On the night of 13th / 14th October 1942 420 Squadron flew an operational attack on Kiel and supplied ten Wellingtons. While technically based at Skipton on Swale airfield for this date they used Leeming airfield to undertake the operational order from and also landed there on return. The crew of this aircraft left Leeming at 18.31hrs. On their return to Leeming the aircraft struck three houses in Londonderry at 01.38hrs after overshooting a landing and all on board were killed as well as a child in one of the houses. This night saw 420 Squadron's first casualties since their conversion to Wellingtons. The names of known civilians involved are listed below. The reasonably modern A1 road almost certainly cut through the crash site, the modern A1(m) motorway upgrade widend the road between the row of houses.

Pilot - WO2 Wesley Bethuel Croft RCAF (R/83002), aged 20, of Maidstone, Ontario, Canada. Buried Ripon Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Navigator - P/O Ronald Edward Eric Gurd RAFVR (129532), aged 22. Of London. Buried Ripon Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Observer (Bomb Aimer) - P/O Alexander McBirnie Wardrop RCAF (J/12976), aged 21, of Deroche, British Columbia, Canada. Buried Ripon Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - P/O William James Jones RCAF (J/15726), aged 23, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Ripon Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt Harry Joseph Thomas Gray RCAF (R/62780), aged 24, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Buried Ripon Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Miss Barbara Joan Huggins, aged 5. Of "Woodside", Greengate, Londonderry. Buried Leeming Churchyard, Yorkshire.

Mr John Huggins, suffered shock.

Mrs Eveline Huggins, suffered shock.

Miss Sadler, slightly injured.

Mr William Braithwaite, uninjured.

Barbara Huggins' immaculately kept grave in the centre of the RAF plot at Leeming Churchyard.

William Jones is shown on the far left of the group shown in the photograph above, the names of the others are not known but some, if not all were part of the crew of Wellington DF636 when it crashed near Leeming. This photograph was probably taken when 420 Squadron were flying Hampdens as part of No.5 Group in Lincolnshire prior to their transfer to No.4 Group and conversion to Wellington aircraft.

William Jones was born on 10th April 1919 in Prince George, British Columbia and was the son of Ernest and Francis Helen Isabel (nee Wood) Jones, but the family moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan when he was a young boy, probably because his father was a bank manager for the Bank of Montreal and moved to Saskatoon with the job. William was working as a bank clerk for the same bank (but possibly at their Regina branch) when he enlisted for his RCAF service on 12th August 1940 in Saskatoon. He initially appears to have trained as a ground wireless operator but remustered as for wireless operator / air gunner duties in June 1941. After training he was awarded his Air Gunner's badge on 24th June 1942 but received a commission ten days earlier. On arrival in the UK he trained at No.2 Radio School and 16 OTU before posting to 420 Squadron on 28th March 1942. By 1942 his parents were living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I thank (the now late) Mr Keith Whitfield for the aircrew photographs shown on this webpage, the crew photograph and the photograph of P/O Jones came through him and I understand they were kindly supplied to him through the sister of P/O William Jones. By the time he died his parents were living in Montreal.

Photographs of the other four graves in Ripon Cemetery.

Wesley Bethuel Croft was born 12th January 1922 and was the son of Bethel Thomas and Ellen (nee Kendrick) Croft, of Maidstone, Ontario, Canada. He was still at college when he enlisted for RCAF service in Windsor, Ontario on 19th November 1940 and after basic training in Canada he was awarded his Pilot's Wings on 8th August 1941. On arrival in the UK he trained at 16 OTU before posting to 420 Squadron on 28th April 1942.

Ronald Gurd was born in London in 1920. He received a commission on 9th July 1942 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency).

Alexander Wardrop was born 7th November 1920 at Port Coquitlam, Britosh Columbia, Canada and was the son of William and Agnes Crawford (nee McBirnie) Wardrop. As a young man he worked as a school teacher at Deroche, British Columbia. He enlisted for RCAF service in Vancouver on 25th July 1941 and after training was awarded his air observer's flying badge (after bomb aimer instruction) and a commission on 20th July 1942. He arrived in the UK on 1st September 1942 and was posted to 420 Squadron eight days later.

Harry Gray was born 2nd January 1918 in Danville, Quebec, Canada and was the son of Rowland David Perkins and Mary Eliza (nee Robinson) Gray. As a young man he attended college and did a year's study at University before starting work as a silk dyer. He enlisted for RCAF service on 1st August 1940 at Station Hyacinthe, Quebec and after basic training in Canada he was awarded his air gunner's badge on 16th March 1941. On arrival in the UK soon after he then undertook wireless operator training. He was posted to 420 Squadron on 2nd April 1942 from 16 OTU.

Wellington DF636 flew into this line of houses that has been cut through twice by the main A1 road since the War. The first Leeming by-pass resulted in the loss of some houses and the more modern motorway up-grade saw further houses lost. As young Miss Huggins lived in a house called "Woodside" and there is a wood at the eastern end of Greengate I make the assumption that the aircraft flew into the original houses where the bungalows are now sited, as shown in the photograph above. The photograph below shows the western extent of Greengate.

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