Arnold George Christensen

I whānau mai i te 8 Apr 1922 - I mate atu i te 29 Mar 1944

Nama Hōia: WWII NZ413380 AWMM
WWII 413380 AWMM
Ingoa kārangaranga: —
Te Ope o Tū / te peka: Air Force AWMM
Te tūnga whakamutunga: Flight Lieutenant/Military AWMM Royal Air Force, No. 26 Squadron AWMM
Pakanga: World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Portrait Arnold George Christensen (NZ413380), (kindly provided by Howard Buxton 2013) - This image may be subject to copyright

Whakaatu mai ngā āpure e wātea ana Hunaia ngā mātāwai kōrero

Kōrero taurongo

On the night of 24 March 1944 he escaped from Stalag Luft III in the Great Escape. Using a tunnel named Harry (it was the third attempt - the Germans had discovered Tom and Dick), 220 men attempted to escape, but the tunnel had come up short of the trees they were heading for, and only 76 men got clear.

He was one of the 50 recaptured airmen shot by the Gestapo on the orders of Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of Nazi Germany. Three of those executed were from New Zealand: Flight Lieutenant Christensen (NZ413380), Flying Officer Porokoru Pohe (NZ402894) and New Zealand born Squadron Leader John Williams (40652), an Australian citizen serving with the Royal Air Force. Of the other 23 men recaptured, 15 were returned to Stalag Luft III and 8 were held in concentration camps. Only three of the original 76 escaped POWs got completely away to England.

Flight Lieutenant Christensen's escape attempt almost succeeded. After travelling several hundred kilometres across hostile enemy territory, whose citizens were on the alert for the escaped airmen, he was recaptured and shot with three companions close to the border of Germany and neutral Denmark.

When news of the executions reached England the British Government resolved to bring the culprits to justice once the war had ended. However by the time the hunt for those responsible started, Hitler and most of the other high ranking Nazi officials were dead. Ultimately several Gestapo officers were executed or imprisoned for this war crime.

An article in the Herald on 22 May 1944 reads as follows: THREE NEW ZEALANDERS - TRIBUTE TO BRAVE MEN Wellington, Saturday

"The acting Prime Minister, the Hon. D.G. Sullivan, stated today that the Government had been advised that among the air officers who had been shot in Germany were two members of the RNZAF, Flying Officer Porokoru Patapu (John) Pohe, of Taihape, and Flight-Lieutenant Arnold George Christensen, of Hastings, as well as one other New Zealander, Acting-Squadron-Leader J.E.A. Williams, whose next-of-kin is in Australia, and who was serving with the RAF. In every case the next-of-kin had been informed of the position."

"The Government is deeply shocked at the incident" said Mr Sullivan, "and I join with all citizens of New Zealand in expressing sympathy to the next-of-kin of these brave men who, served by a strong sense of duty, were making every effort to escape and rejoin their colleagues in the fight against Nazi tyranny."

Because of the number of POWs involved and the tragic aftermath, the Stalag Luft III escape is a well documented part of World War 2 history. Popularly known as "The Great Escape" it has been the subject of books and a 1963 Hollywood movie.

The men were shot, then cremated and later their ashes reburied at Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery, Poland.

Next of kin details compiled from information in the Casualty lists published in the newspapers. The information on the display relating to the Great Escape at the Museum of Allied Prisoners of War, Zagan, Poland in 1996 contained errors for Christensen - both his name and nationality did not conform with details supplied by the New Zealander who returned nor with the information in the New Zealand Herald of 22 May 1944. Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery was originally called Schneidemuhl Prisoners of War Cemetery. Mrs Florence, daughter of Neil Hyland Svendsen (RAF 40327) a POW in Stalag Luft III, visited Poland in 1996 with her family. Her photographs on this Cenotaph record, relate to the experience and remembrance of the POWs imprisoned there.

Attended Napier Boys' High School (Source: RNZAF Biographies (R17845608)) AWMM

Ngā mātāwai

Hononga ki waho: Papers Past. Digital New Zealand Newspapers.
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast
Sources Used
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby Airfield, East Kirkby, Near Splisby, Lincolnshire, England
http://www.lincsaviation.co.uk/
Further Reference
Hall, D.O.W. (1950). Escapes. In New Zealand in the Second World War, 1939-1945 : episodes & studies Vol. 2. Wellington: Historical Publications Branch.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-2Epi-c11-WH2-2Epi-l.html
Further Reference
Roll of Honour. Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 116, 18 May 1944, Page 6
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19440518.2.101&srpos
Further Reference
Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2194218
Sources Used
Wikidata Entity
http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q20984414
Further Reference
RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Ab - B. Archives New Zealand (R17845607).
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845608
Sources Used
Ngā tuhinga: The Weekly News
Weekly News, 1944
Banks, Sylvia. Papers relating to World War II Pilot Officer Alan Edward Woodford ('Peter') Day. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 2005/33.
There is a reference to Arnold in the letters (8 August 1942) file
Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press.
Vol. 1 p. 238, vol. 2 p. 204, vol. 3 p. 128
Hanson, C. (2001). By such deeds: honours and awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1923-1999. Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press.
Hanson, C. (2001). p. 123
The New Zealand Herald
Roll of Honour, Died while Prisoner. New Zealand Herald, 19 May 1944
The New Zealand Herald
Three New Zealanders: tribute to brave men. New Zealand Herald, 22 May 1944 p. 4
This record is a work in progress and was partially compiled from the “Database of New Zealand Airmen who took part in Advanced Air Training in Canada during WW2”. Researched by Ivan and Lorna Lindsey of Tauranga. N.Z. 2003 – 2012. Reproduced with permission.
Information kindly provided by family
Deaths While Prisoner of War - Navy, Army, Air Force and Civilians [WW2 NZ POW Deaths], Archives New Zealand, Wellington, AAAA 7393 Box 1 (R25405152).
RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Bo - Cl. Archives New Zealand (R17845608) - Former archives reference: AIR118
List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [Missing - But Presumed Dead on Lapse of Time - Officers, Airmen]. Archives New Zealand (R17845743)
Please note that the 11 volumes of the "RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945" held at Archives NZ (formerly known as AIR118) should be used in conjunction with Errol Martyn's "For Your Tomorrow". FYT reflects detailed examination of all of the AIR118 bios which contain many inaccuracies and omissions.
List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - Embarkation Lists, November 1940 - July 1942. Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R17845762).
Royal New Zealand Air Force. (1941–1945). Contact: National magazine of the R.N.Z.A.F.; the official organ of the Air Force Association (Inc.). Levin, New Zealand: Royal New Zealand Air Force.
V6,n2,p62
Mason, W.W. (1954) Prisoners of war. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.

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Arnold George Christensen