Propelled by a call to duty

WHEN he went AWOL American RAF Pilot Officer Rowland L Wolfe, also known as ‘Bud’, caused headaches for the British and Irish Goverments, and even the German Ambassador got involved. What exactly do you do with a foreign airman who hasn’t broken any rules, but whose escape plan had the potential to ‘sink’ Britain by causing a German invasion of Ireland?

Today, Wednesday, November 30, 70 years to the day, the family of Pilot Officer Wolfe will mark the anniversary of the day the pilot crashed as he headed out from Eglinton Airport to the Irish coast to accompany the Allied forces the final 100 to 150 miles ‘home’.

The US airman never made it and ejected over Donegal trying to return to base.

The War had been ongoing since 1939, but America did not get involved until Pearl Harbour in December 1941. That said, there were US pilots who wanted to fight and fly the Allied aircraft, and approached the Allied Forces here, and with a few stops pulled out behind the scenes by the Government and military,

“Because America wasn’t in the war the American Government was very reticent in letting them sign up. So behind the scenes means were adopted whereby American pilots were ‘smuggled’ through organised committees through Canada, were trained and signed up and then they were taken over to fly with the RAF. So many of them enrolled that three separate RAF Squadrons were set up, staffed by American volunteer pilots,” said aviation historian and enthusiast Jonny McNee, from Claudy, who was instrumental in finding the wrecked fuselage and the pilot’s other belongings.

Bud became a member of the 133rd Eagle Squadron, and on his fateful mission on November 30, 1941, he took off from Eglinton and flew out over Donegal. On convoy patrol duty in a Spitfire his duty was to accompany the convoy ships coming to the Port of Londonderry from Canada and America, which were bringing in much-needed supplies to the UK. The aim was to deter long-range German bombers from trying to strike at the convoy ships.

“He took off with three other aircraft to fly out and they had just got out over the coast of Ireland when Bud reported back to his colleagues that his engine temperature was starting to seriously overheat. The glycol which cools the engine was leaking and if the engine seized then the propeller would cut out, and that would not be a good day in the office. So he reported back that he was going to have to go back to Eglinton. Then his radio packed up, so all he could do was transmit and his last recorded message at Eglinton was ‘I’m going over the side’ and from the notes we have that was at about 5,000 feet,” said Jonny, adding that the crash took place at Moneydarragh, a townland above Redcastle, near the village of Gleneeley.

After the crash Bud was found wandering half a mile from the crash site, dragging his parachute with him, looking for the wreckage because he had left an expensive watch in the cockpit and wanted it back.

“He kept going up to try and get this watch, and locals told him to just keep going to the Border because Ireland was neutral and he would be interned. In the end a local Defence Force volunteer happened to find this tall, dashing American pilot in RAF dress on the side roads of Moneydarragh. So he was arrested, taken to Moneydarragh Garda Station and processed, and taken to Rockhill Army Barracks where he spent the night, and the following day he was taken down to the Curragh Camp on December 1. At this point he was the only American interned at the Curragh Camp, and America didn’t enter the war until five days later,” said Jonny.

So, there was Bud claiming he was a mercenary of sorts and pleading to be let go promising to return to America. It did not wash, even though he wrote letters to Devalera.

“When he found out Devalera wasn’t going to let him out he chose to escape. Normally you would sign out and sign back in again, and one of the guards would sign a slip of paper saying you had fulfilled your obligations and were now back in the camp.

“Pearl Harbour happened just after December 7, so Bud could no longer use the excuse that America was not in the war. One of his fellow pilots came down from Eglinton to visit and bring some personal belongings. Bud signed his parole slip to say he was going out that night. He went out, had some drinks and went back. He then signed another parole slip to say he was going out with this friend before he went back up to Eglinton, signed his form, walked out of the prison camp and then he basically exploited a loophole, went out through the gates, said it was cold, turned back and said to the guard ‘I’ve forgotten my gloves’, and the guard told him to go back in and get them. The parole slip form demands you sign out and sign in, but when Bud walked back into camp they did not ask him to sign back in. He walked back out and nobody asked him to sign back out again, so according to Bud in coming back to get his gloves, Bud said he had fulfilled his parole. When nobody stopped him he thought ‘I’m off’,” said Jonny.

Bud made his way back to Belfast via Dublin train and got the bus to Eglinton, but when he arrived back instead of folk being delighted, they were aghast.

“The top brass said his arrival would cause a lot of trouble and he was promptly arrested by the RAF and put in custody at Eglinton for 10 days while the Irish Prime Minister, Churchill, the Air Ministry, the Senior RAF and the German Ambassador all waited to see how Ireland, which was neutral, and the British, to whom this pilot belonged, handled the situation.

“In the end the fear among the RAF and Churchill was that if they did not hand him back the Germans would believe Ireland was not neutral and they would invade, and it would give the Germans a base from which to operate their aircraft and their submarines right next door to England, Scotland and Wales, so that country would be sunk,” said Jonny.

The Irish, understandably, did not want to be invaded, so the Air Ministry under instruction from Churchill, with the wholehearted backing of Ireland, returned the American pilot to internment to protect Britain.

So Bud Wolfe, possibly, became the only Allied POW in WW2 to be sent back to his prisoner of war camp.

He did however, get to fight in the end, when it became apparent that Germany was not going to win the war, and he was released.

He went on to have a very distinguished flying career.

* Next week Jonny McNee talks about his love of aviation and working with Dan Snow for a BBC TV series.

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