Lancaster W4995 at Lindholme airfield.
During the early afternoon of 18th November 1944 a flying instructor and a trainee crew at 1656 Heavy Conversion Unit were undertaking basic flying training in a Lancaster around the Lindholme area. This exercise almost certainly consisted of basic circuits and landings practice. A flying instructor flew with the trainee crew for the first part of the exercise. The usual course of these flying basic training programs was that the instructor made an assessment that the trainee pilot was good enough to begin to fly the circuits and landings by himself so the instructor then left the aircraft after one of the landings. In this case at around 13.00hrs the landing was made at Lindholme but as the temperature began to rise on the port inner engine while taxying it was thought that coolant leak had developed. The instructor left the aircraft as to check the engine for leaks prior to the trainee crew then taxying for take off. As he went to check the engine from below the engines were left running and he walked too close to the rotating port outer propeller so was struck on the head. He sustained severe head injuries and died a few hours later in Doncaster hospital, after midnight on 19th November 1944. The trainee pilot had just two hours solo flying a Lancaster at the time of this incident but a total of 931 hours solo flying other types, where and what he had previously flown is not yet known.
Pilot (Instructor) / By-stander - F/O Norman Albert Marsh DFC RAAF (A-17520), aged 22, of Geraldton, Western Australia. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (G/B/1).
Pilot - F/Lt Alan Peter McKinnon RAFVR (123592).
7 Crew - Names unknown.
Norman Marsh was born at Geraldton on 19th May 1922. He enlisted for RAAF service in Perth on 21st August 1940 and after training he was awarded his pilot's Wings on 25th May 1942. Once in England he trained at 14 (P)AFU, 27 OTU and 1656 HCU before posting to 101 Squadron on 24th June 1943. He received a commision on 27th September 1943 and rose to F/o six months later. For service with 101 Squadron he was awarded the DFC, Gazetted on 21st April 1944. Upon completion of a Tour with 101 Squadron he was posted to 1 LFS to instruct on 17th March 1944 and then to 1656 HCU to instruct on 3rd November 1944.
