[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23][24]
[25]
[26]
[4]
[27]
Raid
Early the morning of August 31, Ralph and Leslie joined 3rd
Battalion Ljubo Šercer Brigade and returned tp the worksite. The
Partisans laid in wait, and the train bearing the prisoners arrived as
normal. When it had departed, the Partisans disarmed the eight
guards and captured the four civilian overseers, and liberated the
prisoners. In a short time the POWs, guards, and civilian overseers
were being escorted south along a different route than that used by
the first seven escapeesthe previous afternoon.
Back, left to right:
Ralph Churches,
Henare Turangi, and William G.
Altogether, around seventy more POWs from 1046/GW were Bunston.
Front, left to right:
'Hank'
freed. Partisans also raided the British farm at Ralph's suggestion, Dale, Eric Lane, and Kenneth 'Kit'
freeing nine more POWs. Although they arrived at the wrong camp Carson.
first, freeing twenty Frenchmen - a mix of POWs and forced
labourers - first. All three groups of POWs, along with their
Partisan liberators, assembled at Rogla, in the hills of Pohorje. Including Churches and Laws and their
original group of escapees, a total of 105 POWs were liberated by the Partisans during the escape and
subsequent raids.
Trek to Semič and aftermath
Following the gathering at Rogla, the escapees were guarded by provincial, semi-static units of the
Slovenian Partisans. On September 2, they were handed to the Lackov (formerly Pohorje) Detachment.
Twelve men led by Commissar Franc
'Švejk'
Gruden were tasked to escort them to the Sava River. Progress
north of the river was difficult, as German patrols were very active. An ambush the night of September 3 at
Zavodne, led the column to scatter and six prisoners to go missing, including Kenneth Carson. By
September 5 they had regrouped and reached the liberated area in the Savinja river valley. Here, they and
their escort were given a half day's rest, and met Major Lindsay.
On September 7 the escapees were handed to the care of the Kamnik-Zasavje Detachment, responsible for
ferrying people and supplies across the Sava river. After a successful crossing, the Dolenjska Detachment
took over responsibility, and 250 kilometres (160 mi) and over 14 days after their escape, they reached
Semič in White Carniola. The town housed Base 212, used by SOE and MI9 to barrack E&Es prior to
evacuation by air. After a few days delay waiting for aircraft to be available and weather conditions to be
suitable, they were flown from an airfield at Otok, to Bari in Italy on 21 September 1944. The last plane
developed a fault and was delayed, during which time Kenneth Carson was able to rejoin the group, having
been picked up by another group of Partisans.
The escapees were given a short leave in Italy, before heading their separate ways in early October. The
Brits sailed to Liverpool, while the New Zealanders and Australians headed to Melbourne. Both Ralph
Churches and Les Laws were decorated for their actions in escaping and assisting the Partisans in planning
the raid. Laws was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, and Churches, the British Empire
Medal. Churches reached Australia in November 1944, where after three months leave he was posted to
the staff of a prisoner of war camp in Murchison, Victoria as an interpreter. He was subsequently promoted
to sergeant and was discharged in November 1945. Churches returned to the site of the raid in 1972 and
1977, and was accompanied by Laws on a further visit in 1985. During these visits Churches and Laws
were reunited with severalof the Partisans that had escorted them to Semič.
Conflicting accounts of events