charitable venture to create a replica of hut 104 at Stalag Luft III, from where the escape tunnel started. He served as the British representative on the International Sachsenhausen Committee until shortly before his death at the age of 92 at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
on 18 January 2008.
His funeral was held at St Peter's Catholic Church, Ludlow
on 31 January 2008. A party of RAF Regiment gunners from RAF Honington served as pallbearers, other personnel from the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering
at Cosford
were also present, as was Air Commodore
Bob McAlpine, a former CO of No. 9 Squadron. Four Tornado GR9s
of 9 Squadron performed a flypast
in the missing man formation.
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader 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. In these...
Bertram Arthur "Jimmy" James, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(17 April 1915 – 18 January 2008) was a British survivor of The Great Escape
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
.
Early life
James was born in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the son of a tea-planter, and was educated at The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
. He worked in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
from 1934 until volunteering for pilot training with the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1939 after seeing a recruiting poster in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
Military career
James was initially commissioned as an acting pilot officerPilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
, and was promoted to pilot officer (on probation) on 9 December 1939. That rank was confirmed on 28 February 1941 (back-dated to 1 May 1940) when he was also promoted to war substantive flying officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
with effect from 9 December 1940.
James was posted to No. 9 Squadron RAF at RAF Honington
RAF Honington
RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regiment depot and home to the Joint CBRN Regiment.-RAF use:...
in April 1940 after completing his flying training. He was shot down over Holland
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on 5 June 1940 while second pilot of a Wellington bomber
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
and taken prisoner. Over the next five years, he made 13 efforts to escape from various prisons and camps, including Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin...
, the site in January 1944 of the so-called Great Escape. James took part in this, disguised as a worker at a wood mill, but was among the 73 of the 76 escapers who were eventually recaptured. Fifty were then executed, James being one of a handful sent instead to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
. Along with more than 130 other prominent inmates he was transferred to Tyrol in April 1945
Transport of concentration camp inmates to Tyrol
The Transport of Inmates of German Concentration Camps to Tyrol happened in late April 1945 and led to the only time such prisoners were liberated by German troops.- Transfer and liberation:...
and finally liberated by American troops in May 1945. At the end of the war he was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(MC) and Mentioned in Despatches for his repeated escape attempts. The citation for his MC was published in a supplement to the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
of 14 May 1946 (dated 17 May 1946) and read:
After the war, James was initially transferred to the reserve, but retained on active service, but was later granted a regular commission in the RAF (though in a non-flying role). On 9 December 1952 he transferred to the RAF Regiment
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...
, and retired as a squadron leader on 11 June 1958.
Later life
He was general-secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeForeign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
sponsored Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
-USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Association, until joining the Diplomatic Service in 1964. He subsequently held posts in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Western
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After retiring in 1975, he visited Sachsenhausen with Jack Churchill
Jack Churchill
Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming "Jack" Churchill, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar , nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack", was a British soldier who fought throughout World War II armed with a longbow, arrows and a claymore...
and other survivors of the camp. He also toured the country talking about his wartime experiences, and was President of "Project 104", a charitable venture to create a replica of hut 104 at Stalag Luft III, from where the escape tunnel started. He served as the British representative on the International Sachsenhausen Committee until shortly before his death at the age of 92 at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital is a hospital in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It forms the Shrewsbury site for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust....
on 18 January 2008.
His funeral was held at St Peter's Catholic Church, Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
on 31 January 2008. A party of RAF Regiment gunners from RAF Honington served as pallbearers, other personnel from the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering
Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering
The Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering provides training for aircraft engineering officers and tradesmen across the three British armed forces.-History:...
at Cosford
Cosford
Cosford is the name of several places in England*Cosford, Shropshire**DCAE Cosford, formally RAF Cosford**Royal Air Force Museum Cosford*Cosford, Suffolk*Cosford, Warwickshire...
were also present, as was Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Bob McAlpine, a former CO of No. 9 Squadron. Four Tornado GR9s
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
of 9 Squadron performed a flypast
Flypast
Flypast is a term used in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and other countries to denote ceremonial or honorific flights by groups of aircraft and, rarely, by a single aircraft...
in the missing man formation.