On the night of 8th / 9th June 1944 the crew of this 51 Squadron aircraft took off from Snaith airfield at 22.39hrs to undertake an operational flight to bomb a target in the Chateaudun / Alencon area of Northern France. All appears to ahve gone without incident for much of the flight but on their return to Yorkshire the weather was poor. Because of the weather Snaith airfield flying control was struggling to get all of their aircraft down on the ground and the circuit became congested, the ordered some of the aircraft to make to diversionary airfields. At 04.09hrs this aircraft received the order to divert to land at Driffield airfield. Shortly afterwards the aircraft appears to have reached the general Driffield area though did not locate Driffield airfield, it was seen to overfly Hutton Cranswick airfield heading roughly west and was flying at less than one hundred feet above the ground but did not make any attempt to land. At 04.20hrs the aircraft flew into the Yorkshire Wolds, in the region just west of Holme on the Wolds in what was described as being "atrocious weather" with drizzle and very low cloud covering the hills. Sadly all but one of the crew died in the accident. The crash was not reported until 10.30hrs and a party from Hutton Cranswick airfield visited the crash site. The rear gunner was discovered unconscious in his turret but on the face of it was thought relatively uninjured and was taken to Beverley Base Hospital by a team from Leconfield airfield. Air historians Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton located small fragments of this aircraft on the surface of the field to confirm the location, by permission of landowner Lord Hotham in May 1999.
Pilot - P/O John Cecil Davies RCAF (J/86585), aged 23, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/F/18).
Flight Engineer - Sgt John Hilton RAFVR (1496574), aged 22, wife of Trysull. Buried Trysull Churchyard, Staffordshire.
Navigator - F/Sgt Albert Murray RAFVR (1213498), aged 21, of Hull. Cremated Hull, Yorkshire.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Edward Arnold Blackburn RAFVR (1438682), aged 26, of Newton le Willows. Buried Newton le Willows Cemetery, Lancashire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Cecil Arthur Bramwell RAFVR (1431825), aged 22. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (B/F/17).
Mid Upper Gunner - Sgt John Francis Cope RAFVR (1588638), aged 19. Buried Gorton Cemetery, Manchester.
Rear Gunner - Sgt Dermot Terence Brady RAFVR (1453313). Seriously injured.
John Davies was born on 12th July 1920 at Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England and was the son of Evan John and Sarah Jane (nee Richards) Davies. The family emigrated to British Columbia, Canada in 1923. As a young man he studied at the University of British Columbia. He enlisted for RCAF service in Vancouver on 15th April 1942 and after basic training he was awarded his pilot's Wings on 2nd April 1943. Arriving in the UK the following month he would later train at 20 (P)AFU, 19 OTU and 1658 HCU before posting to 51 Squadron on 12th March 1944. He was granted a commission on 17th May 1944. While at 1658 HCU he was admitted to Northallerton Hospital on 9th December 1943 until 10th January 1944 but whether this was down to illness or injury resulting from a accident I have yet to learn. The crew had survived a minor crash at Snaith in March 1944 involving Halifax LW697.
Cecil Bramwell's gravestone at Harrogate.
John Hilton.