Flying Officer Arthur Sidney Woolf served as a wireless operator in 630 Squadron. During World War II, his crew flew 16 missions before being shot down by a German night fighter over Stuttgart on July 25, 1944. The crew was a diverse mix: two Americans, two Canadians, two Englishmen, and a Welshman. After some lively banter in such company, Arthur claimed that his time with his brothers-in-arms made him “multilingual,” as he had learned to swear in various accents. Read more about the Birmingham-born WWII airman at birminghamyes.com.
Pre-War Life
When the war began, Arthur was just a young man. He attended primary school and later moved on to secondary school, passing his exams with flying colours. At the time, his mother was seriously ill with a duodenal ulcer and did not expect to live long. She passed away, and his father struggled to cope on his own. Consequently, Arthur left school at the age of fourteen in 1936 and started working at the Birmingham Despatch.
Just before the war, Arthur worked in the wages department at the Castle Bromwich aircraft factory. This very factory produced the iconic Spitfire, which played a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. However, it was the Lancaster bomber that would play the most significant role in young Arthur’s life, as he became a wireless and radar operator in Lincolnshire’s 630 Squadron. As a member of an RAF Lancaster bomber crew, he began flying bombing missions over Germany.
During their 16th mission to Stuttgart, while flying over the border of Eastern France and Germany, their RAF aircraft was attacked by a German night fighter. A short battle ensued, and after the first strike, the Lancaster was engulfed in flames. It burned from the cockpit to the tail and from wingtip to wingtip. The crew was ordered to bail out.
The Dupré Family
After the war, Arthur recalled waiting for his turn to jump, positioned between two or three other crew members near the front escape hatch. He thought that if he didn’t jump soon, he wouldn’t get the chance at all.
All the while, Arthur Woolf was bleeding heavily. He had been shot in the thigh and left buttock with cannon shrapnel during the attack on the Lancaster and has little memory of losing consciousness. Given the amount of blood he was losing, the injury was severe. Arthur thought he wouldn’t make it out in time. But he did, though some of his crewmates on board were not so fortunate and perished.
The dogfight happened as his Lancaster was en route to Stuttgart on the night of July 25, 1944.
The next thing the airman remembered was regaining consciousness on the ground, tangled in his parachute. A young woman and her brother, as he would later find out, were standing over him. She was overjoyed to see that he was alive. Arthur remembered her greeting him with a kiss on both cheeks.
As it turned out, Arthur had landed in a field in Tramont-Lassus in eastern France and was taken in by the Dupré family. Many years later, he would return to thank the people who had saved his life.
Meanwhile, the Dupré family cared for the young man for several days. However, news of the downed Lancaster spread quickly. It was impossible to hide a missing crew member, and so the German military police investigated and eventually tracked Arthur Woolf to the Dupré family’s home. The young Brummie was arrested. Two German soldiers placed the wounded airman on a stretcher and loaded him into the back of a vehicle. He lost consciousness several times during the journey.
A German Hospital
He came to in a hospital in eastern France that the Germans were using as a facility for prisoners of war. Likely realising the severity of his injuries, they had taken him to the hospital in Nancy, where he was treated for burns and a broken femur. He later developed gangrene. Arthur Woolf spent about four months there. The veteran later recalled that he was never treated poorly at the hospital.
One day, Arthur awoke to the sound of loud cheers and celebratory gunfire. It quickly became clear that the American army had arrived in France.
The medical staff brought the wounded out onto the hospital grounds, where they all watched as thousands of French people welcomed the liberators, waving the Tricolore and Union Jack flags. The locals knew that prisoners of war were being held there and cheered as they were placed in ambulances to begin their journey home. Thus, Arthur Woolf was rescued by the advancing US Army as it pushed through Alsace-Lorraine.
Arthur was first transferred to another hospital to continue treatment for his burns and the leg injuries that left him with a permanent limp. Later, he was moved to the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead. There, he was treated by Archibald McIndoe, a pioneering plastic surgeon from New Zealand who became famous for treating and rehabilitating severely burned British aircrew.
Return to the RAF Base
At the age of 98, heroic RAF serviceman Arthur Woolf visited the legendary Lancaster bomber at RAF East Kirkby in Lincolnshire. He sat in his wheelchair, gazing at the enormous aircraft before him, his old wounds a constant reminder of his past.
Other visitors at the base were thrilled to see the veteran. It’s not every day you get to meet a true hero of the Second World War.
For Arthur, it was his first trip back to the RAF base in 76 years. He wanted to see the aircraft that had played such a huge role in his life. The RAF base is now home to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, with the Lancaster bomber as its main attraction.
After the war, Arthur became a company director in Cradley Heath and married his beloved Sheila, who passed away 20 years ago. The couple never had children. Arthur Woolf’s visit to his former RAF base was organised by Tony Burrowes of the Sutton Coldfield branch of the National Service Association.
Mr. Burrowes believes Arthur’s wartime story is captivating and thought it would be a wonderful experience to bring the veteran back to his old base to see the bomber and reminisce. Other visitors were eager to have their picture taken with the veteran. They understood the sacrifice Arthur and so many of his comrades had made during the war.
Flying Officer Arthur Woolf passed away on April 7, 2021, after a short illness. He was 99 years old. Following his injury, he underwent seven operations to treat the foot and ankle injuries that had led to gangrene. A private funeral, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, was held on May 6, 2021, at Sutton Coldfield Crematorium.