Belgium, Kingdom. An Extremely Rare 5Th Belgian Sas Para Grouping To Lieutenant Ghys Who Jumped In Both Operation Chaucer & Operation Caliban

1. Battledress Blouse (fabricated from a brownish khaki wool, both sleeves with light blue and maroon 1st Airborne Division patches, the right sleeve with an SAS pattern parachute wings in light blue, ultramarine blue, navy blue embroidery, on a black wool base. There are button down epaulet straps on each shoulder, each with two brown, beige and blue embroidered pips, the two pips designating the rank as Lieutenant, both straps secured in place via a maroon painted wooden button at the neck end. The front has two pockets, one on each breast, with a maroon painted wooden button on the right pocket, the button on the left pocket having been lost to time, each of the fold over flaps incorporating a reinforced button hole and stamped in black ink "747" on the underside, with an additional "13" appearing on the underside of the left pocket flap. The front is completed by a vertical row of five maroon painted wooden buttons on the right side, facing five reinforced button holes on the left side. Along the waistline at the front is a strap on the left side, and when fed through the metal belt loop on the right side, ensures a snug fit at the waist. The collar has a dual black metal hook and eye closure. The inside is lined in greenish-khaki cotton at the opening and at the waist. It is designed with a side-entry pocket on the left side just inside the opening that is also lined in greenish-khaki cotton, the pocket with a white cotton label inscribed "BATTLEDRESS BLOUSE, SERGE / Size No. 13 / Height, 5 ft. 11 in. to 6 ft. 0 in. / Breast, 38 in. to 39 in. / Waist, 33 in. to 34 in. / BLACK & CO. (Clothiers) LTD. GLASGOW", with the British Broad Arrow and date stamped in blue ink "OCT 23 1944". Just below the label is a large "13" stamped in blue ink and overprinting a second indecipherable stamp and is also stamped in black ink with the British Broad Arrow, surrounded by an "M" above, a "W" to the left, a "D" to the right (WD = War Department) and "D2" below. The blouse measures 470 mm across the shoulders and 540 mm in length overall).

2. Army Parachute Wings (in light blue and white embroidery, on a brownish khaki wool base, measuring 83 mm (w) x 33 mm (h).

3. SAS Pattern Parachute Wings (in light blue, ultramarine blue, navy blue embroidery, on a black wool base, measuring 70 mm (w) x 22 mm (h)).

4. Belgian Army Shoulder Flash (red embroidered lettering "BELGIUM", on a brownish khaki wool base, white cotton mesh backer, measuring 95 mm (w) x 25 mm (h)).

5. Belgian Army in the United Kingdom Cap Badge (in gilt metal, measuring 29.5 mm (w) x 40.5 mm (h), horizontal pinback).

6. Belgian Army "Lion" Cap Badge (in die-stamped bronze gilt, measuring 36.2 mm (w) x 38 mm (h), both lugs intact).

7. British Parachute Wings Lapel Badge (in bronze gilt with light blue, navy blue and white enamels, measuring 37 mm (w) x 15.3 mm (h), horizontal pinback).

8. Photograph of Lieutenant Josef "Jos" Ghys in Uniform (black and white, gloss finish, Belgian News agency officially stamped in blue ink "SERVICE PHOTOGRAPHIQUE / AGENCE TELEGRAPHIQUE BELGE S.A. / BELGA / BRUXELLES / BRUSSEL / PHOTO..." on the reverse, measuring 131 mm (w) x 180 mm (h)).

9. "Gazet Van Antwerpen" Newspaper Pages 1 & 2 (dated September 25, 1944, text in Dutch, with an article on the Front Page entitled "Valschermspringers in 't Britsche leger" (Parachutists in the British Army) and featuring a photograph of Lieutenant Ghys, measuring 430 mm (w) x 590 mm (h)).

10. Personal Note (typewritten in Dutch by Joe Ghys to one of his friends, stating that he was "sending you every emblem and my battledress for your museum. As well as a newspaper from 1944. I will ask my family in Antwerp if they have any other business there and I will pass on your address. I am also sending you a copy of my sketch of how we left Canada in 1941", typed in black on ruled beige note paper, measuring 115 mm (w) x 160 mm (h)).

11. Diagram by Ghys Detailing His Departure From Canada and Sailing with the Flotilla in the North Atlantic on Sunday morning, June 22, 1941 (black ink on white paper, measuring 210 mm (w) x 180 mm (h)).

Footnote: Lieutenant Josef "Jos" Ghys, 5th (Belgian) SAS, B Troop is credited with having taken part in both Operation Chaucer and Operation Caliban.

In February 1941, twenty-eight volunteers arrived at the military camp in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. Among them was Lieutenant Edouard Blondeel, who was finishing his studies as a doctor in dentistry in Chicago, thanks to a scholarship. In July 1940, he was allowed to return to his unit, but the outbreak of hostilities on May 10th changed his plans. It was only in September 1944, during SAS operations, that he would return to Belgium. Lieutenant Freddy Limbosch, an agricultural engineer, had migrated to Canada in 1938 and ran a farm in Ontario. Roger De Neef worked in the spotlight as a cyclist during the "Six Days of Buenos Aires" cycling event. Paul Thonard, who worked as an engineer in Brazil, had participated in the battle of Houthulst as an 18-year-old Second Lieutenant in the artillery, in 1918. Since he had no documents in Canada that could prove the rank he held in 1918, he started from scratch in the military hierarchy. In England, he was given the rank of Warrant Officer. There was also Private First Class Leo Van Cauwelaert who spoke several languages, which gave him the chance to command the group of Belgians who spoke English, French or Spanish. He performed this task until the arrival of the first officers. On April 8, 1941, the group left the camp in Cornwall, Ontario, and moved into the Camp de la Joliette in Quebec. Lieutenant Joseph Ghys, who had been in Argentina for some time, also joined the group. Soon they consisted of 186 men, who boarded in Halifax, Canada in June 1941, under the command of Blondeel. It prompted Lieutenant Ghys to draw the sketch of the flotilla that accompanied this group. They reached Greenock on June 30th, and then moved on to Malvern where the 2nd Fusiliers Battalion was formed. Lieutenant Ghys would receive his Para Badge on May 5, 1942.

Previously, in November 1941, the War Office requested that every British or foreign combat unit was to make a number of men available to take part in special training, to subsequently conduct "special missions" in the occupied territories. The Belgian politician Hubert Pierlot was asked to provide twenty soldiers - two officers and eighteen other ranks - who were capable of following this unusual training. These men had to meet in a training centre on January 11, 1942. Their guidelines were shrouded in secrecy. The first group, selected from the 1st Fusiliers Battalion, was commanded by Lieutenant Jacques Wanty and Lieutenant Marcel Leclef and was totally ignorant of the fact that this included parachute training. Of the twenty selected, only eight would receive their parachute wings, on January 17th, after performing five jumps. The first officially recognized Belgian paratroopers were Lieutenant Leclef, Sergeant Robert Schils, Corporal Pierre Pus, Corporal Albert Lesage and Privates René Pietquin, John Budts, Constant Barette and L. Verelst.

On February 5, 1944, the Belgian Independent Parachute Company was officially integrated into the British Special Air Service Brigade and renamed the Belgian Special Air Service Squadron, also known as "5th SAS". A new organization was introduced: the former 2nd and 3rd Platoons now became 'A' Troop with Van der Heyden, Debefve and Ghys as officers. The former 1st Platoon and the Mortar Platoon together became 'B' troop, with Limbosch, Paul Renkin and Kirschen as officers. Both troops consisted of different sections (squads). Major Etienne Delelienne and Major Jean Cassart were assigned to the staff of the SAS brigade as liaison officers. On February 15th, the SAS Squadron installed itself in Loudoun Castle, an old castle located near Galston (Ayrshire) in Scotland that was inhabited by the Campbell clan since the thirteenth century.

In 1941, around the time the British Army claimed the castle, it was badly damaged by fire, however, its silhouette continued to dominate the immense park. Nearly forty barracks in wood and corrugated sheet iron were built near the castle, where the Belgians would move in. In this new place, the new SAS members mastered the tactics of working in small, isolated groups. They learned to drive cars and ride motorcycles, perfected their navigation techniques, and specialized in shooting at short distances, sabotage, coding and decoding and the identification of enemy military ranks. Signallers were also trained. Van der Heyden summarized the training as follows: "The unforeseen always pops up, so we prepare ourselves for the unforeseen!" During this period, important technical changes occurred. Whitley bombers were almost never used any more to conduct parachute jumps. Instead, Stirling, Albemarle or Halifax bombers were mostly used.

Containers with individual equipment were replaced by a kit bag attached to the parachutist’s leg. Unlike the Americans, who had a reserve parachute, the Belgians jumped with a British "Type X" parachute, without a reserve parachute, developed by combining the technology of Irving Air Chute Company and GQ Parachute Company. On March 26, 1944, the brigade organized an inter-allied jumping competition: sections of six men had to leave the aircraft in a minimum of time. The Belgian squadron achieved the top two places and their commander received official congratulations from brigadier Sir Roderick McLeod. This magnificent result, the success of all the manoeuvres in which the Belgians participated, the unit’s discipline and the strong personality of Blondeel ensured that the Belgian squadron was particularly appreciated by the brigade's staff.

The 2nd Office of the Ministry of Defence, responsible for the operations of the Secret Army in Belgium, opposed dropping the Belgian SAS in Belgium, fearing that the SAS would be interfering with their actions. Eventually Lieutenant-General Marie-Pierre Koenig, commander of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI), agreed to parachute the 5th SAS into France. Two months after the landings in Normandy, the Belgians were still waiting to be deployed on the mainland. The exercises succeeded each other, but in July, Blondeel granted his men a few days off to manage their impatience. Just during this leave the long awaited order finally arrived. Blondeel received the message to prepare three teams for an operation in eastern Normandy. The three teams were led by Radino, Debefve and Kirschen. On the way to the Fairford transit camp, Radino became involved in a serious traffic accident resulting in a fractured shoulder and was replaced by Ghys, who had to return from leave.

On his arrival in the transit camp, Lieutenant Edouard Blondeel, commander of the Belgian SAS, went to Brigadier McLeod and waited for the arrival of Ghys, Debefve and Kirschen to give them a detailed briefing. The mission of the three officers was to focus on enemy troop movements along some major traffic axes and to identify objectives for possible air attacks. As the Allies were still fighting in Normandy, it was extremely important to know in which direction the Germans withdrew, and to which sectors they sent their reinforcements. There were three main roads to focus on: the southern route Orléans-Bretagne, the central route Paris-Brittany and finally the northern route Paris-Normandy.

Operation Chaucer:

The first group to be dropped, as part of the first combat operations behind enemy lines in France, was that of Lieutenant Josef "Jos" Ghys in Operation Chaucer, which was a British special forces operation by the Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5th Special Air Service) against German rear-area installations near Condreceau in the Le Mans north-western region of German-occupied France (July 28 - August 15, 1944). The whole operation involved twenty-two Belgian troopers who were dropped in two groups, under the command of Lieutenant Ghys and Lieutenant Raymond van der Heyden (Captain Hazel), on July 28th and August 9th respectively. Both parties were dropped too late and were also lacking any form of motor transport, and were therefore able to achieve little more than a minor harrying of the German forces retreating in front of the Allied advance from the Normandy lodgement.

The departure of the first team was planned for July 26, 1944, but had to be postponed by twenty-four hours. This was mainly due to the fact that despite all efforts, only one reception party of the local resistance could be called upon in the area of the most southern route, where the "Caramel" dropping zone was located. Ghys had to jump on "Caramel" that same evening after the briefing, had to make contact with the resistance and had to head north immediately afterwards. After three days, the distance to the central road from Paris to Brittany had to be completed. Once on his objective, Ghys had to immediately prepare for Kirschen's arrival and had to send the coordinates of a suitable dropping zone. Debefve also had to be dropped above "Caramel" within one or two days (Operation Shakespeare). Kirschen had to wait in the transit camp, until Ghys reported that the drop zone had been prepared. Once in France, he had to start operations along the Paris-Brittany axis and then move some fifty kilometres to the north, in the direction of the Paris-Normandy region (Operation Bunyan).

Lieutenant Ghys, Staff Sergeant Willy Klein, Corporals Marcel Demery and Daniel Demoor and Trooper Albert Petit took off from Keevil airport, near the transit camp, on July 27th at 10.39 p.m. The team flew towards La Charte-sur-le-Loir, in the department of Sarthe. Around 1 a.m. on July 28th, they were ordered to attach their equipment bag to their leg and belt. The green light went on. The despatcher pushed the officer out of the aircraft, after which he helped the other overloaded paratroopers, who were unable to follow quickly enough. The paratroopers landed safely on the drop zone, as did their twenty-four containers. They assembled quickly. A group of French resistance fighters waited for them and brought them to a shelter, where they could rest for a few hours under their protection. Once Blondeel learned that the dropping of the first group had gone well, he returned to the transit camp and prepared a message for the entire squadron: "Greetings to all members of the squadron. I am now in a position to reveal to you that your comrades were the first Belgian soldiers to reach the western operating theatre, ready to strike the enemy in the heart. I am sure that they will perform their assigned duties in an honourable way and thus contribute to the fame of the Special Air Service, which the enemy has learned - after bitter experiences - to fear and respect. I know how much you all look forward to follow in their footsteps and join them in the hunt for the hated enemy. At this historic moment, I am obliged to repeat the often-given advice: be patient, take care of your condition before the fight, because the day will come for you too to realise your expectations and put the SAS slogan 'who dares, wins' into practice."

Once they landed at the drop zone, the Ghys team had to mark the dropping zone for the Kirschen group and then had to move north to reach its objective area in the Nogent-le-Rotrou region. It soon became clear that they had to take the unexpected into account and that everything would not go according to plan. For example, the first section of "Chaucer" found that the equipment bags attached to the leg of every parachutist were far too heavy. Two became undone and crashed, the other three could not be dropped. During the landing, Klein was injured on the ankle and would be hindered for the entire duration of the operation. Ghys explained the activities after their landing: "A substantial number of containers were dropped after us. Given the late hour, we found that despite the help of the members of the resistance, we would run out of time. We were told that the parachutes were made of camouflage fabric. So we decided to cover a few containers with it. The night was pitch dark and it was difficult to work, we didn't even see what we were doing. At dawn, I crawled out of my sleeping bag and went to take a look at the edge of the forest. I noticed huge red spots on the drop zone. A mistake ... our containers were dropped with parachutes intended for the infantry. The striking red colour of the parachutes was intended to ensure a smooth collection of the containers."

After they had settled in a bivouac, the SAS party spent the day camouflaging the containers. They were protected by a group of resistance fighters who left at the end of the day with the equipment intended for them. Their promise to return with a guide who would accompany them to Nogent-le-Rotrou failed to materialize. However, in the company of two civilians, Klein succeeded in contacting a chief of the local resistance, who provided them with the necessary information to reach the zone. He warned them that the Vibraye forest was occupied by a German division and that it was wiser to avoid it. Because of the closeness of the enemy, as well as the poor condition of Klein, whose ankle was quite swollen, the movement continued very slowly and discreetly. The section would arrive in the area of Nogent-le-Rotrou on August 3rd. The next day, Ghys contacted residents of the area and from then on, the team could count on the effective support of the resistance, which provided information about the enemy at regular intervals.

Operation Caliban:

Operation Caliban was a British special forces operation by the Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5th Special Air Service), with orders to cut the rail lines near Peer in German-occupied Belgium in the area to the west of the Meuse river (September 6-11, 1944). Under the command of Lieutenant Freddy Limbosch, twenty-six men were parachuted into the area of Bourg Léopold in the north-eastern part of Belgium close to the western edge of the Maastricht appendix of the Netherlands, but the drop left the party widely scattered and the operation was therefore generally unsuccessful, although a small number of limited successes were gained in the period before the Belgian troopers were reached by the advancing British ground forces. This operation was the only such undertaking by the Belgian element of the SAS in front of Lieutenant General Sir Miles Dempsey’s British 2nd Army, its other three undertakings (from west to east 'Noah', 'Brutus' and 'Bergbang') being in support of Lieutenant General William H. Simpson’s US 1st Army, the southernmost component of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery’s Allied 21st Army Group.

At the forefront of the fighting in north-eastern Belgium, Operation Caliban was commanded by Lieutenant Limbosch, with Lieutenant Ghys as second-in-command. The mission consisted of providing the British with information about the German withdrawal from a base near the Peer traffic junction, and to be prepared to carry out harassment and interdiction operations. It was extremely important for the Allies to know the intentions of the enemy behind the Albert Canal. On the night of September 5-6, two groups were dropped in the area of Meeuwen and Peer. The first group consisted of Lieutenant Limbosch, Staff Sergeants Verberckmoes and De Rechter, Sergeant Jean Melsens, Corporal Sas, Troopers De Serrano, Switters, Marginet, Veroft, Goessens, Debuf, Vos, Engelen and D. Kowarski. The second group consisted of Lieutenant Ghys, Sergeants De Vulder, Klein and Siffert, and Troopers Delsaer, Petit, Hellegards, Vivey, A. De Belser, K. De Belser and Bernard Kowarski. On September 8th, observation posts were established along the Bree-Helchteren road. When observing enemy troop concentrations capable of mounting a counterattack, Limbosch sent out patrols to inform the Allies. Assisted by a local guide, he also tried himself to reach the British lines, but made contact with the enemy and was killed when covering the guide’s retreat. He kept firing until he had expended his last round. Various ambushes were mounted. On September 10th, a German artillery battery was attacked, along the road from Helchteren to Bree, killing more than fifty Germans. Sergeant Melsens was killed when he ran out of ammunition while covering the withdrawal from the ambush. On September 11th, the British captured Peer and made contact with the Belgian SAS.