While returning to Linton on Ouse airfield on the night of 16th December 1943 following an operational flight to bomb Berlin this aircraft flew into Yearsley village. The aircraft first struck a haystack towards the south-eastern side of the village while flying in roughly a south to north flight path at 23.45hrs. The aircraft is believed to have caught the haystack with it's starboard wing which swung the aircraft round to the right slightly, it then struck some small farm buildings and a blacksmith's forge which destroyed the roofs and two thirds of the walls of these buildings. The aircraft's forward speed then carried it across the village main street and into a grass field beyond with the main bulk of the remaining aircraft crashing into a large tree in the middle of this field towards the northern side of the village. Parts of the undercarriage were located some distance further on at the edge of a wood near the Newburgh road. It was remarkable that no civilian casualties occured. Had the aircraft been only yards to the left or right it would have struck occupied housing with their residents in their beds, or the village pub, The Wombwell Arms, at the village crossroads. The aerial photograph shown above depicts the flight path of the aircraft as it crashed as deemed by witnesses accounts and evidence on found on the ground.
In April 2010 I spoke to the daughter of Mr George Banks who was first on the scene to the crash. She is one of only a handful of living witnesses to aftermath of this incident and was able to add that her father located one airmen who died moments later. Other airman was located by other civilians who out came out to help and they carried into the pub where sadly all but one were either dead by the time they were found or they died in the pub. In total there were six airmen who died as a result of this accident and the seventh survived with minor injuries after the turret he was in broke away and spared him.
426 Squadron's Operation Record Book (ORB) appeared add confusion as to the number of casualties but with the information locally that one died in the village pub this is now clear; the ORB entry states.. "Lancaster returning from Berlin "-Q" of 426 Squadron crashed at Yearsley. Five killed." Reference to this accident has also been found in a police report which also gives five fatalities. Both clearly only refer to those killed in the initial crash and do not mention the sixth in the pub who died.
Strangely the location stated in the Yorkshire Air Museum's crash-list for this incident gives "Northstead Farm" as the location, however there was no such farm. Soon after this incident the estate who owned the village put it up for sale and a copy of the sale catalogue is still in the village. This catalogue lists all the farm and house names and mentions the property damaged by this aircraft crash. Northstead Farm did not exist in 1943 nor have I ever found the farm name on maps dating back to the late 1800's. In more recent years this incident featured in Richard Knott's superb book "Black Night for Bomber Command", his research locally suggests the Wombwell Arms was damaged, this was also not the case but it narrowly missed being hit but was not damaged. Stone walls of the field next to the pub were though and this possibly is where the confusion has been drawn. Richard Knott was able to attend the memorial service and it was good to meet him having corresponded with him during his research for his book some years previously.
This photograph was taken a few months after the accident, it shows a damaged wall on the right hand side of the road along with the hedge on the left side. Both sustained damage caused by the Lancaster as it crashed across the village street from left to right. My thanks to Mr David Smith for allowing the photograph to appear here.
After the aircraft struck the haystack the aircraft crashed into what is now the garden shown in the foreground on the
photograph above, the low buildings beyond existed at the time and the crashing aircraft took the roofs off these buildings;
the house behind was not there at the time and is modern. This land is private property and I thank Mrs Penny Johnson for
allowing me to photograph her garden.
In March 2010 the Easingwold Advertiser ran a request for information on this accident at Yearsley. Having noticed my
initial webpage on this accident the paper's owner, Mr David Smith, who lives locally took a keen interest in the loss
and those airmen involved. He kindly used part of my webpage in the Advertiser and after that initial article was published
further information from local people came in which resulted in a second more detailed article being created. As luck would
have it Mrs Johnson, who's garden the aircraft had first crashed into has been researching the village history for many
years and lives in a house now built over part of the crash site. Over the years she has located a number of pieces of
the aircraft whilst gardening and further pieces were found during the construction of the house. These pieces were kept
and I was able to photograph them in 2010, some of which show Lancaster part numbers.
Two close-up photographs of the buildings referred to are shown above, the walls and roofs were taken off in the crash and the rebuilding is visible in a different type of brick. The building to the left was once a forge and the brickwork was originally much higher to allow large horses to get inside. Since the forge was no longer used it was not rebuilt to the former height.
A collection of parts of the aircraft found over the years in Mrs Johnson's garden shown above.
A close up two parts with a readable part numbers, (left) identified to belonging to the aircraft's fuselage and
(right) a peice of equipment rather than part of the airframe; such "N" stamps have been found at other Lancaster
crash sites but their meaning is yet to be learned.
Just prior to the dedication day myself and experienced air historians Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Dick Barton spent some time in the
field and after locating where the tree once stood carried out a search in the proximity. Where the tree stood was located by the presence of
rotten tree roots in loose back-fill soil determined by much harder soil surrounding it. The area of this back-fill and the immediate surface
area around it yielded a small number of pieces of the aircraft which confirmed the location. I thank the landowners Mr and Mrs Winfield for
allowing our visit, their interest and their hospitality. The families of the pilot and air gunner were shown the site later in the day. I
would like to point out that this field is private property and access was granted to us by the landowners.
The Lancaster would have come to rest inside the area of the field as shown in the photograph above, the tree was located towards the centre
near to the large stone block and garden cane. It should be stated though that seldom do aircraft resemble aircraft after such crashes and the
scene which greeted the villagers must have been terrible.
A small fragment of the aircraft with a Lancaster-related part number. The stainless steel part was attached to the stamped
alloy part but broke away when cleaned.
A rather bent stainless steel component of equipment which would have been in the aircraft, it appears to be some form of safety
catch. The meaning of the "E.C.L." lettering is not yet known.
An electrical connector from the aircraft in suprisingly good condition when cleaned.
This vase was made from a fire extinguisher bottle recovered from Lancaster DS837 and found in an antique shop
by fellow air historian and A.C.I.A. member Mr Johnny Shipley. I thank him for these two photographs.
In May 2011 the arrangements for the memorial project were in full swing. Relations of some of the aircrew were invited to
attend and it was thought that it would be of interest if they could be shown where the tree once stood in the field that the
aircraft finally struck. Part of the course of where the aircraft passed through is now inaccessable because new housing has
been built next to the main village street, the rough location of this tree however was believed to have been set back well
away from the road. The tree had died some years after the crash and had been felled but locals recall pieces of the Lancaster
been embedded in it for many years. The thought was, if the location of the tree could be found then further pieces of the
aircraft may be located in the soil and root back-fill and these pieces could be used in the display planned for the memorial
dedication day and returned to the crash site.
