World War II pilot from New Zealand, Buchenwald concentration camp survivor (1918–2012)
Phil Lamason
Lamason c. 1942
Born
(1918-09-15)15 September 1918 Napier, New Zealand
Died
19 May 2012(2012-05-19) (aged 93) Dannevirke, New Zealand
Allegiance
New Zealand
Service/branch
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Years of service
1940–1945
Rank
Squadron Leader
Service number
403460
Unit
No. 218 Squadron RAF
No. 15 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars
Second World War
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Other work
Farmer
stock agent
Phillip John Lamason, DFC* (15 September 1918 – 19 May 2012) was a pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War, who rose to prominence as the senior officer in charge of 168 Allied airmen taken to Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany, in August 1944. Raised in Napier, he joined the RNZAF in September 1940, and by April 1942 was a pilot officer serving with the Royal Air Force in Europe. On 8 June 1944, Lamason was in command of a Lancaster heavy bomber that was shot down during a raid on railway marshalling yards near Paris. Bailing out, he was picked up by members of the French Resistance and hidden at various locations for seven weeks. While attempting to reach Spain along the Comet line, Lamason was betrayed by a double agent within the Resistance and seized by the Gestapo.
After interrogation, he was taken to Fresnes prison. Classified as a "Terrorflieger" (terror flier), he was not accorded prisoner-of-war (POW) status, but instead treated as a criminal and spy. By 15 August 1944, Lamason was senior officer of a group of 168 captured Allied airmen who were taken by train to Buchenwald concentration camp, arriving there five days later.
At Buchenwald, the airmen were fully shaved, starved, denied shoes, and for three weeks forced to sleep outside without shelter in one of the sub-camps known as "Little Camp". As senior officer, Lamason took control and instilled a level of military discipline and bearing.
For several weeks Lamason negotiated with the camp authorities to have the airmen transferred to a POW camp, but his requests were denied. At great risk, Lamason secretly got word to the Luftwaffe of the Allied airmen's captivity and, seven days before their scheduled execution, 156 of the 168 prisoners were transferred to Stalag Luft III. Most of the airmen credit their survival at Buchenwald to the leadership and determination of Lamason. After the war, he moved to Dannevirke and became a farmer until his retirement. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a regular speaker at KLB Club and POW reunions.
Phillip John Lamason, DFC* (15 September 1918 – 19 May 2012) was a pilot in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War, who rose...
betrayed by Desoubrie was Roy Allen as well as PhilLamason and his English navigator Ken Chapman. Lamason along with Chapman, was picked up by members...
retaliation for the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Squadron Leader PhilLamason of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, who was also the senior officer in...
Gap. 20 August — World War II: 168 captured allied airmen, including PhilLamason, accused of being "terror fliers" by the Gestapo, arrive at Buchenwald...
Liberated by 6th Armored Division, United States Army Notable inmates Bruno Apitz, PhilLamason, Elie Wiesel, Rudolf Brazda Website www.buchenwald.de/en/69/...
suggestion. Female guards in Nazi concentration camps Irma Grese Aribert Heim PhilLamason, the senior officer in charge of 168 allied airmen taken to Buchenwald...
years, she was liberated by the Third United States Army in June 1945. PhilLamason, Squadron Leader in the RNZAF was the ranking officer and one of 168...
cricketer Charlotte Kight – Of Ākitio b. Dannevirke, Silver Fern Netballer. PhilLamason – World War II pilot Megan Larsen – organic skincare entrepreneur Colin...
Chambois, closing the Falaise Pocket. 168 captured Allied airmen, including PhilLamason, accused of being "terror fliers" by the Gestapo, arrive at Buchenwald...
1930) 2012 – Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (b. 1942) 2012 – PhilLamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918) 2013 – G. Sarsfield Ford, American...
World War II: One hundred sixty-eight captured allied airmen, including PhilLamason, accused by the Gestapo of being "terror fliers", arrive at Buchenwald...
Alfred D. Chandler Jr., American historian and academic (d. 2007) 1918 – PhilLamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (d. 2012) 1918 – Margot Loyola, Chilean...
New York: Berkley Books (1998) ISBN 0-425-16431-4 Alfred Balachowsky PhilLamason Liberation theology Hubert Habicht (Editor), Eugen Kogon - ein politischer...
Buchenwald, Burney would meet F.F.E. Yeo-Thomas and also subsequently meet PhilLamason, the senior officer in charge of 168 allied airmen and would help - at...
Trautloft's adjutant also spoke to the group's commanding officer, a NZ airman PhilLamason. Disturbed by the event, Trautloft returned to Berlin and began the process...
Balachowsky had a hand in getting 168 imprisoned Allied airmen including PhilLamason out of Buchenwald and into the hands of the German Luftwaffe just days...
International concentration camp committees KLB Club Wilhelm Hammann PhilLamason Joseph Schleifstein, four-year-old survivor of Buchenwald List of German...
69, German Olympic silver and bronze medal-winning (1964) swimmer. PhilLamason, 93, New Zealand Air Force officer. Ann Rosener, 97, American photojournalist...
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