Unsung Hero of Buchenwald

Napier-born Squadron Leader Phil Lamason, who has died aged 93, was the leader of a group of Allied airmen sent to Buchenwald concentration camp by the Gestapo. Lamason worked in the Hawkes Bay as a livestock inspector before joining the RNZAF to train as a pilot. In April 1941 he sailed for England. While attacking railway yards near Paris two days after D-Day, Lamason’s Lancaster was shot down. Two of his crew were killed; Lamason bailed out. For seven weeks Lamason and his navigator were hidden by the French Resistance before they were betrayed to the Gestapo, who interrogated them at Fresnes prison near Paris. On 15 August 1944, with a group of 168 other airmen, he was taken to Buchenwald. As the most senior officer, Lamason insisted on military discipline and bearing. Once at Buchenwald, he risked his life on numerous occasions as he sought to obtain the men’s release and to smuggle news of their plight to the Luftwaffe. On 19 October, Luftwaffe officers arrived at Buchenwald and demanded the airmen’s release, and they were transferred to Stalag Luft III, where their shaven-headed, emaciated appearance shocked their fellow PoWs. One of Lamason’s colleagues described him as “a man of true grit, he was the wonderful unsung hero of Buchenwald”. In January 1945, he joined his fellow PoWs as they were force-marched westward ahead of the advancing Soviet Army. At the end of April, the men of the “Long March” were finally liberated. When the war ended Lamason returned to New Zealand, settling on his farm in Dannevirke.

Phil Lamason: September 15 1918 – May 19 2012