The following is an email received from Christophe Vanderlinden to Andy Forsyth, May 31, 2005:

Hi Andy,

Hi Robin,

Here the promized informations and pictures.

Segeant Gerald SORENSEN ( 24 years ) parchuted at the village of Saint-Marcoult a few time before his bomber crashed near ENGHIEN. It was on may 1944. To evad him to england, he passed by many persons and arrived at GANSHOREN. There was also MAC MANAMAN. I think ( but I’m not sure he was in the same plane ). They were cached by M. ABEELS, a WWI the president of a ancient combatant’club. His son Roger ABEELS ( 20 years ) works underground fot the secret newspaper “La libre Belgique”. He became the friend of SORENSEN. The three men came in the village of Saint-Marcoult in augustus 1944.

Saint-marcoult is a very little village. In the middle of Saint-Marcoult and Graty, there is a forest. During WWII Saint Marcoult was the GQG of undeground on a big territory ( Tournai-Enghien-Mons-La Louvière-Charleroi-Namur ). In the sector of Silly ( yes, that’s the name of a village in Belgium !!! ), Enghien and Soignies, there were about 50 wilful destructions. From 15 th march 1944 until 10 th september 1944 weapons, bombs, … were parachuted at Saint-Marcoult ( 40 tons – 10 parachute landings ). The BBC message “mettez le tarin en cage” ordered to mobilize the undergrounds in the sector. At the end of augustus –begin september 1944, there were about 400 underground at Saint-Marcoult. They captured about 1750 germans prisoners.

I talked this week end a old underground ( Max ROBERT, 17 rue du Pontin, 7060 Horrues - Belgique - tel 067/332297 ) who worked at Saint-Marcoult. He had some material, parachutes, papers, pictures, … (a underground chief’widow gived me also15 years ago a part of a parachute, a part of container and a geramn nazi belt from Saint Marcoult ). I talked him about a combat with three pilots. He said me he saw a few minutes the 3 pilots leaved Saint Marcoult with underground. He didn’t remember the names of the pilots but found 2 olds papers about their combat and following. I translated these 2 papers concerning your father. He didn't know Frank. Then Frank stayed on 1st, 2nd and 3d september 1944 in Saint Marcoult ...

This is the first typed paper :
“ ( … ) During a few days SORENSEN and MANAMAN cleaned the weapons and still weapons. They participate all preparations of guerila and, the morning of the 3th september 1944, they were the first armed and quitted with a group commanded by captain BRENT. The Captain BRENT’s team was composed by : SORENSEN Gérald, MANAMAN Mac, ABEELS Roger, DECROES Richard, DUHAINAUT Ghislain, COLIN Jean, the priest VENQUIER and Frank … ( completed hand made ) Forsight, english fighter pilot we had rescued a few days before. I give you here the spedition’s story made by one of the participant, Jean COLIN.
“Arrived at the « Baron » ‘s farm , about at 500 meters, one of the americans, Sorensen Gerald, and Abeels stopped. Then we continue at seven.We take the road to Marcq, machine gun on the shoulder, we were singing and pedaling like crazies to pursue a german patrol that, I think, only existed in the imagination of people we met. We arrived on the main roadEnghien-Ath. There, people notify that germanns didn’t pass on the road for a long time, but that some officers and soldiers stayed at the Collège. Abreast, trough the highway, we began to go the College. Arrived at the last house before the College ( deserted house ), we heard back a motor’s noise. André, the first, give alarm. The bicycles were leaved on the right side of the highway and everybody place himself at the best place to shoot, if we had some time to think. I was the first behind a hedge. André, Duhainaut and Decroës were in the cooridor of the deserted house. The two americans were behind a wall under lattice. The priest Venquier, armed with a 45 pistol - and he was howerver priest – covered the back. Directly the car was about 20 meters, I exited out my hiding-place to be on the highway’side , shooting a burst right to the bumper. I remember I saw Duhainaut on the sidewalk before the house, he did the same.Howerver, the car passed and I saw well the officer near the driver place his hand on his forehead and fall ahead. I neared to the house and shooted a burst from this place at the same time that André to the rear of the car that stopped before the americans. One of them climbed on the wall and shot to the car, mangling all the occupying ( three officers and one sergeant ). Happy, we forwarded to the car when the first trucks of a convoy surprised us in the back. It was to late to fall back and we pitched into them ; André, Duhainaut, Decroës and I entered quickly in the house. Duhainaut and I get out to receive the truck face to face. The windows flied into pieces and a Renault truck stopped before the car. André shot from the corridor when the truck passed before the door and Decroës was prop against the frame of the door. We almost flied in pieces when we came in the corridor. After this came a car of the Red Cross but nobody had shot on it.At this time, I pulled the pin of a grenade and throwed it on the followed truck, also fired at by the others. The grenade didn’t explod – I throw it to fast – Duhainaut and I were against the door looked at us mutually. At this time an other truck arrived and the granade exploded just on its side. Ghislain received a little chip in his head and André was a little bit wounded at the chest. The the tuck stopped, holed like a strainer. A fifth truck arrive. New burst. It passed the house. We saw the it is charged with a anti-tank gun. Listening the shots, the servings shot once that resounded terribly in the house. The I get out and shot just on this truck that the germans tried to quit.I saw two jumped and stayed on the ground. Ghislain Duhainaut et Richard Decroës shot from the window-sill. At this time, the column stanstilled a few ten meters from the house and the germans began to reply. André give the order to retreat to be not turned over. We get out the house by the behind, jumpig the barriers and running. The germans who where in the collège began to shoot us like rabbits. I saw clearly the little clouds of dust created by the bulles around us. A bullet graze the Richard’s foot, so I thought he was touched. Suddenly, without apparent reason, the shot stopped. We heard sometimes only the bursts of machine guns or isolated riffle-shots, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right and sometimes to our direction. We layed in a ditch fulled with water. Happy sport. After an half hour, wet untill the belt, we get out to go to the highway. A farmer come to us and say tht english cars passed on the road . Alas, before to arrive, we pass in front of a little house where 2 chums stayed behind and tried to rejoin us were killed.They were probably taken by back and killed by a grenade dropped by some germans descended from a truck. For us the combat was ended, but Ghislain and the two americans were absent from roll-call. This is how happened. Getting out the house, Ghislain had lost us sight of and closed himself in a coach-house. After a short time, the germans came around the house but forgot to look into the cpoach-house. Soon as the english men arrived, Ghislain rejoined us. About the americans, I don’t know what they did before the end of the combat, but they climb on the first english tank. The truck broken by the grenades trailed by the english men because it blocked up the road. About the Renault, I tried with succes to start it and that’s like this that we five came back triumphantly in Saint Marcoult” ( … )”

signed Commander of D sector Emile P. NERINCK, 27 th april 1947

+/- 300 germans soldiers were in the column. It's impossible to be sure how many germans were killed at Enghien. The Germans took the bodies with them. Following Max ROBERT, it's about 10 soldiers.

The last belgian man of the team died 15 days ago.

Here 3 pictures of germans prisonners in Saint-Marcoult from the website http://www.cegesoma.be/index_fr.htm

Silly-St-Marcoult. Capture de 180 Allemands avec participation de Van Delf Gilbert.