At 10.30hrs on 18th January 1944 this aircraft was being flown over the north-west side of the North Yorkshire Moors in thick fog when it flew into the side of Black Hambleton hill near Osmotherley village. The crew had been tasked with a day-time cross-country training excerise and before take off they were ordered to fly above 3,000 feet to avoid the hills to the east of the airfield that forms the North Yorkshire Moors. It is not known why they were flying so low when the aircraft crashed; a faulty altimeter or minor a navigation error in the bad visibilty could have been to blame though neither were ever established as fact. Had they cleared this area of high ground they would almost certainly made it back to base, this being the last lump of high ground in the direction the aircraft was heading. Sadly the six Canadian crew on board did not stand a chance and all were killed in the crash. It transpire through my research locally that a game keeper was on the top of Black Hambleton prior to the crash and had heard a low flying aircraft below him, he heard and felt the aircraft crash below him and was almost certainly the first on the scene, sadly nothing could be done for those involved. Although the remains of a propeller blade have been found on top of Black Hambleton; on Dodd End, in the mid-1990's by a fellow historian this seems unlikely to have been from LW334 given the known direction it had taken just prior to the accident.

Halifax LW334 had a brief service history, it was built to contract ACFT/1808/C4/C by English Electric Ltd at the Salmesbury factory and delivered directly to 1659 HCU in October 1943. Cat.E2/FA damage was recorded following the incident detailed above on 18th January 1944.

Pilot - P/O Joseph Pierre Lavallee RCAF (J/10983), aged 22, of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Navigator - Sous Lieut Wilfred L Boisvert RCAF (J/20970), aged 25, of Swastika, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Bomb Aimer - F/O Walter Phillips RCAF (J/23210), aged 23, of Edmunton, Alberta, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Air Gunner - Sgt Guy H Hivon RCAF (R/187271), aged 20, of St Paul, Alberta, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Flight Engineer - Sgt Richard G Kimball RCAF (R/54130), aged 24, of Vancouver, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - WO1 George E Giff RCAF (R/111125), aged 25, of Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Walter Phillips (pictured above), he trained at 7 ITS at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on "A Flight" in June 1942, he also attended "Course 72" in "U Flight" at the same place, he was given his officers scroll on 22nd January 1943 before continuing his training in the UK.

George Giff and his headstone.

The headstones of four other airmen sadly killed in this incident.

In tribute to these six airmen aviation historian David Thompson erected a memorial at the crash site, it was dedicated on the fiftieth anniversary on the crash in January 1994 with Rev. Stuart East officiating. Every year since an annual pilgrimage to the memorial takes place by Yorkshire aviation historians.

View of the crash site looking forward of the cross.