WRAY, W/C Lawrence Edward (C127) - Air Force Cross - AFHQ - Award effective 11 June 1942 as per London Gazette dated 11 June 1942 and AFRO 1000-1001/42 dated 3 July 1942. Born in Toronto, 17 September 1908; raised in Belleville, 1916-1926 and at Royal Military College, 1926-1930. Also served with No.3 Company, Canadian Corps of Signals (1 April 1925 to 30 June 1926), 34th Battery (Canadian Field Artillery) 1 July 1926 to 30 April 1929, and Non-Permanent RCAF, 23 June to 18 November 1930. Transferred to RCAF Regular, 19 November 1930; had been on strength of Camp Borden since November 1929. Received wings at Camp Borden, 19 November 1930 and remained there until October 1931 (promoted to Flying Officer, 19 November 1931). At Station Trenton (No.3 Squadron), October 1931 to January 1934; on strength of No.2 (General Purpose) Squadron, Winnipeg, January 1934 to December 1936 (promoted to Flight Lieutenant, 1 April 1946). On strength of Station Ottawa (No.8 General Purpose Squadron), December 1936 to August 1938. On strength of Station Ottawa (No.7 General Purpose Squadron), August 1938 to July 1939 as Flight Commander (promoted to Squadron Leader, 1 April 1939). Most of his work in the 1930s was aerial photography. At Station Rockcliffe (Test and Development Establishment), September 1939 to January 1940; on strength of Station Alliford Bay (Commanding Officer, No.6 [BR] Squadron), January to November 1940; Commanding Officer of Station Patricia Bay, November 1940 to May 1941 (promoted to Wing Commander, 1 December 1940). On strength of AFHQ, 30 May 1941 to 2 November 1942 (Directorate of Operations; his duties including arranging and supervising all flying connected with the 1941 tour by the Duke of Kent); promoted to Group Captain, 1 June 1942. Commanding Officer, Station Gander, 3 November 1942 to 5 August 1943. On strength of Eastern Air Command Headquarters, Halifax, 6 August 1943 to 17 November 1943. Posted overseas, 23 November 1943 and assumed command of RCAF Station Skipton-on-Swale, November 1943. While acting as second pilot during a raid on Frankfurt-on-Main, 18/19 March 1944, he was shot down and taken prisoner. Two members of the crew were killed - P/O D.E. James (pilot) and P/O J.P.O.V. Levesque (rear gunner); remainder taken prisoner. Repatriated 22 June May 1945; on strength of Air Force Headquarters, 27 June to 9 November 1945 (Air Member for Air Services, Director of Operations); to No.1 Instrument Flying School, 10 November 1945; with No.9 (Transport) Group, Rockcliffe, 27 January 1946 to August 1948 (promoted to Air Commodore, 27 January 1946); Commandant, RCAF Staff College, August 1948 to August 1951; with AFHQ, August 1951 to December 1953 (Deputy Air Member for Personnel); Air Member, Canadian Joint Staff, London, December 1953 to January 1955. Promoted to Air Vice-Marshall, 1 January 1955 and posted to Air Defence Command Headquarters. September 1958 appointed Air Officer Commanding, No.1 Air Division. Retired 14 May 1964. Died in Toronto, 3 March 1977. AFC presented 3 December 1942. Awarded Queen's Coronation Medal, 21 October 1953 (Air Commodore, AFHQ). RCAF photo PL-22705 (ex UK-7561 dated 28 January 1944) taken soon after he became a station commander. RCAF photo PL-26813 (ex UK-7530 dated 25 January 1944) shows W/C C.B. Sinton on return from raid on Berlin; being congratulated by G/C L.E. Wray; centre background is Sergeant L.E. Powell (Chelan, Saskatchewan and New Westminster, flight engineer), and at right, F/L D.W. Simpson, DFC (Strafford, Ontario, navigator). Caption says that Sinton had completed 12 bomber sorties. RCAF photo PL-44149 (ex UK-21769 dated 29 May 1945) is captioned as follows: “Talking over old times behind the wire of German prison camps are G/C L.E. Wray, AFC of Ottawa and S/L Frank Mills of Calgary and Toronto as they dined at RCAF Overseas Headquarters canteen. Mills was taken prisoner in August 1941. Wray was Camp Leader at Stalag Luft III. G/C Wray headed the RCAF party of returned prisoners who went to Buckingham Palace on Empire Day to a garden party given by Their Majesties, the King and Queen.” RCAF photo PL-44562 (ex UK-21517 dated 19 May 1945) is captioned as follows: “G/C Larry Wray, AFC, of Ottawa is shown shortly after reaching Britain following his liberation by the British Second Army from Nazi captors in whose hands he had spent more than a year. G/C Wray baled out of his Canadian Bomber Group aircraft over Frankfurt on March 19,1944, after it was shattered by a heavy shell. He and 2,000 others with him of all nationalities suffered hardships and deprivations at Nazi hands, but owing to his high rank (equivalent to a full colonel) G/C Wray was finally able to dominate the German guards, and by so doing eased considerably the conditions under which he and his comrades were forced to exist. He so harangued and threatened one Nazi Camp Commandant that he suffered a nervous breakdown.” // For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in that, on the night of September 5th, at approximately 2000 hours during a storm of gale force, in order to save Grumman Amphibian Aircraft No.926 in the St.Lawrence River at Quebec, which had overturned and was threatened with destruction, Wing Commander Wray plunged overboard from the Naval Rescue Launch, made fast and held a line until the aircraft could be towed out of danger into the middle of the river, remaining with the aircraft until 0400 hours the following morning. His action undoubtedly saved the aircraft. // NOTE: The background to the above award is most interesting. On 9 October 1941 S/L H.M. Marlowe-Kennedy (Commanding Officer, No.12 Communications Squadron) sent a long report to AFHQ on the salvage of Goose 926. On 17 October 1941, Wing Commander A.C.H. McLean forwarded this to G/C F.V. Heakes, suggesting that Wray should receive an AFC. On 1 November 1941, the Air Member for Air Services (McEwen) minuted this suggestion as "strongly recommended" and passed it to the Chief of Air Staff (Breadner). At an unknown date, this was passed to Air Member for Personnel for comments; AMP approved it on 14 November 1941; the recommendation was forwarded to the Privy Council (worded exactly as the above citation) on 19 November 1941. Marlowe-Kennedy's report, which set the ball rolling in the first place, was as follows: // SUMMARY OF SALVAGE OPERATION OF // GOOSE AIRCRAFT 926 // Upon receipt of phone report at 0900 hours September 5th to the effect that Goose 926 had just then turned over at her mooring and was floating upside down, my crewman and I interviewed the Naval Commander at the Naval Control Station who placed a gas launch at our disposal in order to look over the salvage situation. // After viewing the scene I returned to the Naval Station and called in the services of a Captain Snow, in charge of the Quebec Salvage Company. It was decided that successful salvage could only be carried out in sheltered water and therefore it would be necessary to cut the aircraft clear of its mooring, then tow it in the inverted position into the Quebec harbour. The Naval Commander placed two gas launches with their French Canadian crews at our disposal for the carrying out of this portion of the salvage. // The job of severing the mooring cables was completely unsuccessful as long as the tide was either coming in or going out, so by 1700 hours, work was temporarily suspended to await peak tide, due at 1925 EDT; during this pause Wing Commander Wray, who had been informed earlier in the day of the accident, came on board the Naval launch and decided to remain and see the job through in spite of some dinner engagement with the Royal Party. At about 1915 hours we started renewed attempts to loose the aircraft. It should be appreciated that during this entire operation there was an ENE wind of 40-50 mph which cause a four to six foot sea and that there would only be approximately a 10-15 minute period of slack water at the tide turn. // At about 1930 hours the aircraft was released from her mooring and the launch began towing attempts, but owing to the complete ignorance of the launch captain in this form of towing plus the impossibility of making our orders properly understood by him, he being French, this work very quickly failed due to the launch pulling the aircraft tail-towing-ring clean out of the hull. Darkness and rain set in, the current and wind were carrying the aircraft and launch up the river at approximately 5-6 knots and very close to the docks and shore. The only hope of saving the aircraft now lay in getting a fresh line attached to it immediately and pulling it out into the channel. There was no dinghy with the launch and the only possible thing left to fasten a rope to was the retracted tail wheel, also, inside of another 15 minutes it would be too dark to even find the aircraft. After much arguing and yelling with the launch captain, he managed to manoeuvre the stern of the launch to within about three feet of the upturned hull. Wing Commander Wray who had stripped and secured a safety line around himself jumped onto the aircraft hull with the end of the tow line. In spite of him being partially submerged by the heavy seas most of the time, he succeeded in making the tow line fast; by this time the aircraft was only a few feet from a pier. The launch managed to pull the plane clear just in time, then backed up to allow Wing Commander Wray to scramble, with assistance, back onto the launch, in a partially drowned condition. // From then until midnight every attempt to get the tow headed down the river towards Quebec Harbour met with complete failure - it would not turn against the wind. By this time the current had carried us up to the Quebec Bridge whereupon the tide turned and started drifting back towards Quebec City. The second launch which had been standing by was despatched to summon a steam tug from the salvage company. This tug coupled on at about 3.30 a.m. and pulled launch and plane into the harbour. Wing Commander Wray returned to the Citadel and I remained to assist the salvage company in righting and refloating the aircraft. The plane was refloated and anchored alongside the salvage tug by about 8.00 a.m. September 6th. I then instructed Captain Snow to suspend work pending the arrival of the RCAF Salvage party from No.3 Training Command. This party reported at noon, September 6th, and completed the necessary dismantling and loading work for shipment to Montreal. // I wish to add that during the entire night the wind, rain and seas were at their peak, everyone's clothing was soaking wet, and there was very little warmth on the launch to prevent Wing Commander Wray from getting severe chills at least. The Captain in charge of the Salvage Company's work thoroughly appreciated the difficulties of this aircraft's salvage and took unceasing care to avoid any further damage to the plane whilst righting and refloating it. The method and process adopted and employed for the refloating of this aircraft might well be recorded for future reference in dealing with a similar problem with Goose or any other type of flying boat. // WRAY, G/C Lawrence Edward, AFC (C127) - Officer, Order of the British Empire - Overseas - Award effective 28 December 1945 as per London Gazette of that date and AFRO 155/46 dated 15 February 1946. Award presented 9 December 1947. Until June 1997 no citation had been found other than "for distinguished service while prisoner of war". Press releases indicated he was Senior Allied Officer in Stalag Luft III and worked tirelessly to improve conditions, showing "utter disregard for his own safety". He showed leadership in "bucking" German captors on behalf of POWs during march to Lubeck; reputed to have reduced a German camp commandant to a nervous wreck. He was punished by confinement in small, over-heated room. He virtually controlled the German officers on the long march to Lubeck and in the finally stages had them lodged in scattered barns across the countryside. More recently a brief citation has been found; this was used at his investiture and was found in the National Archives of Canada, RG.7 G.26 Volume 53 (file 40-D-1 Part 10, Investitures): // For outstanding gallantry and distinguished services rendered whilst a prisoner of war of the Germans. As Senior Administrative Officer in Stalag Luft III he continually, with utter disregard for his own safety, countermanded the orders of the German Commandant on behalf of the hundreds of prisoners of war who were incarcerated at the time, and as a result of the outstanding devotion to duty which he displayed, he was largely responsible in obtaining better conditions for prisoners of war. // Public Records Office Air 2/9104 has citation as drafted for a large body of POW awards: // Group Captain Wray was shot down and captured by the Germans in March 1944. He was imprisoned in Stalag Luft III where he was senior Royal Canadian Air Force officer, becoming later Senior British Officer. As senior administrative officer Group Captain Wray exercised a fine influence on the morale of the prisoners in his camp. When the camp was removed from Sagan to Bremen, and again to the Lubeck area, owing to the collapse of Germany in 1945, this officer's outstanding ability was given full scope. These removals were undertaken by forced marches and they had they been carried out at the pace set by the Germans,many prisoners of war would have been left to the mercy of the German population, through exhaustion and fatigue. Group Captain Wray constantly risked being given up to the Gestapo or SS by the Commandant, for his successful efforts to slow down the marches. On the arrival of the columns, both at Bremen and Lubeck, Group Captain Wray arranged for improvements in accommodation which proved of great benefit to the prisoners. During this period he was in continual danger of reprisals by the Germans. Everything he did was with the object of saving the lives of Allied prisoners of war. // There brief accounts tell only a fraction of the story. On 6 June 1945, Air Marshal G.O. Johnson wrote to Air Marshall Sir John Slessor, AMP, RAF, as follows: // Group Captain L.E. Wray commanded RCAF Station Skipton, an operational bomber station in No.6 (RCAF) Group. His work as Station Commander was of the same high order which characterized all his previous service and he would undoubtedly have distinguished himself if circumstances had enabled him to continue his operational command. On the night of 18-19 March 1944, however, his aircraft was shot down whilst on a bombing mission over Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany. He received injuries when he landed by parachute, became a prisoner of war in German hands and was imprisoned at Stalag Luft III. Here he was the Senior RCAF Officer until, towards the close of hostilities, he became the Senior British Officer of that camp. // I have received many unsolicited reports of Group Captain Wray's outstanding work in the prison camp and also during the forced marches which came with the approaching collapse of Germany. I am forwarding to you herewith, one of the many reports which indicated Wray's stellar ability and leadership. I have also forwarded a copy of this report to the RCAF representative at M.I.9. // I feel strongly that Group Captain Wray is highly deserving of a chivalry award and, as during the time he was a prisoner of war he came under RAF and not RCAF authority, I would very much appreciate your personal interest in ensuring that Group Captain Wray is suitably recommended for a chivalry award in the Special List of Awards being rendered upon the cessation of hostilities. // To which he attached the following document dated 28 May 1945,composed by S/L B.J. Bourchier (C245) and sent to AOC RCAF Overseas (Johnson): // As a liberated prisoner of war, I would like the privilege of drawing to the attention of your Headquarters the excellent work done on behalf of myself and hundreds of other prisoners of war who, to a very large degree, owe their lives to the leadership of Group Captain L.E. Wray of the Royal Canadian Air Force. // Until Group Captain Wray's arrival I was senior RCAF prisoner of war in Germany, and as there was no RCAF officer senior to Group Captain Wray, I feel it my duty to submit the following. // When Group Captain Wray arrived in Stalag Luft III, he was immediately accepted as "one of the boys", due to his outstanding personality and leadership, and was given the title of "Canada's Ambassador to Allied Kriegydom" (P.O.W. dom). // He became Senior Administrative Officer and his arrival relieved Group Captain Wilson, the SBO, of many of the administrative details. His work in this capacity was a full time job and he was able to make many changes which resulted in our POW life becoming much more endurable. Every hour of every day he had something planned to keep us occupied whether it was sports, entertainment or education. Further, no matter what hour of the day or night a POW needed attention or advice, Group Captain Wray was always available with the necessary works of cheer and hope. He exercised the finest influence on morale in Stalag Luft II. // It was not until the camp was ordered to march from Sagan to the Bremen area in the latter part of January that his outstanding ability was given full scope. Had the march been carried out at the pace set by the Germans, countless POWs would have dropped out due to exhaustion and fatigue and been left behind at the mercy, if any, of the Germans. // Conditions on our arrival at the camp in the Bremen area were far from satisfactory, and again group captain Wray, as SAO, worked night and day and was able to organize the camp and the Germans to such an extent that life was not too bad. // Again, on the march from the Bremen area towards Lubeck, Group Captain Wray, who was now the Senior British Officer, continually countermanded the orders of the German Commandant in order to slow down the march so that those who were in a poor physical condition could keep pace. In doing this Group Captain Wray was continually running the risk of being turned over by the Commandant to the Gestapo or SS, but regardless of this he so successfully slowed down the march and spread out the column that very few POWs had to be left behind. Also, the long straggling column did its bit in tieing up the German road traffic. // On the arrival of the POWs in the Lubeck area, Group Captain Wray had them billeted at farms outside the city while he went on ahead to inspect the proposed camp. Because it was too small and totally unsuitable, he would not allow the column to continue to Lubeck, and was able to have us march back to a big farm estate where the POWs were billeted in barns, cowsheds, etc., in comparative luxury to the proposed camp at Lubeck. In making these arrangements, Group Captain Wray had t do considerable travelling, and several times was shot up by our Tactical Air Forces. He also entered the town of Bad Odersloe 24 hours after a daylight RAF raid. Particularly in this town did he run the risk of being mobbed by the remaining angry population. // These few brief instances will serve to indicate how Group Captain Wray risked his life continually in order that the POWs might receive better treatment from the Germans. It is my firm conviction that most of the POWs who got back owe their lives to Group Captain Wray. Many more specific instances could be given. Every POW on the march will verify that Group Captain Wray was in continual danger of reprisal by the Gestapo for his delaying action and his absolute indifference to orders or instructions issued by our captors. Everything he did was with the sole object of saving the lives of Allied POWs. His success can be judged by the numbers of POWs who returned safely. This report is made in the earnest hope that it can be passed on to the highest authority in order that some proper recognition can be given to a gallant leader and a brave officer. // This material probably went directly to RAF authorities, but on 10 November 1945 copies were sent from RCAF Overseas Headquarters (London) to AFHQ, Ottawa. On 14 December 1945, AFHQ queried RCAF Overseas Headquarters - "Advise the present state of the projected award for G/C L.E. Wray and what the projected award is". On 16 December 1945, RCAF Overseas Headquarters replied that "Air Ministry Committee may meet in few days." On 21 December 1945, RCAF Overseas Headquarters cabled Ottawa that an OBE had been approved. This led to a very interesting cable from A/V/M Wilf Curtis (AFHQ) to Air Marshal Johnson (London): // We are in receipt of your signal PX2166 21 December stating that G/C Wray will be awarded an OBE in the December 28 Gazette. I assure you that we are very disappointed in this award. We feel very strongly that he should receive either an MC or a CBE. There is adequate precedent for an MC having exposed his life to the enemy by his actions in looking after his troops whilst a POW. Failing an MC we feel that he should at least get a CBE. The RAF practice as I understand it is for Group Captains in the main to receive CBEs. The CAS would appreciate of you would give this your personal attention and endeavour to have the award raised. It is left to your judgement and decision from this point on. // Johnson's task would not have been a happy one; on 28 December 1945 he cabled AFHQ (Ottawa): // Air Ministry advise approved award OBE for G/C Wray passed by Honours and Awards Committee cannot be changed. G/C Wray was considered with approximately one hundred similar cases; we are informed no other Group Captain received higher than OBE. They state further that gallantry awards not normally given to POWs and in this list only one DSO given for a very specific case. // WRAY, A/C Lawrence Edward, OBE, AFC (C127) - War Cross, 1939 (Czechoslovakia) - No.9 (T) Group HQ - Awarded as per Canada Gazette dated 2 November 1946 and AFRO 1075/46 dated 15 November 1946.. // WRAY, A/C Lawrence Edward, OBE, AFC (127) - Croix de Guerre with Silver Star (France) - Award as per Canada Gazette dated 20 September 1947 and AFRO 485/47 dated 12 September 1947. External Affairs file “French Awards to Canadian Armed Forces - Particular Cases” (Library and Archives Canada, RG.25, Box 4140) has the following citation: // Air Commodore Wray commanded with outstanding results a heavy bomber station in the United Kingdom. His contribution to the liberation of France was noteworthy. // The website “Lost Bombers” gives the following on the circumstances of his being shot down and taken prisoner. Halifax HX282 (BM-K) of No.433 Squadron, target Frankfurt, 18/19 March 1944. This aircraft was shot down from 22,000 feet by flak whilst homebound near Trier and abandoned. Those aboard were WO2 D.E.James, RCAF (killed), G/C L.E.Wray, AFC, RCAF (POW), Sergeant R.D.Green POW), WO2 G.W.Sharpe, RCAF (POW), F/O S.A.Sinclair, RCAF (POW), Sergeant E.R.Pearce (POW), Sergeant J.P.O.V.Levesque, RCAF (killed), Sergeant R.T.Stinson (POW). // Wray himself described his capture in a document, “Questionnaire for Service Personnel” which noted his position (Commanding Officer, Station Skipton-on-Swale), aircraft type (Halifax III), date and time of takeoff (17 March 1944 - an error) at 2000 hours). He made the statement at Trenton on 11 January 1946: // Capture: // On the 17th March 1944, at approximately 2000 hours I took off a Halifax III aircraft (K) in the capacity as co-pilot, from RCAF Station Skipton-on-Swale, No.6 Group Bomber Command. We were proceeding on a night sortie on Frankfort-on-Maine, Germany, and reached the target area on time without any particular difficulty or unusual occurences. We bombed the target successfully, were coned for some seconds but managed to escape the coning successfully. Just shortly after leaving the immediate target area a night fighter made one pass at us but was not seen thereafter although some night fighter action was seen in the vicinity. A few minutes south of the target we turned on to the first homeward leg and had proceeded on that leg for approximately seven or eight minutes when we received a direct hit from heavy flak immediately under the port wing. The aircraft was thrown almost over on its back, and after considerable loss of height, we managed to bring it into level flight. At this time the port wing was blazing fiercely, one port motor was completely out of action and the second port motor was on fire. Insofar as could be ascertained at the time none of the crew were wounded in the shell burst but, as the captain, Flight Sergeant James, did not get out of the aircraft, it is thought probable that he was wounded or injured but had not admitted it to the rest of the crew. With the exception of the captain and myself the crew left the aircraft by parachute without difficulty at which time I checked the crew positions to ensure that all were out while the captain held the aircraft steady. I jumped through the forward escape hatch at which time Flight Sergeant James was still at the controls and signalling to me to get out. I expected that he would follow me immediately. // Near the ground my parachute suspended completely over the top of a large pine tree, and after some difficulty I managed to extricate myself from the harness and get onto the tree trunk. In attempting to climb down the tree I fell and a branch on which I was resting sheared off and I was unable to hold my weight with my hands on a branch above owing to the fact that they were frozen during my descent. I was knocked unconscious on hitting the ground and, later, on regaining consciousness, discovered I was in severe pain from injuries along my side and back, and so decided to remain quietly on the ground until dawn in order that I would not aggravate my injuries by moving around in the dark. When dayligth came I left the area and found I was able to walk with great difficulty. I later learned that this was approximately ten miles west of Mainz, a rural district. I endeavoured to locate some of the other members of the crew but was unsuccessful, and towards noon of that day, as I was suffering periods of self-consciousness, I made my way to an isolated farm house and gave myself up to the residents. // The residents of the farm house (an elderly man, a woman and a small boy) were most considerate of my welfare and gave me most courteous treatment during my few hours there. The farmer informed the military police of my arrival by telephone and they arrived in approximately two hours’ time to take charge of mr. I was taken to a nearby party headquarters in a small town (name unknown) and then transferred into a closed Luftwaffe truck which drove for many miles picking up other prisoners of war before it arrived at a gaol which, I believe, to have been on a military station. The following day with three other prisoners I was taken to Dulag Luft, and after the usual formalities was placed in a military cell. I was at Dulag Luft approximely five to six days at which time I was transferred to Stalag Luft III by train. // Camps in Which Held: // (a) Dulag Luft - March 19th 1944 to March 24th, 1944 (approximately). The 24th March to the 29th March - on route by train. // (b) Stalag Luft III - East Compound - 29th March to 10th June. North Compound - 10th June 1944 to the 29th January 1945. The 29th January to the 5th February - on route marches and in freight trains. // (c) Milag-Marlog-Oflag (German naval prison camp) near Tarmstedt - 5th February until 1st April; and from the 1st April to the 2nd May - on route marches until liberated near Lubeck on the 2nd May 1945. // Attempted Escapes: // In my capacity as second senior in the camp, and later as the senior British officer, I assisted in the organisation for escapes but did not carry out any attempts personally. // Escape Activities: // In my capacity as stated above I was involved in the organisation of escape activities throughout the time I was a prisoner. The complete report of these escape activities has been submitted to M.I.9 in England by the Escape Committee of the camp organisation. // Liberation: // At the time of liberation the group of which I was the SBO consisted of approximately 2,000 men - 75 % of which had come from the north compound of Stalag Luft III and 25 % from the east compound of Stalag Luft III. We were quartered at the time in the barns of an estate apparently ten miles south of Lubeck. We were liberated by the Second British Army on May 2nd, 1945. The P.W.I. Organization of the Second British Army moved us from this area on the 5th May by various steps to an aerodrome approximately 200 miles away. We were flown from this aerodrome to Brussels, and then flown from Brussels to England, reaching England the 9th May 1945. // RCAF Press Release No.6971 dated 12 November 1944, transcribed by Huguette Mondor Oates, reads: // WITH RCAF BOMBER GROUP OVERSEAS: -- Group Captain Larry Wray, AFC, of Belleville, Ontario, listed as missing following a bombing mission over Germany last March, is now reported a prisoner of war. // The information that G/C Wray, outstanding Canadian survey and test pilot before the war, was safe and in good health along with other RCAF personnel at the German POW camp, Stalag IV D.Z., was brought to Air Marshal L.S. Breadner, CB, DSC, by a British army chaplain recently repatriated from Germany. // G/C Wray sent a message to the air officer commanding-in-chief of the RCAF overseas that he and other Canadian air force men at the camp were in good health, that their morale was high, and they were looking forward to the day when they could get back into the fight. The slender, dark-mustached pilot was flying as co-pilot with a Canadian Halifax crew the night he went missing. It was his second operational flight over enemy territory. // Born at Belleville, Ontario, G/C Wray was educated at Royal Military College, joining the RCAF following his graduation in 1930. Before the war, he carried out aerial survey work over the unexplored Northland, and later was chief test pilot of the RCAF During the Duke of Kent’s tour of Canada, the group captain served as pilot for the Royal Party and subsequently was honored with the Air Force Cross. His wife is the former figure skater, Audrey Garland. They have two daughters and make their home in Ottawa, Ontario. // RCAF Press Release No.10251 dated 21 May 1945 from F/L A.F. Tinsley, transcribed by Huguette Mondor Oates, reads: // WITH THE RCAF OVERSEAS HEADQUARTERS: -- Fourteen months a prisoner in Germany, during which time he and 2,000 others in his party suffered privations and hardships, a RCAF Group Captain has just returned to Britain with an amazing story of life under the Nazi heel, and to relate how, as the equivalent in rank of a full Colonel, he was able to dominate the German guards to such an extent that one Camp Commandant became a nervous wreck. // The Canadian is G/C Larry Wray, AFC, of Ottawa, Ontario, (11 Belvedere Crescent). Here is his story as he told it to a RCAF Public Relations Officer: // “Over Frankfurt on March 19th, 1944, my bomber, belonging to the RCAF Bomber Group was hit by a heavy shell during an attack on that city, and I and my crew were forced to bail out. I had the good fortune to land on top of what I am sure was the tallest tree in all Germany, but I had the misfortune to fall out of it. My hands were badly frozen, and when the branch on which I was perched broke off I was unable to get a grip of the tree and fell some 70 feet. I smashed my right side in – my ribs were shattered – and I was half unconscious and for a time thought my back was broken.” // “It was a black night and about 9:30 when I hit the ground. I could see nothing, so decided to stay where I was until daylight. I lay on the ground until 6:30 next morning, then got to my feet with some trouble, and shuffled away from the spot. I was afraid to stay there for fear the Germans would use it as a focal point from which to search for other members of my crew.” // “About two in the afternoon, after I had “blacked-out” from time to time, I gave myself up at a German farmhouse, from which an old German farmer -- fat-tummied, and a typical Teuton peasant – emerged with a 20-year-old boy armed with an air rifle. They took me into the house and I must say that they were very kind indeed to me – extraordinarily kind. The old man obviously had no use for the Party. He was an old-timer and deplored the war and all the misery and destruction it had brought to Germany.” // “After five hours, members of the Gestapo arrived and took me to Party Headquarters where there was a great deal of excitement when they found I was an “Oberst”. My Air Force rank is the equivalent of a full Colonel. I was put in several different cells with other prisoners taken from the same attack, and among them found two of my own crew. Of course, we made no sign of recognition. After that, I was taken to the Dulag Luft – the interrogation section for all captured aircrew.” // G/C Wray said that at the Dulag Luft, the Germans worked on him for four days before he was sent elsewhere. While he was in Frankfurt, he and his fellow-prisoners witnessed the second great RAF night raid on that city. “The effect of the raid was devastating. The whole place was chaotic,” S/C Wray said. // While in Frankfurt, G/C Wray said he did not suffer any physical maltreatment, but he was kept in solitary confinement. He was given the “heat” treatment which involved being placed for hours in a cell, super-heated by electric radiators in an effort to break him down. “I don’t know what the heat was,” he said, “but you can get some idea of it when I tell you that I laid my scarf on one of the radiators and it caught fire. The room was sealed.” // After Frankfurt, G/C Wray was sent to the biggest Air Force camp in Germany – Stalag Luft 111, housing all nationalities of aircrew, British Empire, French, Belgian, Polish and others. “Life there was dreary though interesting,” G/C Wray recalls. “We played games with equipment supplied by the Canadian YMCA, and, at this point, I should like to say that the Canadian organizations assisting prisoners of war were absolutely outstanding. Their work overshadowed that of every other nationality and I can’t tell you how proud we Canadians felt of our country. The help we got and the job they did is one of the finest memories I have.” // “You might describe the life in the camp as something between monastic and scholastic. My job was to organize and administrate. We had very active educational facilities and during the time we were there, through mail correspondence course, mainly with United Kingdom educational organization, we graduated many men, some getting college degrees.” // G/C Wray said that the camp was crowded and rations were very low. “Had we had to exist on German rations, we might have died from malnutrition. However, Red Cross parcels came to us almost all the time and we were able to maintain a living scale. For five months, we were only receiving half a parcel per week and in consequence lost weight, but for the rest of the time we got our full quota of one parcel weekly and that was sufficient to keep us more or less fit. Every prisoner is deeply grateful for the Red Cross assistance, both in parcels and comforts. Without the Red Cross and YMCA, life would have been extremely difficult.” // “I must pay particular tribute to the Canadian Prisoners of War Relatives Associates headed by Mrs. Asselin, of Montreal, P.Q. She was to us the ‘Madame Chiang-KaiShek’ or the ‘Joan of Arc’ of Canada. The work of this organization was particularly prominent and extraordinarily helpful. It has made a name for itself with every nationality in the camp – for of course all the food and comforts sent to Canadians were shared with everyone else.” // At the end of January, 1945, when the Russian advance neared Stalag Luft 111, G/C Wray and his companions were given one hour’s notice to march. Permitted to take only what they could carry on their shoulders, they had to abandon all other possessions except the clothes in which they stood. // They left camp about midnight in very cold weather and a blizzard, and marched for five days under the most trying conditions. Their guards were old Germans and they were less able to stand the cold than some of the prisoners. G/C Wray recalls that there were times when the prisoners carried the guards’ arms for them because they had not the strength and were too cold to do so. Many men were lost on the march, dying from frost bite, exposure and fatigue. After five days, the prisoners were loaded into trains and rode them for two days and nights in very small boxcars. “There was so little space that we could only lie down to sleep on our sides packed closely together. We had no heat at any time, and no water for 36 hours,” G/C Wray said. // Finally, they reached another camp near Bremen and went through a very grim period for three or four weeks without equipment of beds. There was very little straw, and no fuel, and sickness, particularly dysentery, was rife for weeks. The Medical Officers in the party did what they could, but could help little because of lack of adequate medical supplies. “We were in the middle of the Hamburg-Bremen-Kiel area,” said Wray, “and we watched the big Allied air attacks on that region. We stayed up half the night watching the shows. It was a fantastic display.” // As the 2nd British Army approached this area, the prisoners were marched to the Lubeck area. The Germans referred to Air Force prisoners as “Luft Gangsters”, using the latter word in English, or, “Terror Flieger” (terror fliers). It was on the march to Lubeck that G/C Wray had his greatest success making his German captors toe the mark to his orders. He recalls: “I got sufficient control over the entire German organization, (thanks to my ‘Oberst’ rank), that I was able to give them their instructions, and the lads with me supported me so completely that they would refuse to move on a German order and would do nothing until I gave them the ‘go ahead’. The German staff had to ask me when they wanted anything done. Near Lubeck, I was able to save my companions from being thrown into another prison camp by threatening the Nazi guards with dire circumstances when we were liberated if they put us in a camp. We finally got housed in bars on a very big estate belonging to Herr Reetsma, the biggest tobacco manufacturer in Germany. I forced the Commandant in charge of us to keep us in the country and not behind bars. We found that, after some initial fright, the German country people became very friendly and helpful to us.” // One night during our march towards Lubeck, G/C Wray, in defiance of the Commandant, ordered his fellow prisoners at 4 a.m.to disperse all over the countryside. “The Commandant was frantic. He thought the whole 2,000 would escape, but I knew differently. I knew they would all come back into line as soon as I told them to,” said G/C Wray. “I let the men wander about all over the countryside for some time, and it wasn’t long before SS men were around searching for the Commandant to arrest him. They thought he had deliberately liberated 2,000 POW’s. Finally, I called them all back easily, much to the Nazi’s astonishment. Another way in which we were able to drive the Commandant to distraction was by spreading our column at great length down the highway. This would hold up traffic and transport. Sometimes I would order the column to string out until, instead of occupying about half a kilometre of the highway, they were covering five. It was by these tactics, and by constant haranguing and threatening the Commandant that I was able to make a nervous wreck of him.” // G/C Wray has been overseas since 1943. Before crossing the Atlantic, he was on anti-submarine patrols off Newfoundland and before at Air Force Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario, as Director of Operations (anti-submarine). For 2 ½ years before the war, he was Officer Commanding the Test and Development Organization at Rockliffe Station near Ottawa. He is married to the former Audrey Garland, ex-Canadian skating champion, from Winnipeg, who competed in the X1th Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. He has two daughters aged four and three. He became a member of the RCAF Permanent Force in June, 1930.