On the night of 7th / 8th June 1944 the crew of this 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft were to undertake a night cross country exercise and took off from Sandtoft airfield at 21.40hrs. By 02.10hrs the crew nearing the general area of their base, they may also have entered their landing circuit and were making a wide circuit of Sandtoft airfield but I have yet to obtain any lengthy accident documentation to discover exactly what happened. At 02.10hrs the aircraft stalled and then hit the ground between Howden and Goole, just north of the village of Hook and close to the River Ouse, it initially struck the ground and then hit a flood bank which caused the aircraft to break up. Sadly all on board were killed in the crash.
There is a suggestion that the aircraft had suffered from an engine failure and fire just prior to the crash which resulted in control being lost just prior to the crash. A memorial to crew who were killed in this accident was dedicated in St.Mary the Virgin Church, Hook in 1984.
Pilot - P/O Raymond Leslie Francis RAAF (418380), aged 25, of Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/E/12).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Frederick William Reed RAFVR (1181898), aged 24, of Benenden. Cremated Charing, Kent.
Navigator? - F/Sgt William Robert Rex Porter RAAF (40230), aged 27, of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/E/13).
Bomb Aimer? - F/O William Edgar Laurence Moody RAAF (422623), aged 22, of Hazelbrook, New South Wales, Australia. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/E/14).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner? - F/Sgt Gilbert Francis Brown RAAF (418699), aged 20, of Tolmie, Victoria, Australia. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/E/10).
Air Gunner? - F/Sgt Kevin William Hennessy RAAF (437579), aged 21, of Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/E/11).
Raymond Francis was born on 3rd July 1918 at Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia and was the son of Arthur John and Elizabeth Marion Francis. As a young man he had studied accountancy and law before working as a bank clerk. He was engaged to be married the time he enlisted for RAAF service in Melbourne on 22nd May 1942. After training he was awarded his pilot's flying badge on 6th April 1943. He then left Australia for service in the UK in July 1943 where he trained at 15 (P)AFU and 18 OTU. He was posted to 1667 HCU on 4th May 1944 having received a commission a few days earlier on 26th April 1944.
William Porter was born on 4th June 1917 at Mannum, South Australia and was the son of Winfred Rex and Florence Eva Porter. He enlisted for RAAF service in Melbourne. His service file has not yet been digitised.
William Moody was born on 23rd January 1922 at Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia and was the son of Gilbert Raymond and Agnes Elizebeth Moody. He enlisted for RAAF service in Woolloomooloo. His service file has not yet been digitised.
Gilbert Brown was born on 9th June 1923 at Coburg, Victoria, Australia and was the son of William John and Josephine Mary Brown. He enlisted for RAAF service in Melbourne. His service file has not yet been digitised.
Kevin Hennessy was born on 12th November 1922 at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and was the son of William Henry and Mary Agnes Hennessy. He enlisted for RAAF service in Melbourne. His service file has not yet been digitised.
A memorial to crew who were killed in this accident was dedicated in St.Mary the Virgin Church, Hook. I credit Eric Barton with these two photographs.
Historians Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton located small surface remains at the crash site in 2007 with permission from the landowner, thus confirming the location. The item shown above shows a Halifax part number and is one of a number collected by Eric Barton at various sites that I was given by his son to re-house.