Draft:Ian Innes

Flying Officer Ian Rossel Capel Innes MM, Chev LdH (28 January 1922 - 21 December 2019) was an Australian Halifax Bomber pilot during the Second World War. Shot down over France in June 1944 he fought with the SAS and local French Resistance Maquis during what became known as the Battle of Chatillon-Sur-Seine. For this action, he was awarded the British Military Medal for service behind enemy lines, and the French Legion de Honour.

On 5 July 1945, Innes returned to Australia and was discharged to resume civilian employment. He enrolled in the RAAF Reserve as a Flying Officer. The Magazine of Sydney Boys High (“The Record”) of November 1945 records the School’s congratulations to its Old Boy. Upon his return to Sydney, Innes married Gwendolyne O’Keefe on 8th February 1947 at St Michael’s Church, Vaucluse.

Innes became Lloyd’s of London Broker Representative in Australia. He was one of the first to use expert systems (commonly known as AI) for insurance risk management. The technology was acquired by C E Health Casualty General, which was in turn purchased by IAG Insurance. The US rights to the technology were purchased by Perot Group.

In his later years, he developed an annuity solution for asset-rich, cash-poor retirees. This he named the "Equity Preservation Mortgage". Where retirees could use the equity in their property to provide a risk free annuity.

Early Years

Innes was born on 28 January 1922 in Sydney. The son of George and Alice Innes. George had served in the Somme in World War 1. Alice was a nursing sister specialising in Tropical Medicine at Levuka Hospital in Fiji. During World War 1 she became Deputy Matron of Suva Hospital. After World War 1 ended George re-joined the Burns Phillip Shipping Company, based in the South Pacific his job involved inspecting Corpra plantations spread over 10 Islands of New Guinea.

From 1920 the Innes family divided their time between Misima Island in the Louisiade Archipelago and Rossel Island at the edge of Milne Bay in the Solomon Sea. A Burns Phillip Schooner at their disposal. At the time Rossel Island was known for the massacre and cannibalism of over 300 Chinese shipwreck passengers. These were Frontier times.

Innes was born two years later in 1992 and was the only white child on the Island. George and Alice were mostly absentee parents, and Innes was raised by two handpicked 'Nurseboys', Tabi and Kwonga (the missionaries rename them Jacob and Esau). As a result, English was not his first language. For the first 6 years of his life, he spoke the native language, which was not the Pidgin English of Papua New Guinea. On the Island he was not known by his English name, Ian, but rather his local name Lik Sinabada.

In 1927, George resigned from Burns Philp to be appointed Managing Director of the Salamaua Trading Company. This involved relocating the family to a Hotel in Salamaua on the New Guinea mainland and life on Rossel Island was over for Innes.

Innes recalled the day a new guest from Tasmania arrived with an Alsatian dog and booked into the family hotel. His name was Errol Flynn.

Flynn had just landed a job as Patrol Officer in the Highlands. He stayed for months before skipping out without paying his bill, heading on to the Far East on an island steamer. He did, however, leave behind a trunk full of stolen hotel linen and his diaries in which he had recorded a string of debts in Australia and graphic details of every local woman he had slept with during his time in New Guinea.

Alice would later give Flynn’s diaries to the Mitchell Library in Sydney after removing the worst pages (which she used to refer to as “the purple passages”) in order to protect the reputations of the local women, some of whom were married natives or expat wives.

By 1934 the Innes was shipped to his Uncle, Daniel Quinlivan, in Sydney for proper secondary schooling. Given his Island upbringing, stellar academic results were not expected. Daniel was initially a principal at Lithgow High School , however he moved schools repeatedly and Innes moved schools multiple times from Lithgow to Boorowa and Collarenbriin rural NSW, eventually ending up at Sydney Boys High School for the Leaving Certificate in 1937.

But most importantly for Innes, it was an education that taught him to speak French. An exchange teacher who had studied at the Sorbonne taught Innes French in just 2 years. The teachers unorthodox teaching methods consisted of reading salacious novellas to the teenage boys. In particular the bawdy tales of Giovanni Boccacio’s De Cameron, the story of Masetto Da Lamporecchio who pretended to be a deaf-mute to obtain the position of gardener at a convent of Nuns. He then went on to enjoy prolific sexual escapades with the Nuns and the Abbess - perhaps not acceptable teaching methods today, but it was later to save Innes life.

World War 2

War came to the Pacific in December of 1941 when the Japanese invaded Malaya and within just 70 days had taken Singapore. Innes's parents were rapidly evacuated to Vaucluse, Sydney. After secondary school Innes started work at the Yorkshire Insurance Company. Upon turning 18, in 1941, he was called up for service in the Army Militia and posted to the Liverpool Army Camp.

Innes was desperate for a transfer to the RAAF, being in charge of the Orderly Room he prepared his own transfer papers with a dubious signature of his commanding officer. He got his way. Before too long, he was on his way to Vancouver, Canada on an Italian ship called the SS Hermitage as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme. Pilots with only 50 flying hours were then sent to the UK to fly four-engine bombers for the RAF.

Innes trained at RCAF Mossbank in air observing, bombing and gunnery on Wellington Bombers, then graduated as a Flight Sergeant, holding the Bombing Record. It was his target hit rate and accuracy that earned him a nickname that would stick throughout the war – ‘Spot On Joe’. From Canada Innes was sent, by ship, to Brighton in England and then onto the Bomber Command Training Centre at Litchfield.

At Litchfield, the airmen divided into Operation Training Units by crewing up as they chose. The pilot was just 19 years old and Ian, as the Bomb Aimer was the oldest, now at 21 years of age. After a short conversion course on the new Halifax Bombers his crew were finally posted to RAF Halifax 78 Squadron based at RAF Yorkshire which housed Bomber Command Groups 4 (an English Group) and 6 (a Canadian Group). Ian’s crew was the only all-Australian crew.

Up to then, the survival rate in Bomber Command had been just 10%. This improved marginally to 16% with the new Halifax Bombers. These had four Rolls Royce Merlin engines and could fly faster than Lancasters and Wellingtons and, finally, at an altitude just above the flak lines.

On 22 June 1944, Innes's Group headed out on their second sortie in a brand new Halifax Mark III with little more than an hour’s test run earlier in the day. The target was the railheads at Laon near Mailly-Le-Camp which, before German occupation, had been a training centre for the French Army. Following the occupation, the Germans turned it into their tank training centre and home of the 21st Panzer Division.

Unknown to British intelligence, the Germans had now moved an entire Luftwaffe fighter squadron to their tank base only two weeks prior. On this night, Innes and his crew were heading straight into enemy fighters.

Following the raid and heading home, their bomber was shot down by Luftwaffe night fighters at Rubescourt near Farm De Pas (115 km north of Paris). Most of the Rear-Gunner’s turret and the wing fuel tanks were blown away by the night fighter’s Schrage Musik cannons leading to explosions and fire on the plane. Innes and the Navigator, Keith Mills, initially had to battle a jammed nose escape hatch. Eventually, all the crew bailed out of the burning plane with the pilot, Bob Mills, going last.

Innes's Mother, Alice received the following telegram on 11 July 1944:

“423016 Flight Sergt Innes missing. Regret to inform you that your son I.R.C. Innes is missing as a result of air operations on June 23rd 1944. Known details are he was member of a crew Halifax aircraft detailed to attack an enemy target at Laon France, which failed to return to base. The Minister for Air joins with Airboard in expressing sincere sympathy in your anxiety. Any further information will be conveyed to you immediately it is received.”

Innes, having lost his boots in the slipstream as he leapt from the burning plane, narrowly missed being hit by a German plane dropping flares, which passed so close to him that it caused his parachute to collapse. Whilst free-falling, he managed to untangle himself in sufficient time to land heavily, breaking his toe as he hit the ground in the darkness.

German troops and the Gestapo were searching for downed Airmen after the raid. They used Alsatian dogs to search barns, buildings, trucks and at the many checkpoints he passed on foot. For the rest of his life, Innes was fearful of dogs. He would suffer a panic attack whenever a large dog bounded towards him and was even visibly very uncomfortable near small dogs.

Adolf Hitler had earlier, in 1933, enacted the Reichstag Fire Decree that allowed ‘political opponents’ of the Third Reich to be incarcerated. The Gestapo believed this Decree gave them carte blanche which they used to round up Jews, Gypsies and Homosexuals. By this stage of the war, Bomber Command Airmen were given the German title “Terrorflieger” meaning “terror fliers”. Hitler, now suffering the devastating effects of the long bombing campaigns, ordered that Allied Airmen should pay a price. In consequence, the Gestapo chose to classify captured allied airmen as criminals and not POWs, relying on the old 1933 Presidential Decree.

Not being able to speak French, several of Innes crew were captured and sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp on 20 August 1944. They were only rescued on the direct orders of General Feld Marschall Hermann Goering who personally ordered their immediate release to a Stalag. The tale of these airmen is told in the book by Colin Burges entitled 'Destination Buchenwald'.

Being able to speak fluent French, Innes was able to communicate and receive support from a number of local farmers, some of whom had fought alongside Australians in World War 1. Innes plan was to walk to the Swiss border, passing himself off as a Frenchman.

A slight flaw in this plan was his still wearing his military uniform. Innes made his way to Cuvilly, narrowly missing a German anti-aircraft 88-millimetre dugout. There he met a Frenchman in the forest, Monsieur Heriot Pierre. Again his French allowed him to communicate and he was taken in. Innes foot was treated and he was provided with civilian clothes.

Innes had provided his name and Australian address before departing. Shortly after the liberation of France by the Allies, Innes parents Allice and George received an unexpected letter from Monsieur Heriot Pierre that gave them the first news of what happened t.

Translated from French it read:

“Dear Madam and Sir,

I am taking the liberty off writing to give news of your son “Jean” the airman in the British Army. The fight from which he bailed out on return journey was from when he was shot at Quinten. Your son jumped in parachute during nightime. Landed in forest and was picked up by “woodman” dressed by him in civil French clothing and then set off courageously for Swiss frontier. He arrived June 26th at our house “completely done in for” he had been in a terrible storm; after he had dinner with my wife and I he went to bed and slept all night; morning time he dressed breakfasted on milk, which he enjoyed very much, then left to go to Switzerland. He has spoken a lot of his sisters. I forgot their names. I am writing the same time to the Military Command to find out what became of him. Before he left he gave me his address, as a souvenir he gave us his RAAF badge and money. If you have news of your very brave son it would be kind of you to let us know as he seemed a charming boy. We have been free of Germans since Aug 28th by the U.S.A. forces; it’s a great joy to be free. Mails did not go earlier that is the reason why I have not sent to you before.(Monsieur Heriot Pierre)”.

Innes continued to Compiegne, having close run-ins with German soldiers on several occasions. His French language skills enabled him to pass as a local. On arrival at Siossons, Innes sheltered on a farm owned by Monsieur Charles Dehu (who was at the time, a POW). His wife, Charlot Dehu was known as ‘LaPatronne’. She was also sheltering an Algerian and a Frenchman who were both on the run from the Germans.

Madam Dehu (‘La Patronne’) contacted fellow Resistance helpers, the Goustille family, who lived in Mailly-Le-Camp. A young girl, Jacqueline Goustille, appeared on a bicycle a few days later and she led Innes on a perilous journey through German territory, taking 12 hours covering and covering 136 kilometres. There Innes stayed a week at the house ‘hiding in plain sight’, lying low in the attic at night but moving freely about the house and even sitting outside during the day.

The French Resistance arranged a bus trip to Troyes after which Innes would be passed to the Maquis. Accompanying Innes was Thunderbolt pilot, US Air Force Lt Glen Sterling. Much to their surprise, a number of German soldiers were also on the bus. On arrival at Troyes, they were met by the French Resistance who wired London advising that they were alive, but behind enemy lines.

After nearly a month since being reported as MIA, Innes's parents, George and Alice, received the following telegram on 5 August 1944:

“F/Sgt I.R.C Innes missing. Desire to inform you that owing to advice received from a source which cannot at present be disclosed your son Flight Sergeant Ian Rossell Caple Innes is believed safe and well in enemy occupied territory. This information must be treated as strictly confidential and must not be released to anyone. No attempt must be made to communicate with your son as to do so will prejudice his safety. Any further information received will be conveyed to you immediately. In the meantime, your son remains classified as missing.”

The Airmen were taken by truck to the Tabou Maquis camp located in the forests surrounding Pothières in the heart of Burgundy, north of Chatillon. In the camp was a British SAS Unit under an English Captain, Grant Hibbert (DSO), who was leading SAS Operation Hardy. His SAS Unit comprised a small number of men and jeeps parachuted into the Maquis camp at night on 27 July 1944, from England.

Whilst he never spoke of it, Innes’s memoirs reveal he witnessed the execution of a young French collaborator who had turned in Allied Airmen to the Gestapo for reward. The Maquis ordered the prisoner to dig his own grave and after drawing straws, one of the Maquis fired two shots from a German Luger Pistol into the back of his head and neck. The body was wrapped in a parachute then buried.

It became apparent to both Innes and Lt Sterling that an SAS operation was planned. They volunteered their services to Captain Hibbert. With no SAS training, but having trained in gunnery using Vickers Machine Guns, they were put to good use by Captain Hibbert as front (Lt Sterling) and rear (Innes) machine gunners on the SAS jeep driven by Jamie Robertson.

Under orders not to directly engage the Germans, Captain Hibbert’s SAS unit, instead, focused on aggressive patrols against rail infrastructure and road communications targets over which reinforcements could be moved. Crucially, they blew up a stretch of railway between Dijon and Langres and decimated a German convoy heading towards the Normandy front. Innes personal memoirs confirm his participation in these raids but he spoke little of the detail of what occurred.

Following the D-Day landings, the British Command realised that the retreating German army would soon sweep through the areas of these SAS operations in Northern France.

Captain Hibbert’s SAS unit was then supplemented by the RAF with more men and jeeps parachuted in by night time drops from England on 8th, 17th, 20th and 23rd of August. It now comprised 55 SAS soldiers and 7 jeeps, each fitted with two Vickers machine guns - all hidden in the forest.

Soon after, on 31 August 1944 Major Farran (who was head of the 2nd SAS) arrived at the Tabou Maquis camp to take charge. Major Farran had been separately landed four days prior some 320 km away at Rennes Airport (which had by then had come under British control). He had an additional 60 SAS personnel and 20 armed jeeps.

The two SAS operations (Operation Hardy and Operation Wallace) were now combined and the Unit in the forest camp with Innes now at the centre of one of the most famous WWII SAS raids, the Battle of Chatillon-Sur-Seine.

The target of the raid was a German garrison of 150 soldiers housed in an old chateau and a nearby relief mechanised infantry division or ‘Panzergrenadier’, comprising armoured carriers. Despite the SAS unit being outnumbered five-to-one, Major Farran ordered nine jeeps containing 40 men into position at the key Montbard-Dijon cross-roads and the Troyes-Chaumont cross-roads to stop the German mechanised infantry column returning to the Chateau. Several other jeeps took a party of SAS to the north of the Chateau, whilst another group (including Lt Jamie Robertson’s jeep with Innes and Lt Glen Sterling) took another group to the south of the Chateau.

Lt Robertson then led a foot party armed with Bren guns, to the rear of the Chateau whilst Innes and Lt Sterling remained with the Captain Hibberd’s jeep group. Sergeant Young was dispatched to cut all the German military telephone lines then Major Farran’s group, now also on foot, signalled the commencement of the attack on the German garrison with a mortar fired from the south side at 7 a.m. All up 48 mortar bombs were fired at the target.

Within 15 minutes, a long column of 30 German relief trucks arrived at the river bridge on the Montbard-Dijon cross-roads. Sergeant Vickers jeep was in the middle of the road and allowed them to approach within 20 yards, then he opened fire with his machine guns. The first 5 German trucks were loaded with ammunition and quickly blown-up.

As Germans soldiers poured out the convoy, they were joined by a bicycle patrol of 30 Germans who had heard the Bren gun and Vickers machine gun fire .

The Germans returned fire with mortar bombs. Major Farran then set up jeep ambushes on all main roads leading out of the town which destroyed 8 more trucks loaded with German troops.

After 6 hours of fighting it was a spectacular victory for the SAS with 500 German casualties, a German train destroyed, 65 German vehicles and 100,000 litres of fuel destroyed . At least half of these casualties were due to Innes and his fellow Vickers machine gunners. These losses were enormously damaging to the retreating German army.

Following the raids, the Germans mistook the SAS units for the advance forces of the U.S. Army and withdrew from Châtillon-sur-Seine sooner than necessary. This is credited with playing a considerable part in disorganising the German forces in front of the advancing Allied Army.

SAS casualties were small - one killed and two wounded. After the fighting, the Germans rounded up 50 locals thinking that this attack came from the French Resistance. However, the discovery of the body of the one killed SAS soldier named William Holland, deliberately left by Major Farran in his SAS uniform, prevented their execution

Major Farran was then rightly concerned about leaving his jeeps in the area – these vehicles were clearly marked as British and if found would bring further retribution on the local population suspected of harbouring the SAS units. He gave the order to move the SAS units across the border deep into Germany itself.

At this point Innes and his companion Lt Glen Sterling, both being Airmen, parted ways with the SAS units and headed towards Switzerland on foot - another 153 km.

Having now separated from the SAS units and about 40 kms from the Swiss Border, Innes and Lt Glen Sterling stopped at Montarlot-les-Roz, a small village close to the Swiss Border. They were sheltered by the Monsieur Georges Doussin, a wheat farmer, who was also hiding a German army deserter in his barn.

The following day they were taken to the Flour Mill owned by Monsieur and Madam Lucien La Marche. On arrival Ian peered through the window to see the family (children Giselle, Michel and Andre) at supper listening to the radio. He heard the familiar words “Ici Londres” announced by the BBC and the coded “Messages Personal” and he knew immediately he was with Patriots.

The next day yet another plan was hatched with the assistance of the local village Mayor – this time to smuggle the Airmen across the Swiss border under a load of millet brooms inside the back of a truck.

They soon learned that, owing to the increasing number of Germans fleeing the Allied advance, the number of German guards on the French side of the border had been doubled. The border guards had started using their bayonets to spear the loads looking for the German deserters. It was all getting far too dangerous to attempt a crossing.

Innes and Lt Sterling decided then to set off on bicycles provided by the La Marche family, back towards the frontlines aiming to cross over to the Allies in the confusion of the fighting provided, of course, they could avoid retreating German units.

In the handlebars of Innes’s bicycle was concealed a note introducing the Airmen to Lucien’s father, Monsieur and Madam Henri La Marche (with their children Camille and Josie) who also had a flour mill and sheltered them en route, at Recey-Sur-Ourse.

This proved a good plan and on 13 August 1944 they met up with advancing US forces 3rd Infantry Division. They were fed, re-clothed with US uniforms put on the ‘Red Ball Express’ – a fast convoy of supply vehicles travelling between Paris and the Allied front lines.

By this time Innes had covered over 300 kilometres behind enemy lines and spent nearly three months on the run.

He was taken to Paris and with 20 other evaders and escapees taken by Douglas DC3 from Orly Airport to London then on to the Morecombe Convalescent Camp in Lancashire, before resuming flying duties.

RAAF Officer’s Certificate of Service number 2571 records that on 5th October 1944 Innes was promoted to a Commission, as Pilot Officer.

No sooner had he re-joined his Squadron back in England, the RAF then issued orders that Innes be precluded him from flying further missions. This was standard RAF operating procedure for airmen who had been previously shot down, that if they had been a ground combatant responsible for killing German troops, they must be precluded from further operations over enemy territory in case of being again shot down and captured.

Innes sits in the just 2% of Bomber Command who were shot down, evaded capture and survived

In June 1945 he was awarded the Military Medal, one of only 4 Australian airmen to receive this army medal, awarded for bravery in battle. A testament to his time in the British operations with the SAS. The Magazine of Sydney Boys High (“The Record”) of November 1945 records the School’s congratulations to its Old Boy.

On 5th July 1945 Innes was returned to Australia and discharged to resume civilian occupation. He promptly enrolled in the RAAF Reserve as a Flying Officer.

In 2015, Innes was awarded France’s highest award, the Legion of Honour (the Legion d’Honneur), recognising his service to France and the French Resistance.

Postwar

After returning to Australia later in 1945 Innes studied at a business college, married the girl next door, Gwendolyn O’Keefe, and they had four children (Sue, Gai, John and Sally). He also became a member of the Caterpillar Club, having survived parachuting from a disabled aircraft.

Innes returned to the Yorkshire Insurance Company as a Marine Loss Adjuster and then Marine Underwriter working alongside James Dibble, the ABC News anchor.

Deciding to strike out on his own he was appointed the Lloyd’s of London Broker Representative in Australia. He formed a relationship with Australia’s leading show impresario, Lee Gordon, Jonny O'Keefe's manager. Innes became the ‘go to’ person for all insurance associated with the entertainment industry. This was the time of the White Australia policy, where Public Liability, Weather Insurance, and Ticket Insurance to Insurance Bonds were required by the Australian Government to ensure black performers didn’t overstay their visa and that they returned to the USA.

Innes sold his insurance broking business and joined Sedgwicks Limited as a Director before moving into the newly emerging science of corporate risk. He joined Management Consultants, WD Scott as Director of Risk Management and later became one of Australia’s first Corporate Risk Managers at Monier Group.

In 1985, Innes developed the first management system for corporate risk management, OHS and workplace injuries. It was before the micro-computing era and was paper-based, but was innovative for it's time. This system was purchased by ASX listed Kalamazoo.

Recognising the opportunity to digitally transform the Worker's Compensation systems of large corporations and insurance carriers. Innes help develop the first Expert System to manage Workplace Risks, Workers' Compensation and Injury Rehabilitation. Within three years this technology was acquired by Australia’s largest insurer, CE Heath Casualty General and is now part of the IAG Insurance Group running their CGU Insurance Worker's Compensation business based at Pyrmont, Sydney. The technology was also licensed by WorkCover Queensland running all the workers’ compensation claims, common law claims and injury management for the State of Queensland.

The US rights to the technology were sold to a joint venture led by Perot Systems Corporation today drive leading US self-insured corporations such as Boeing, American Airlines, Publix Supermarkets and the City of New York together with several insurance carriers writing Workers' Compensation.

On Thursday, 5th November 2015, Innes was honoured with the insignia of Chevalier in the French National Order of the Legion d’Honneur by Army General Jean-Louis Georgelin at a ceremony Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney. This was belated recognition of his WW2 contribution.

In his later years, Innes started to ponder the needs of self-funded retirees. Feeling that their needs were not adequately being met by banks, insurers or financial services providers. Innes conceived of an entirely new type of mortgage that would access home equity, deliver annuity income and not lose home equity, leaving existing wealth in the family home fully available to pay for aged care or to leave to their children.

He called this the Equity Preservation Mortgage. Innes passed away before it could be bought to market, however, his family company Futureproof Financial has partnered with Accenture to launch the new mortgage through it's network of Banks, Insurers and Wealth Management clients.

Innes passed away on 21st November, 2019.

Awards

Military Medal

Legion de Honour