CHARLES WILLIAM GREIG, RNAS/RAF- POW BULGARIA

[Guest]

For those of you who spend their summer holidays in Bulgaria..............

There is a WCG cemetery in Plovdiv, the second city of Bulgaria-formerly called Phillipopolis. It had the main camp for the rag-tag assemblage of British POWs taken by the Bulgarians. One such was Charles William Greig, from Wanstead in East London. A pre-war territorial with the London Scotiish, he was obviously a rather tough individual. Commissioned up into the RNAS- probably because he came from a family of marine engineers. Captured over Bulgaria 1916-dont know whether shotdown or whatever-havent done the sqaudron history yet.

Died 12/13 September 1918- shot while attempting to escape from a Bulgarian POW camp- There are 2 Foreign Office files which have material on him- one to do with formal repoting of his death via the US Consul in that part of Bugaria, to US State Department and thence to Foreign Office- Unusually, the American Consul must have visited the camp and known Greig for there is a glowing reference to him. The other was the suggestion that the Bulgarians had stripped Greigs body of insignia and ribbons. It turned out not to be true- the local Bulgarian General had very gallantly had them removed and safeguarded while Greig's unifom jacket was cleaned-he didnt want Greig's parents to be distressed by bloodstains

Greig's brother officers in the camp constructed some sort of cairn memorial to him- the American Consul forwarded photographs of it for Greig's parents.

However, there is a large obelisk private memorial to Greig in the WCG plot in Plovdiv- of a typical style from an English municipal cmetery. Would anyone have any info on either the memorial or about the Bulgarian POW camp in Plovdiv- at least one other officer was involved in the escape attempt.

[fetubi]

Hi there,

On p.277 of my new book The Sky Their Battlefield II (see the link below) I've got the following updated information about the loss of Greig and others:

On the 29th November 1916

3905 Henry Farman 2 Wing RNAS

Thasos **B GERAVIZ Seaplane Base ftl MIA (FLt EJ Cooper POW/Lt Lord Torrington POW) 1.12.1916? Δ

3916 Henry Farman 2 Wing RNAS

Thasos **B GERAVIZ Seaplane Base ftl MIA (FSLt CW Greig POW Died 12.9.18 Bulgaria/2Lt RW Frazier RNVR POW) 1.12.16?Δ

The German seaplane base at Geraviz was about 35 miles from Thasos and it posed a constant threat to RNAS operations in the area. The Official History notes that on November 29 two Henry Farmans bombed the base from below a thousand feet and the ensuing fire caught hold and destroyed most of the buildings there. One assumes these crews were responsible. (Note, not all sources quite agree about the loss date, but I'm going with the Official History for now).

I didn't know about Greig having been shot dead whilst trying to escape, though. It's good research you've done. Thanks.

Trevor

[apwright]

I think "cairn" and "obelisk" must refer to the same memorial...

The CWGC Headstone Schedule has a footnote: "Memorial erected by brother officers during the War left on this grave instead of standard tablet being fixed."

The plinth on which the obelisk stands is engraved with "ERECTED BY / HIS BROTHER OFFICERS IN CAPTIVITY"

These seem to suggest that it's the original.

Adrian

[Guest]

Thanks to Trevor Henshaw- thats my Christmas present sorted!!!

And to apwright- my fault missed the uipdated grave records. The FO files speak of a cairn but photos of the GC plot show quite a substantial obelisk- far beyond what I would have thought POWs could do- the more so as the war in Bulgharia ended pretty sharpish afterwards. The rather fuzzy pics. that can be found on 'Tinternet show what looks like a slab with an engrraving of an aircraft on it. But thanks indeed for your reference.

I am not sure whether British POWs with the Bulgarians were debriefed as with the returning POWs from the Germans. Not the most exciting topic but if Im doing a little biog of the man, might as well get it right

[Alan Bentley]

Lt.C K Blandy, RNAS 1917. POW in Philippopolis Presumed from Thasos, anyone have further info?

Edited 23 July , 2018 by Alan Bentley

[pete-c]

2 hours ago, Alan Bentley said:

Lt.C K Blandy, RNAS 1917. POW in Philippopolis Presumed from Thasos, anyone have further info?

 

Hi Alan,

I think this man is FSL G K Blandy RN reported in Flight Nov 2 1916 as P.O.W. in Bulgarian hands (Wounded)  Also reported by the Admiralty in the same edition is Lt R G Blakesley RNVR (Uninjured)

Both men were flying in Nieuport Type 12 '8913' on a recce towards Buk.  They were part of 2 Wing RNAS from Thasos and shot down near Drama on 23.10.16 both being made P.O.Ws.

 

Geoffrey Kelvin Blandy got his RAeC ticket on June 16th 1915 at the Beatty School Hendon, flying a Caudron Biplane.

 

Recorded incorrectly as G K Bands in Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Units 1911-1919 (Sturtivant) and The Sky their Battlefield 1 (Henshaw)

 

Edited 23 July , 2018 by pete-c

[MaureenE]

For some information about the POW Camps in Bulgaria, see the FIBIS Fibiwiki page Salonica, section Prisoners of War

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Salonica_and_the_Balkans_(First_World_War)#Prisoners_of_War

 

Includes the following link

Prisoners of War in Bulgaria during the First World War A dissertation submitted as part of the Tripos Examination in the Faculty of History, Cambridge University, April 2012. No author is given on the paper but elsewhere the author is given as Rumen Cholakov. This is a link to a pdf download. Once downloaded, depending on your browser, you may need to look in your download folder.

 

Cheers

Maureen

[pete-c]

On ‎23‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 10:08, Alan Bentley said:

Lt.C K Blandy, RNAS 1917. POW in Philippopolis Presumed from Thasos, anyone have further info?

 

Just a couple of notes regarding G K Blandy.

 

Flight June 25th 1915:  Beatty School:  On Wednesday evening, in spite of very unfavourable weather, Mr G. K. Blandy took an extremely good ticket on the 45 hp Caudron: he is now taking extra practice at the school.

 

Flight September 3rd 1915:   Beatty School:  Mr G K Blandy continued extra practice.

 

Flt Sub Lt Geoffrey Kelvin Blandy at Thasos in both July & October 1916.

Edited 28 July , 2018 by pete-c

[hmsk212]

 

I came across the following information when I was researching Rowland Wynne Frazier a few years ago, currently I can't find my reference notes but I believe that they came from  National Archives ADM137/367    Steve

 

Edited 29 July , 2018 by hmsk212

[charlie962]

On 23/07/2018 at 11:08, Alan Bentley said:

Lt.C K Blandy, RNAS 1917. POW in Philippopolis

There is an ICRC record for Geofrey C Blandy here

         

 

I note the list also includes Frazier, Cooper and Torrington but not Grieg ?

 

Charlie

Edited 29 July , 2018 by charlie962

[charlie962]

and these sources from airhistory.org

                                      

[pete-c]

1 hour ago, charlie962 said:

There is an ICRC record for Geofrey C Blandy here

         

 

I note the list also includes Frazier, Cooper and Torrington but not Grieg ?

 

Charlie

 

Also included is RG Blakesley, Blandy's observer.  Another interesting detail is Blandy's birthplace, and also the fact that he is recorded as RFC, not RNAS.

 

Thanks for these details Charlie. 

[GlenRuth]

On 23/07/2018 at 20:33, pete-c said:

 

Hi Alan,

I think this man is FSL G K Blandy RN reported in Flight Nov 2 1916 as P.O.W. in Bulgarian hands (Wounded)  Also reported by the Admiralty in the same edition is Lt R G Blakesley RNVR (Uninjured)

Both men were flying in Nieuport Type 12 '8913' on a recce towards Buk.  They were part of 2 Wing RNAS from Thasos and shot down near Drama on 23.10.16 both being made P.O.Ws.

 

Geoffrey Kelvin Blandy got his RAeC ticket on June 16th 1915 at the Beatty School Hendon, flying a Caudron Biplane.

 

Recorded incorrectly as G K Bands in Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Units 1911-1919 (Sturtivant) and The Sky their Battlefield 1 (Henshaw)

 

Thank you for mentioning Lt Reginald George Blakesley, a man I have been researching. The National Archives has his service records and the following: Balkans: Prisoners including: . . . Mrs Lily Blakesley: arrangements for regular remittances to be sent to her husband Lieutenant Reginald George Blakesley interned at Philippopolis. I now have a better understanding of how Reginald might have become Valet to Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov of Russia while his wife Lily (nee Bristow) was Maid to the Duke's wife Princess Ilyinski - he would have had a rather interesting history and resume.  The Blakesleys travelled to New York with their employers on more than one occasion and they were with them until at least 1935, shipping records show their return address in London was at The Ritz.  Reginald Blakesley died in 1978 in Dorset, his wife Lily died in 1954.

[pete-c]

6 hours ago, GlenRuth said:

Thank you for mentioning Lt Reginald George Blakesley, a man I have been researching. The National Archives has his service records and the following: Balkans: Prisoners including: . . . Mrs Lily Blakesley: arrangements for regular remittances to be sent to her husband Lieutenant Reginald George Blakesley interned at Philippopolis. I now have a better understanding of how Reginald might have become Valet to Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov of Russia while his wife Lily (nee Bristow) was Maid to the Duke's wife Princess Ilyinski - he would have had a rather interesting history and resume.  The Blakesleys travelled to New York with their employers on more than one occasion and they were with them until at least 1935, shipping records show their return address in London was at The Ritz.  Reginald Blakesley died in 1978 in Dorset, his wife Lily died in 1954.

My pleasure.  All the best with your continuing research.