Bertie Joyce
Albert Edward Joyce | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Albert Edward Joyce |
| Nickname | Bertie Joyce |
| Born | December 29, 1921 Brixton Hill, London, United Kingdom |
| Died | June 12, 1943 (aged 21) Stalag Luft III, Żagań, Poland |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Rank | Flight Sergeant |
| Unit | No. 234 Squadron RAF |
| Conflicts | World War II
|
Albert Edward Joyce, known as "Sergeant Bertie Joyce" (29 December 1921 – 12 June 1943), was a Royal Air Force pilot who served during World War II.
Early life
Albert Edward Joyce[1] was born on 29 December 1921 in Brixton Hill, London, United Kingdom, the son of Alfred Thomas Joyce and Jane Joyce.[2][3] He pursued an interest in boxing during his youth.[4]
World War II
Operation Veracity I
On 30 December 1941, Flight Sergeant Joyce participated in Operation Veracity I, an Allied operation to bomb the port of Brest. His Supermarine Spitfire[5] of No. 234 Squadron RAF was shot down over Plourin. Joyce successfully bailed out but sustained injuries during his parachute descent. He subsequently sought shelter at the Pen Allan Garo farm.[4]
Capture by German forces
The region was under German occupation at the time. A Wehrmacht soldier arrived at Pen Allan Garo farm shortly after the aircraft crash. According to contemporary accounts, Joyce burned his identification papers and made the sign of the cross, believing his execution was imminent.[6] The Wehrmacht soldier arranged Joyce's transport to a nearby road, where he was collected by German military personnel and taken into custody as a prisoner of war.[2]
Escape attempt and death
Joyce was subsequently transferred to Stalag Luft III, a prisoner-of-war camp in Żagań, Poland. In February 1943, he attempted to escape alongside fellow prisoner Alan Saxton. The attempt failed when a guard spotted them in a searchlight beam and immediately opened fire with an automatic rifle, severely wounding Joyce.[7] He was transferred to hospital but died from his injuries three months later in June 1943.[8]
Legacy
Joyce's story was rediscovered through research conducted by local historian Gildas Saouzanet[9][10][11][12][13] and a 2015 visit by Joyce's family, the Bowles. The family retraced Joyce's final movements, visiting the locations where he took refuge and was apprehended. At Pen Allan Garo, local testimony and archaeological investigation recovered fragments of Joyce's Spitfire wreckage.[2]
References
- ^ Some records incorrectly list his name as "Andrew Edward Joyce" or "R. W. Joyce".
- ^ a b c "Sur les traces de l'oncle Bertie, l'aviateur anglais". Ouest-France (in French). August 22, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ "Histoire. Sur les traces d'un aviateur anglais". Le Télégramme (in French). August 23, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ a b "Actualités- Pays de Brest - Plourin - Sur les traces de l'Oncle Bertie" (PDF). Le Télégramme. 23 August 2015. p. 20.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Departmental archives of Finistère record the aircraft as Spitfire Mk.Vb serial AB854 of 234 Squadron RAF, shot down by Luftwaffe fighters over Plourin.
- ^ "Pen Allan Garo". penallangaro.yannblake.com. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ "Declassified interrogation report M.I.9 - Alan SAXTON - 754903". Archives. 1943.
They were spotted by a guard in the light of a searchlight and without warning the guard opened fire with an automatic rifle hitting Joyce and severely wounding him. He later was roughly handled, removed to a hospital but died in June.
- ^ "Prisoners of War Museum - Joyce, Albert Edward".
- ^ Saouzanet, Gildas (2015). En leur mémoire 1940-1944: Histoires d'aviateurs tombés sur le Finistère (in French). p. 176. ISBN 978-2-9550263-0-4.
- ^ "À Porspoder, Gildas Saouzanet retrace la guerre aérienne 1940-1944". Le Télégramme (in French). February 21, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
- ^ "Albert Edward Joyce in Forces War Records (by Ancestry)". Forces War Records. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
- ^ "Dédicaces. Gildas Saouzanet, passeur d'histoire". Le Télégramme (in French). July 7, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
- ^ "Porspoder. Il raconte la Seconde Guerre mondiale dans le Pays d'Iroise". brest.maville.com (in French). Retrieved December 22, 2024.