Whitley Z6474 near Marton le Moor, Ripon.

On the 29th of September 1941 this aircraft was taking off from Dishforth at 22.55hrs for Ops to Stettin when the port engine cut out. Unable to properly climb away the pilot force-landed near Marton le Moor but the aircraft caught fire after the crash landing, the crew scrambled clear and the aircraft later burnt out.

Pilot - Sgt Charles A Guan RAAF (402349), of Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia. Uninjured.

Crew - Names unknown.

Charles Guan was born September 1916. Prior to enlisting in Sydney in August 1940 he had done some civilian flying with the Royal Aero Club of NSW. He left Australia on 29th November 1940 to undertake basic pilot training in Canada. While training in Canada with 3 SFTS he was the pilot of an Anson which was damaged while taxying. After completing this training he was awarded his Wings in April 1941 and then was posted to the UK where he trained at 19 OTU from 24th May 1941 and then joined 51 Squadron on 12th August 1941. Following the incident detailed above at Marton le Moor he continued flying with 51 Squadron but was lost flying Whitley Z9220 on 31st October 1941. He was 25 years old and is commemerated on the Runnymede Memorial.