On 24th July 1942 this 405 Squadron aircraft had taken off from Pocklington airfield at 00.37hrs with the crew undertaking an operational flight to attack Duisburg. Just before 05.00hrs the aircraft was in the circuit of Pocklington airfield prior to landing at Pocklington when one the port outer engine failed. This failure was due to a coolant leak which led to the engine overheating. Around the moment the engine caught fire the flight engineer assumed that the failure was down to a fuel supply shortage to the engine so switched the fuel cocks that supplied the fuel to both engines on the port wing. Unfortunately this resulted in the port inner engine's fuel supply being cut off. The aircraft swung, the port wing then dropped, the pilot lost control and the aircraft dived into the ground. As it was over Pocklington it crashed into houses and then the school on New Street in Pocklington. Sadly all eight airmen in the aircraft were killed. Today there is little to say this accident occurred in the streets of Pocklington.
Pilot - P/O Robert Baker Albright RCAF (J/15590), aged 26, of Victoria, New Brunswick, Canada. Buried Barmby on the Moor Churchyard, Yorkshire.
Second Pilot - P/O George Frederick Strong RCAF (J/7540), aged 21, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Buried Barmby on the Moor Churchyard, Yorkshire.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Maxwell Warnock Apperson RAF (534437), aged 24, of Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Buried Barmby on the Moor Churchyard, Yorkshire.
Navigator - WO2 William Charles Thurlow RCAF (R/70102), aged 22, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Buried Barmby on the Moor Churchyard, Yorkshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt William Colloton RAFVR (1006114), aged 22, of Birkenhead. Buried Birkenhead Cemetery, Cheshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt Robert William Hexter RCAF (R/68055), aged 22, of London, Ontario, Canada. Buried Whetstone Cemetery, Leicestershire.
Air Gunner - F/Sgt Thomas Reid Owens RCAF (R/79143), aged 21, of Westmount, Quebec, Canada. Buried Barmby on the Moor Churchyard, Yorkshire.
Air Gunner - Sgt Albert James Western RAFVR (922948), aged 25, of Brampford Speke. Buried Brampford Speke Cemetery, Devon.
The area where the aircraft came down.
In Jim & Margaret Ainscough's "Pocklington at War" booklet they found two witnesses to this accident, Mr Mike Read recounted to them that the aircraft crashed right outside the school and its nose had buried iteslf into the road against the school railings. It came to rest between No.22 and No.24 New Street with the top corner of No.24 being demolished and the tail fin and rear fuselage resting against the side of the house. Part of a wing ended up against the side of No.22. An engine ended up inside the dining room of this house next to a Morrison shelter in which a young boy, John Fowler, who was sleeping in the shelter, he was later rescued by his uncle virtually uninjured.
Halifax W7769 was built to contract B.73328/40 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett and was awaiting collection on 4th July 1942. The following day it was taken on charge by 405 Squadron at Pocklington as a replacement for Halifax W7714 lost on Ops to Bremen a few days earlier. It sustained Cat.A/FA damage on 8th July 1942 when it was taxied into an engine stand at Pocklington. A swift repair on site was carried out. As a result of the crash in Pocklington on 24th July 1942 Cat.E2/FB damage was the result of the assessment of the wreckage and it was struck off charge on 28th July 1942.
Robert Albright was born on 5th March 1916 in Victoria, New Brunswick, Canada and was the son of John Franklin and Emma Ruth (nee Baker) Albright. After leaving school he worked as an apprentice for a shop in Woodstock, New Brunswick repairing leather goods and he appears to have then set up his own buisness but the nature of this is not given in his service records. He enlisted for RCAF service on 13th September 1940 in Moncton, New Brunswick and trained in Canada as a pilot, receiving his Wings on 27th July 1941. He married Ella Mary Hull in Victoria, New Brunswick days earlier on 19th July 1941. He arrived in the UK in September 1941 and trained at 19 OTU before posting to 58 Squadron on 16th January 1942. He was then posted to 1652 HCU to convert to fly Halifaxes on 7th April 1942 being posted to 405 Squadron on 15th May 1942 when this was complete. 58 Squadron had left Bomber Command for Coastal Command duties while he was converting to Halifaxes. He was the pilot of a (as yet unidentified by me) 405 Squadron Wellington that was hit by flak in one of it's engines on Ops to Cologne on 30th/31st May 1942 but he was able to return to base on three engines and land safely. He received a commission on 28th June 1942 to the rank of P/O. Robert's brother Harry served in the Canadian Army and they met up while stationed in England.
William Thurlow and his grave in the same Barmby Moor churchyard. He was born on 31st August 1919 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Charles Fred and Ruby (nee Shea) Thurlow. The family lived in Kitchener, Ontario and as a young man he studied for a B.A. Degree for two years at Waterloo College. He enlisted into the RCAF on 21st August 1940 at Hamilton and after training in Canada he was awarded an air observer's flying badge on 15th March 1941. He arrived in the UK in June 1941 and following training at 19 OTU he was posted to 51 Squadron on 1st September 1941. He was later posted to 35 Squadron on 14th November 1941, 77 Squadron on 15th March 1942 and finally to 405 Squadron on 15th April 1942.
Robert Hexter was born on 21st April 1920 at London, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Frederick and Nellie Beatrice (nee Smith) Hexter. His father had served in the military in WW1 and returned home disabled. As a young man Robert studied technical drafting at college for four years before working in a bakery. He enlisted for RCAF service on 19th June 1940 at London, Ontario and after training in Canada was awarded his air gunner's flying badge on 20th January 1941 having first receiving wireless operator training. The second photograph of him shown above was almost certainly taken during training in Canada. Arriving in the UK in early 1941 he trained at 25 O.T.U., 1 S.S. and 19 O.T.U. before posting to 77 Squadron on 28th August 1941. He was later posted to 51 Squadron on 7th December 1941 and to 405 Squadron on 24th March 1942. His mother's family were from Whetstone, Leicestershire and they arranged his burial there.
George Strong was born on 18th March 1921 at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and was the son of Dr.George Frederick and Ruth Hunter (nee Nickel) Strong. He was still studying at St. George's School in Vancouver when he enlisted for RCAF service on 12th November 1940 in Vancouver. After training he was awarded his pilot's wings and a commission on 20th September 1941. He was then posted to the UK the following month. His postings once in the UK are not yet known.
Thomas Owens was born on 2nd September 1920 at Montebello, Quebec, Canada and was the son of William Theodore and Florence Charlotte (nee Reid) Owens. The family later lived at Westmount, Quebec. As a young man he worked as a clerk for the Canadian National Railways in Montreal. He enlisted for RCAF service on 17th February 1941 in Montreal and after training in Canada he was awarded an air gunner's flying badge on 24th November 1941. He was posted to the UK in December 1941 and trained at 22 OTU before posting to 10 Squadron on 11th June 1942, he was then posted to 405 Squadron on 10th July 1942.
Little is yet known about Maxwell Apperson other than he married in Ipswich, Suffolk in 1940.