Embedded Files
CONTENTS
Items From the Scrapbook
Items From the Scrapbook
Christian Prayer Book
Christian Prayer Book
Opposite, image of Robert Toomey's prayer book. These were issued to Christian prisoners at Stalag Luft VII.
Actual size: 3 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches.
POW Card
POW Card
Front
Back
Air Force Flying Clothing Booklet
Air Force Flying Clothing Booklet
Actual size: 3 5/8 x 4 7/8 inches.
Articles of clothing, weapons and other equipment issued to airmen were recorded in a "Flying Clothing Card".
Pages from the Flying Clothing Book.
Letters to Robert Toomey's Mother
Letters to Robert Toomey's Mother
These letters were sent to Robert's mother, Elise Toomey, after the aircraft didn't return to base.
Letter from Father Lardie, Chaplain, 428 Squadron
Letter from Father Lardie, Chaplain, 428 Squadron
Father John Philip Lardie was the RCAF chaplain at RAF Middleton St. George Airfield.
Father Lardie was aged 32 when he wrote the letter above to Robert's mother.
He would visit aircrew as they were preparing for an operation to chat with them, and occasionally hand out chewing gum or a water bottle laced with rum. It was also his practice to greet the men returning from their operations and had once flown a mission with aircrew to have a sense of what they went through night after night.
Part of Father Lardie's speech at the dedication of a memorial at Middleton St. George, 1985:
"Three thousand miles across a hunted ocean they came, wearing on the shoulder of their tunics the treasured name, "Canada," telling the world their origin. Young men and women they were, some still in their teens, fashioned by their Maker to love, not to kill, but proud and earnest in their mission to stand, and if it had to be, to die, for their country and for freedom." Bomber Command Museum/Father Lardie
Officially Missing in Action
Officially Missing in Action
RCAF Letter to Toomey's Mother
Letter from Minister Of Defense
Letters from the Parents of Toomey's Crewmates
Letters from the Parents of Toomey's Crewmates
Copyright © Claude Lafleur
Out of respect for the families of the crew, the following handwritten letters from Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Lamb and Mr. Fairgrieve may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated in any form without prior written consent of the copyright holder, Claude Lafleur.
Letters from Leonard G. Brown's mother to Mrs. Toomey
September 17, 1944
F/O Leonard Brown
Navigator
September 20, 1944
September 25, 1944
Letter from Bill Lamb's mother to Mrs. Toomey, September 28, 1944
Flt. Sgt. William Lamb
Mid-upper Air Gunner
Letter from Fairgrieve's father, William Sr. to Mrs. Toomey, Sept. 20, 1944
Letter from Mr. Fairgrieve to Mrs. Toomey sent after Robert Toomey was reported as POW in September, 1944.
F/O William C. Fairgrieve
Pilot
Near Middleton St. George Airfield, 1944
Ndear Middleton St. George Airfield, 1944
Letter from Chief Chaplain, RCAF Overseas Headquarters
Letter from Chief Chaplain, RCAF Overseas Headquarters
Ottawa Journal newspaper articles and a letter to Mrs. Elise Toomey that her son is now prisoner of war. The letter is dated September 21, 1944, more than one month after his capture.
Robert Toomey promoted to Flying Officer while prisoner
Newspaper Articles
Newspaper Articles
Ottawa Journal Newspaper Toomey Reported Missing
Hamilton Spectator, July 19, 1945. Lamb died August 17, 1944.
Toronto Globe and Mail article. FO Leonard Brown reported missing, August 1944.
Toronto Globe and Mail on Sept. 19, 1944 lists Toomey's crew members as missing or killed on active service. Robert Boyce, Leonard Brown, William Fairgrieve, Bill Lamb, Harry Slater and J. R. G. Srigley are mentioned below. Toomey was only survivor.
Toomey listed as prisoner of war on September 26, 1944.
The Raid on the Port Areas of Stettin, Germany
Toomey and crew, flying Lancaster KB751-NQ was involved in this raid on Stettin, Germany on August 16/17, 1944. Their aircraft was shot down into the sea off the southwest coast of the Danish island Sejerø while returning from their mission. Only Robert Toomey survived.
Toronto Globe and Mail Newspaper, August 17, 1944
(continued)
The Long March of January 1945.
Map of the March - Central route
The following map drawn by a fellow prisoner shows the Central Route of the Long March walked by Sgt. Toomey. Prisoners began the March on January 19th, 1945 in a blizzard with inadequate clothing in sub-zero temperatures.
The total distance walked is between 227 and 256 kilometres. Written accounts of the distance walked and the stopping places vary because of the need to find sufficient shelter for the large number of prisoners. They were housed in barns, churches and a brick factory, but sometimes no shelter was available.
They arrived at Stalag III-A on February 8th, 1945.
Mail from Camp
Mail from Camp
Air mail from Robert Toomey while in Stalag Luft VII in Bankau (now the village of Bąków, Kluczbork County in Poland) dated Dec 2, 1944 .
Robert Toomey was taken prisoner almost four months previously, on August 19, 1944.
Telegram to fiancée Adrienne Brousseau dated May 25, 1945.
(Click to enlarge)
Ottawa Journal Newspaper, May 24, 1945
Robert Toomey is listed as one of 30 liberated Air Force prisoners from the Ottawa area. Several friends from Stalag Luft 7 and Stalag 3A were also listed, including "Donald "Bud" Davies, Gilbert "Gib" McElroy, Charles "Chuck" Kelly, Harold B. "Red" Hayes and others.
Toomey's War Service Records
Toomey's War Service Records
Particulars of Service
RCAF Certificate of Service for F/O Toomey (C90314)
Questionnaire For Returned Aircrew - Loss of Bomber Aircraft
Questionnaire For Returned Aircrew - Loss of Bomber Aircraft
Robert Toomey was interviewed May 18, 1945 after he was back in England regarding the loss of the aircraft. His rank at that time was Flying Officer, not Sergeant as stated below, having received his commission while a prisoner of war.
Source: Library and Archives Canada.
(Click to enlarge images.)
Terms used in questionnaire:
windows = metallic strips used to jam enemy radar.
skipper = pilot.
stbd = starboard, or right side of aircraft.
feather = align the propeller blades to minimize drag and prevent windmilling when the engine is shut down.
graviner = fire extinguishers built into engines.
a/c = aircraft.
u/s = unserviceable, not working.
w/op = wireless operator
Questionnaire For Prisoners of War
Questionnaire For Prisoners of War
Completed by F/O Toomey on May 18, 1945, following liberation.
Robert Toomey gave the date of death for Crosswell and Johnson as "approximately April 20, 1945" in the questionnaire above. Several sources state that Flt. Sgt. Geoffrey Johnson (RAF) was killed instantly when shot on April 13, 1945 while trying to escape, and that Flt. Sgt. Percy Crosswell (RCAF) died of his wounds the following morning, April 14, 1945. Percy Crosswell was previously one of 22 men in Robert Toomey's "combine" at Stalag Luft VII.
Note: Johnson's name was misspelled as "Johnston" in the report above.
R.C.A.F. Training
R.C.A.F. Training
St. Thomas Technical Training School, 1941
Robert Toomey was trained as an airframe mechanic before deploying to England. He is shown below, 3rd row, 8th from the left. (Click to expand image.)
St. Thomas Technical Training School Band
Robert (Bob) Toomey, back row far right.. May 1941. (Click to expand image.)
Patches and Medals Awarded
Patches and Medals Awarded
R.C.A.F. Cap Pin.
Medals
Medals
The 1939–1945 Star
The France and Germany Star
1939 - 1945 Canada Voluntary Service Medal
War Medal 1939 - 1945
1939-1945 The Defence Medal
R.C.A.F. Jacket Patch with the motto Per ardua ad astra - Through adversity to the stars.
Bomber Command Bar with the CVSM ribbon.
R.C.A.F. Shoulder Patch and Flight Engineer Brevet.
R.C.A.F. Shoulder Patch and Flight Engineer Brevet.
Toomey's Engineer's brevet worn during WW2.
Robert Toomey made this while a POW.
RCAF Shoulder patch.
Pilot's and Flight Engineer's Notes
Pilot's and Flight Engineer's Notes
This is a reproduction of the 1944 booklet "Pilot's and Flight Engineer's Notes" for for the Lancaster aircraft. These would have been given to Robert Toomey and the pilot.
There are 60 pages of illustrations and operating instructions.
Dimensions are 123 mm x 190 mm.
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