2068169 Sapper Leslie Smallman
261 (Airborne) Field Park Company,
Royal Engineers
Died 19 November 1942
Son of Thomas and Ellen Smallman
of Hednesford, Staffordshire.
Remembered with Honour
Stavanger (Eiganes) Churchyard
Z. 6.
This photograph of the grave of Sapper Leslie Smallman is courtesy of the Find a Grave website, Sapper Leslie Smallman (unknown-1942) - Find a Grave Memorial
Picture 1
Researched and written by Bruce Tocher and Chris Graddon
Leslie Smallman’s Family
Sapper Leslie Smallman was born in Hednesford on the 6th of November 1921, the son of Thomas and Ellen Smallman, of Hednesford, Staffordshire.
1921 census - entry for Thomas and Ellen Smallman and their family
1921 census - entry for Thomas and Ellen Smallman and their family
Pictures 2 and 3
The 1921 census (above) shows Thomas Smallman, aged 28 years 8 months, born about 1891/2. He was born in Hednesford, Staffordshire and was working as a miner (coal loader) at Littleton Colliery in Huntingdon, Cannock.
His wife Ellen Smallman aged 24 years 5 months, born 1896/7, had also been born in Hednesford. She was a housewife bringing up their three young children:
son Thomas Edward Smallman, aged 5 years 6 months, who was born in Cannock;
daughter Irene Smallman, aged 2 years 10 months, also born in Cannock;
and 9-month old baby daughter Winifred Smallman, born in Landywood, Great Wyrley.
The family were then living at 28 Beech Tree Lane, Cannock.
Leslie’s Grandparents
It is possible that Thomas was the son of William and Eliza Smallman. William Smallman was also a miner and had married Eliza Cope on 5th November 1883 at the Church of St James the Great, Norton Canes. The marriage record shows them both aged 20 at the time. Their son Thomas was baptised at St. Peter’s Church, Hednesford, on 11 November 1892.
The 1891 census (picture 4 below) shows William and Eliza living in Bridge Row, Stafford Lane, Hednesford with Eliza’s father and brother. William and Eliza had four children then, two sons and two daughters:
William Thomas Frederick Smallman (born c.1884)
Mary Ann Smallman (born c.1886)
Samuel Smallman (born c.1889)
Sarah Jane Smallman (born 1891, died later the same year)
The family had grown by the time of the 1901 census (picture 5 below) with the addition of 4 more children, 3 more sons and one daughter. The family had moved recently, presumably to work in the coal mines, and were now living at 14 Second Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield in Lancashire:
Thomas Smallman (born c.1892)
James Smallman (born c.1894)
Florence May Smallman (born c.1897)
Enoch Smallman (born 16 February 1899)
Another daughter, Ida Smallman, arrived c.1906 and, by the time of the 1911 census (picture 6 below), William and Eliza were back in the Midlands, living in Cemetery Road, Cannock.
1891 census - entry for William and Eliza Smallman and their family
1901 census - entry for William and Eliza Smallman and their family
1911 census - entry for William and Eliza Smallman and their family
Pictures 4, 5 and 6
Leslie’s Parents and Siblings
Leslie’s parents, John Thomas Smallman and his wife Ellen Hayward, had married at St. Luke’s Church, Cannock, on 9th May 1915. Thomas was born on 21 October 1893, Ellen on 8 January 1897. Their children were:
Thomas Edward Smallman (born 15 December 1915)
Irene Smallman (born 1918, baptised 11 September 1918, St. Luke’s Church, Cannock)
Winifred Smallman (born 23 September 1920, baptised 13 October 192o, St. Luke’s Church, Cannock)
Leslie Smallman (born 1922, baptised 29 November 1922, St. Luke’s Church, Cannock)
Bernard Smallman (born 8 September 1924, baptised 24 September 1924, St. Luke’s Church, Cannock)
Another son was born in 1926 but died at birth or soon after birth
Gertrude Mary Smallman (born 25 May 1928)
Nellie Smallman (born 1 September 1931)
William Smallman (born 12 June 1936)
Two extracts from the 1939 census showing five of Leslie’s siblings living in Pye Green Road, Hednesford, with their parents Thomas and Ellen Smallman
Pictures 7 and 8
Leslie Smallman’s Military Service
Leslie Smallman enlisted in the Territorial Army, Royal Engineers, at Cannock on 25th January 1939. On 1st February 1939, he attested and was posted to the 213th (North Midland) Army Field Company, Royal Engineers, part of the 46th (North Staffordshire) Corps Troops, Royal Engineers. Leslie remained with the Territorials for two years, until 21st March 1941 when he re-enlisted at Skegness under normal engagement, and was posted as Sapper to 104 Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers. Sapper Smallman spent the next 15 months serving with various units in the Royal Engineers then, in June 1942, Leslie was posted to the 261st (Airborne) Field Park Company. The 261st (West Country) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers, had been incorporated into the 1st Airborne Division on the 7th of January 1942, its name re-designated to reflect the 261st having become an airborne unit. The first location for the unit under its new command was at Wickham in Berkshire where they stayed for 6 months before moving to Bulford Camp on Salisbury Plain. At Bulford, the unit gained its first experience with gliders, both Hotspurs, and later the new Horsa.
Photograph of an Airspeed AS.51 Horsa, the British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War.
Picture 9
Between the 27th June and 12th July 1942, Leslie Smallman undertook the Military Parachute Jumping course at the Parachute Training School, Ringway, Manchester. To complete it, he was required to make 2 successful jumps from a captive balloon and 2 from an aircraft. Several other men who took part in Operation Freshman - Bill Bray, Vernon Belfield, George Simkins, James Stephen and John Thomas - completed their parachute training at the same time.
This map is courtesy of the Aircrew Remembered website, https://aircrewremembered.com/
Picture 10
Vemork Hydroelectric Plant in 1935. The front building is the Norsk Hydro hydrogen production plant. This image is courtesy of the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.
Picture 11
After the Germans took control of the Norsk Hydro plant in 1940, they expanded the number of electrolytic cells from 9 to 18, doubling the plant's production of heavy water. This image is courtesy of Nevington War Museum https://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/
Picture 12
In July 1942, the British War Cabinet decided to try to destroy the heavy water production facilities at Vemork, Norway. The Germans were thought to have made considerable progress in the production of heavy water as part of the Nazi programme to develop a nuclear bomb. After much discussion, it was decided to use specially trained Royal Engineers to carry out the task. They were to be flown to a landing site on the Hardanger Plateau, near the Vemork facility, using two Horsa gliders, each towed by a Halifax bomber.
On the 18th of October 1942, Sapper Leslie Smallman attended the meeting at Bulford Camp where the Chief Royal Engineer, Lieutenant-Colonel Mark ‘Honker’ Henniker, asked for volunteers for a special mission (Operation Freshman). Leslie was one of 10 men from the 261st (Airborne) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers who agreed to take part. The other twenty men came from the 9th (Airborne) Field Company, Royal Engineers.
Tragically, due to the poor weather and failures in the navigation and guidance systems, the aircraft failed to identify the landing zones so were forced to turn back. On the return journey, ice began to build up on the tow ropes and this increased weight began to seriously affect flight performance, the planes losing altitude. At a point over southwest Norway, the tow ropes between the Halifax tugs and the gliders snapped; both gliders and one of the tugs crashed in SW Norway. Although extremely low on fuel, one aircraft, Halifax A, did make it safely back to Scotland.
Sapper Smallman was one of 14 Royal Engineers who survived the crash of Horsa Glider B (HS114) on Benkjafjellet, Rogaland, Norway at around midnight on the 19th of November 1942. All 14 were executed by a German Army firing squad at Slettebø Camp, near Egersund during the early evening of the 20th November. The men were buried later, in secret, in the sand dunes at Brusand. After the war, their bodies were recovered and re-buried with full military honours in the Commonwealth Graves section at Eiganes Cemetery, Stavanger, Norway.
Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Chandos Auberon Henniker. Chief Royal Engineer at the time of Operation Freshman.
Image courtesy of the Paradata website https://www.paradata.org.uk/
Picture 13
The site where the 14 executions took place. This photograph was taken by Dr Bruce Tocher
Picture 14
The German firing squad were carrying out the direct order of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler who had been infuriated by Operation Basalt, a successful British commando raid on the occupied Channel Island of Sark that took place on the night of 3/4th October 1942.
Two weeks after the raid, on 18th October, Hitler issued his Commando Order (Kommandobefehl). He was incensed that the commando raid had resulted in the deaths of German soldiers who had surrendered and then had their hands bound; they were shot after their capture, trying to break free.
Hitler’s order stated: “For a long time now our opponents have been employing, in their conduct of the war, methods which contravene the International Convention of Geneva …… The members of the so-called Commandos behave in a particularly brutal and underhand manner.
In future, Germany will adopt the same methods against these sabotage units of the British and their Allies; whenever they appear, they shall be ruthlessly destroyed by the German troops. From now on all men operating against German troops in so-called Commando raids in Europe or in Africa, are to be annihilated to the last man.
This is to be carried out whether they be soldiers in uniform, or saboteurs, with or without arms; and whether fighting or seeking to escape; and it is equally immaterial whether they come into action from ships and aircraft, or whether they land by parachute. Even if these individuals on discovery make obvious their intention of giving themselves up as prisoners, no pardon is on any account to be given.”
There is no question: the execution of British and allied soldiers in uniform, following their surrender, was a war crime. Nevertheless, the firing squad carried out that order.
Operation Gunnerside
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was formed in 1940 to conduct reconnaissance, espionage and sabotage in German-occupied Europe. It also provided assistance to local resistance movements. In March 1942, the SOE recruited Einar Skinnarland, a Norwegian engineer who had worked at the Møsvatn dam. After ten days of intensive training, he was parachuted back into Norway to use his contacts in Vemork in order to identify the plant’s defences and the disposition of German troops. SOE decided to send an advance party of Norwegian agents into Telemark and intensive training took place over the summer of 1942 for a four-man team, codenamed Operation Grouse. The men were all local to the Telemark area. After several flights had been aborted due to bad weather, the men parachuted in on 18 October, landing on the Hardangervidda (a large wilderness avoided by the German forces); they then spent the next 15 days trekking towards Møsvatn.
As a result of the unsuccessful Freshman raid, the Germans - knowing the Allies were looking to stop the production of heavy-water at Vemork - placed mines, floodlights, and additional guards around the plant. Undaunted, the SOE decided to mount another operation, aware that the Grouse team was still operational having taken shelter over the winter. Operation Gunnerside saw 6 Norwegian commandos dropped by parachute from a Halifax bomber on the night of 16th February 1943. After landing successfully, they managed to locate the Grouse team and together the men began making preparations for an assault on the Vemork plant on the night of 27–28 February 1943. The supplies and explosives they would need had been dropped in protective cannisters with the Gunnerside team.
Although security at the plant had relaxed a little over the winter, the bridge spanning the deep ravine was fully guarded, so the saboteurs decided to descend into the ravine, ford the icy river and then climb the steep hill on the far side. Fortunately, the river level was very low that night and, when the men reached the point where the ground levelled on the far side, they did not encounter any guards as they followed the single track railway straight into the hydro plant. The SOE already had a Norwegian agent inside the plant and the demolition party used his information to enter the main basement via a cable tunnel. The only person they encountered in the plant was a Norwegian caretaker who was very willing to cooperate.
The saboteurs placed explosive charges on the heavy-water electrolysis chambers, attaching a fuse that would allow them sufficient time to escape. In an attempt to prevent reprisals against local residents, a Thompson submachine gun was deliberately left behind, implying that the operation had been carried out by British forces rather than by the local resistance. The fuses were lit and the explosive charges detonated, destroying the electrolysis chambers and over 500 kg of heavy water. 3,000 German soldiers were deployed to comb the area for the commandos but they all escaped, five skiing 200 miles to safety in Sweden.
Although it did not permanently damage the Vemork plant, Operation Gunnerside halted heavy water production for several weeks. German security was increased considerably and the hydro plant was repaired. The SOE decided that another commando raid would be extremely hazardous so, when heavy water production resumed, the US Air Force began to target Vemork. In November 1943, the plant was attacked in massive daylight bombing raids that caused extensive damage. In 1944, with the air raids continuing, the Germans decided to abandon the plant and move the remaining stock of heavy water and critical production components to Germany. However, members of the Norwegian resistance succeeded in planting high explosives in the keel of the SF Hydro cargo ferry. Around midnight on 20th February, the ferry sank to the bottom of Lake Tinn, along with its cargo of heavy water.
“The Heroes of Telemark” was released in 1965. Starring Kirk Douglas, this British war film covers the sabotage of the Norwegian heavy water plant during the Second World War. The film was based on “Skis Against the Atom”, the memoirs of Norwegian resistance fighter Knut Haukelid.
“The Heroes of Telemark” was released in 1965. Starring Kirk Douglas, this British war film covers the sabotage of the Norwegian heavy water plant during the Second World War. The film was based on “Skis Against the Atom”, the memoirs of Norwegian resistance fighter Knut Haukelid.
“The Heroes of Telemark” cinema poster courtesy of Simon Dwyer, https://www.simondwyer.com/heroes-of-telemark-original-movie-poster-uk-quad-40x30-3449.html
Picture 15
Image courtesy of Martin Hayes, www.paroneiria.com.
Picture 17
Knut Haukelid (photograph courtesy of The Norwegian industrial workers Museum, https://www.nia.no/
Picture 16
Image courtesy of Amazon, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skis-Against-Atom-Knut-Haukelid/dp/0006131484
Picture 18
For a detailed account of Operation Freshman, and the war trial investigations into the execution of the men who took part in the raid, follow the link below to the talk given by Dr Bruce Tocher at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham on 16th November 2024. The talk lasts for about an hour and a quarter.
SYD BRITTAIN trained with the men who took part in Operation Freshman. These are his memories of Sapper Leslie Smallman.
Smallman was stocky, 5´6” tall and ginger-haired. He was a deep and thoughtful man who was rather abrupt and not one for laughter. Before the war he had worked in a pit in Cannock Colliery. I remember after the war his mother published his photograph in the papers trying to trace her son who had been missing since 1942.
Extract from War Office Casualty List 1907 reporting that Sapper Leslie Smallman is now presumed to have been killed in action, having previously been recorded as missing in action. This extract is courtesy of Ancestry.
Picture 19
Application for issue of Sapper Leslie Smallman’s stars and medals. The name of the applicant is covered but may be assumed to be his father, Thomas Smallman, Leslie’s designated next of kin. This image is courtesy of Fold3. National Archives reference WO 460/464
Picture 20
1939-45 Star and 1939-45 War Medal
