Hampden L4178 near Hexthorpe.
On the night of 26th / 27th February 1942 the crew of this 144 Squadron aircraft were tasked with flying an operational flight to bomb Kiel in Northern Germany. Kiel was one of the major ship building cities and German naval port and it was deemed a strategic target and the city and its people suffered because of this through-out the War. Hampden L4178 took off from North Luffenham in the evening and all appears to have gone to plan out-bound and over the target area. On their return to the UK the aircraft missed the Lincolnshire airfield possibly due to poor weather and eventually ran out of fuel and crashed into a railway cutting at 03.00hrs near Hexthorpe in the southern outskirts of Doncaster. The investigation considered that the fuel had run out but that a common mistake in not isolating the outboard fuel tanks when they were dry may have been a factor. It was also thought possible that an engine may have cut out while the pilot was making a turn prior to lining up for an approach to land at Finningley airfield. Sadly all four airmen in the aircraft lost their lives as a result of the accident. A memorial in commemoration of the lives lost in this incident is to be found the Guest Lane Cemetery, Warmsworth. I have yet to learn which railway cutting the accident occurred in, given the memorial is near the railway cuttings of a now dis-used railway at Warmsworth and then after crossing the River Don a further cutting in the fields at the north side of the river I guess it may be here. The location of the crash as given in the service file of the wireless operator states "Hexthorpe Railway Cutting near Warmsworth by St.James Bridge".
Hampden L4178 was built to contract 549267/36 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett. It was allotted to 106 Squadron on 4th May 1939 and was taken on charge by them at Finningley on 19th May 1939. It was then taken on charge by 44 Squadron at Waddington on 15th August? 1940. On 27th August 1940 it sustained minor damage in an unspecified accident and was repaired on site. On 7th August 1941 it was sent to English Electric Ltd, S.A.S. (Service Aircraft Section), probably for some form of service. On 24th August 1941 it passed to 24 M.U. and was then taken on charge by 144 Squadron at North Luffenham on 16th October 1941. As a result of the crash at Hexthorpe on 27th February 1942 Cat.E2/FB damage was recorded following damage assessment.
Pilot - Sgt Reginald Alfred Bland RAFVR (1379420), aged 21. Buried Portslade Cemetery, Sussex.
Observer - F/O Harold Edward Aspey MiD RAF (45094), aged 26. Buried Salisbury Cemetery, Wiltshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt John Balfour Gray RCAF (R/58225), aged 21, of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. Buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Doncaster, Yorkshire.
Air Gunner - Sgt John Arthur Eves RAFVR (929118), aged 32. Buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Doncaster, Yorkshire.
A memorial at Guest Lane Cemetery, Warmsworth.
John Gray was born on 21st January 1921 in Trail, British Columbia, Canada and was the son of John Balfour (Snr) and Wilhelmina Gray (nee McAllister). He enlisted for RCAF service in Vancouver on 28th June 1940 and after basic training he was awarded his Air Gunner's badge on 17th February 1941. On arrival in the UK in May 1941 he would later train at 16 O.T.U. before posting to 144 Squadron on 26th December 1941. John Gray featured in the film "Target for Tonight" in the crew of one of the main pilots featured. Most of the aircrew who featured in this film served with 149 Squadron so Gray might have served with 149 Squadron although there is no mention of this in his service file.
John Gray's older brother, Robert Hampton Gray, was also killed on active service with the Canadian Military, on 9th August 1945. More is documented about his brother's life and loss because he was a holder of the Victoria Cross, awarded posthumously and one of only two Fleet Air Arm personnel to be granted this high award. In this website I document any other known losses suffered by families of airmen involved in accidents in Yorkshire and in this case there is a lot of information obtainable about his brother's loss, where very little has been documented on the accident near Doncaster.
Lt Robert Hampton Gray RCNVR VC DSC was serving in the Far East and engaged on operations against Japanesse shipping targets. He was twenty seven years old at the time of his death. On the same day as his death the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan surendered six days later. Known by his second name, Hampton was twice Mentioned in Despatches for attacks made on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944 and early 1945. In April 1945 he was posted to the British Pacific Fleet and joined HMS Formidable, it was with this ship that his DSO was awarded for his actions in the sinking of a Japanesse destroyer in July 1945. The DSO was not Gazetted until 21st August 1945 (after his death). The award of the Victoria Cross appeared in the London Gazette dated 13th November 1945. The citation for the V.C. reads..""the late Temporary Lieutenant Robert Hampton GRAY, R.C.N.V.R., for great valour in leading an attack on a Japanese destroyer in Onagawa Wan on 9th August 1945. In the face of fire from shore batteries and a heavy concentration of fire from some five warships Lieutenant Gray pressed home his attack, flying very low in order to ensure success, and, although he was hit and his aircraft was in flames, he obtained at least one direct hit, sinking the destroyer. Lieutenant Gray has consistently shown a brilliant fighting spirit and most inspiring leadership."" A further citation expanding on these events has also been found.. "Lieut. R.H. Gray, D.S.C., R.C.N.V.R., of Nelson, B.C., flew off the Aircraft Carrier, HMS Formidable on August 9th 1945, to lead an attack on Japanese shipping in Onagawa Wan (Bay) in the Island of Honshu, Mainland of Japan. At Onagawa Bay the fliers found below a number of Japanese ships and dived into attack. Furious fire was opened on the aircraft from army batteries on the ground and from warships in the Bay. Lieut. Gray selected for his target an enemy destroyer. He swept in oblivious of the concentrated fire and made straight for his target. His aircraft was hit and hit again, but he kept on. As he came close to the destroyer his plane caught fire but he pressed to within fifty feet of the Japanese ship and let go his bombs. He scored at least one direct hit, possibly more. The destroyer sank almost immediately. Lieutenant Gray did not return. He had given his life at the very end of his fearless bombing run." His aircraft is believed to have crashed into the sea and his body was never found and as a result he is commemorated in a number of locations in Canada and by a memorial on the Japanesse shoreline close to where his aircraft is believed to have crashed. Both John Gray RCAF and Hampton Gray RCNVR are commemorated by the naming of "Grays Peak" mountain in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, Kootenay Land District, British Columbia. The brothers were born in Trail and grew up in Nelson; John was the first Nelson man to die during WW2, and Robert was the last Nelson man to die during hostilities.
John Eves was bonr on 31st August 1909 at Fulham, London. He was also buried at Rose Hill Cemetery, Doncaster.
Reginald Bland was born on 24th June 1920 at Holloway, London.
Harold Aspey was born on 25th December 1915 at Buckland, Portsmouth, Hampshire. He received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 20th December 1940 (seniority 11th December 1940). He rose to F/O on probation (war subs) om 11th August 1941 and was confirmed in this rank on 20th December 1941. The date he was Mentioned in Despatches is not known.
