Halifax DT637 at Riccall airfield.
On the night of 12th / 13th May 1943 the crew of this 51 Squadron aircraft were undertaking an operational flight to bomb Duisburg and took off from Snaith at 23.09hrs. On their return to base the area around Snaith airfield was suffering with poor visibility, the crew were diverted to land at Riccall airfield due a glycol leak in the port inner engine which had to be feathered, the aircraft was also running short of fuel. In bad weather they landed at Riccall at 06.51hrs but not in line with a runway. The aircraft overshot, managed to avoid colliding with a petrol tanker but was badly damaged when it ran into a ditch on the boundary. The crew were not hurt, they had all been posted to 51 Squadron on 19th April 1943 from 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit.
Pilot - Sgt Donald William Thompson RAFVR (1335401).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Joseph Clifford Harris-Ward RAFVR (566800).
Navigator - Sgt Allan Sharp Russell RAFVR (1392536).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Granville Sidney Sharpe RAFVR (1337744).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Frank Stephen Godden RAFVR (1210979).
Air Gunner - Sgt Kenneth Duncan Murray RCAF (R/157619).
Air Gunner - Sgt Gareth Jones RAFVR (1317434).
Allan Russell received a commission on 29th August 1943 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency). He was awarded the DFC for service with 51 Squadron, Gazetted on 15th February 1944 and later promoted to F/O (war subs) on 29th February 1944 and to F/Lt (war subs) on 29th August 1945.
Frank Godden was almost certainly posted to 578 Squadron when it formed in late 1943 / early 1944 out of personnel previous serving in C-Flight of 51 Squadron. On 24th February 1944 he was flying in Halifax LW586 on Ops to Schweinfurt when the aircraft was shot down by a night fighter, only one of the crew survived. The aircraft crashed in the Wurzburg area with the loss of six crew including F/Sgt Godden and he is now buried in Durnbach War Cemetery, Germany. CWGC list no personal information for him but his birth was probably registered in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire in 1922.
Donald Thompson received a commission on 4th August 1943 to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency). He was awarded the DFC for service with 51 Squadron, Gazetted on 10th December 1943. He was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 4th February 1944 and later to F/Lt (war subs) on 4th August 1945.
F/Sgt Murray was still serving with 51 Squadron on 1st September 1943, on that night he was flying in Halifax HR931 on Ops to Berlin when the aircraft crashed in the Doeberitz area. Sadly four of the seven crew died including Sgt Murray, he was twenty years old and is buried in Berlin War Cemetery.
Granville Sharpe was awarded the DFM for service with 51 Squadron, Gazetted on 15th February 1944. He was killed on 24th September 1944 flying with 97 Squadron when Lancaster PA974 crashed in the sea off Norfolk while on Ops to bomb the Dortmund-Emms Canal. His body was recovered and is buried in Flordon Churchyard, Norfolk.
Gareth Jones was awarded the DFM for service with 51 Squadron, Gazetted on 11th February 1944.
Joseph "Cliff" Harris-Ward appears to have originally joined the RAF as a member of ground crew and had served with 214 Squadron. He received a Mention in Despatches on 11th June 1942. After this he appears to have re-mustered as a flight engineer and trained as aircrew joining 51 Squadron in Spring 1943. He received a commission as P/O on probation (emergency) on 25th August 1943 (158284) and for service with 51 Squadron he was awarded the DFC; Gazetted on 15th February 1944. He was promoted to F/O (war subs) on 25th February 1944 and to F/Lt (war subs) on 25th August 1945 but his service number changed to 53998 having transferred to the RAF. Post-war he remained in the RAF rising to S/Ldr on 1st July 1953. He retired from the Equipment Branch of the RAF as S/Ldr on 22nd July 1966.
Halifax DT637 was built to contract B.982938/39 by English Electric Co.Ltd. at Samlesbury and was flown to 18 MU at Dumfries on 21st November 1942. It was taken on charge by 77 Squadron at Elvington on 13th December 1942 and was transferred to 158 Squadron at Rufforth on 27th February 1943. The following day 158 Squadron moved to Lissett. On 26th March 1943 the aircraft was transferred to 51 Squadron at Snaith. It sustained battle damage on 17th April 1943 that was assessed as Cat.A/FB damage which saw it repaired on site. On 13th May 1943 while on return from an operational flight to Duisburg the port inner engine failed, it was force landed in a field near Riccall. Cat.E/FB damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge on 31st May 1943 having clocked up a total of 131 flying hours.