Halifax NP203 in Clifton, York.
After the end of the War many of the Halifaxs used by Bomber Command were flown to Clifton airfield to be scrapped.
This aircraft was being ferried from Hooton Park to Clifton on 8th June 1945 and was forced to shut down and feather
the port outer engine before it arrived over York.
He approached from the Haxby direction and was on his final approach to land with only three good engines. Late into
his approach air traffic control signaled to him not to land, by firing a red verey cartridge into the air, as there
was an obstruction blocking the runway. The pilot attempted to overshoot but at such a low height of fifty feet and
with only three engines gaining much height quickly was vertually impossible. A wingtip clipped the top of St.
Joseph's Catholic Church in Burdike Avenue, Clifton and the aircraft crashed into the car park of the nearby
Imperial Hotel killing both airmen instantly on board. Wreckage was scattered in the housing estate for some distance.
Fifty one years after this crash members of the Yorkshire Air Museum were responsible for erecting a memorial at the
foot of the church tower in Clifton. Members of the airmens families were in attendance, including A/C Colin Cruickshanks
AFC (the pilot's son), the pilot's mother and two sisters of the flight engineer.
Pilot - F/Lt Ian J A Cruickshanks RAFVR (80819), aged 26, of ? Buried Leamington Milverton Cemetery.
F Eng - F/Sgt Victor H Clare DFM RAFVR (1605068), aged 20, of Acton, Middlesex. Buried Fulford Cemetery, York.
Victor Clare served with 77 Squadron and it is believed that he was involved in fighting a fire on
board a Halifax over Europe but eventually was forced to give up and bale out of the aircraft, he later
escaped from capture and returned to the UK. He was awarded the DFM in 1944 for service with 77 Squadron.
The notification of his DFM appeared in the London Gazette on 19th December 1944. The brief citation reads..
"This airman has displayed a very high standard of skill, bravery and fortitude in air operations."
Ian Cruickshanks received his commission 10th June 1940 to the rank of P/O on probation,
rising to F/O (war subs) on 10th June 1941 and F/Lt (war subs) exactly a year later. He had served with 66 Squadron
during the Battle of Britain, he force landed Spitfire X4339 near Ashford, Kent on 11th September 1940 after it was
damaged in action and he was slightly injured. What he did between 1942 and 1945 is not yet known.