On the night of 26th / 27th June 1943 this crew were undertaking a training exercise as part of their training with No.12 Operational Training Unit. The exercise was a night-time Bullseye cross-country training flight which would involve the crew navigating to a British town or city to then undertake a simulated bombing run on a selected 'target'. They took off from Chipping Warden at 23.25hrs on 26th June 1943 and headed roughly north. While flying at 13,000ft after being in the air for around ninety minutes and on the return leg to their base the aircraft's port engine failed. The crew sent out a radio message indicating this and they were logged as flying roughly over Castleford, Yorkshire at the time. The aircraft did not change course and continued to fly a rough north-westerly course but gradually loosing height as they went, this does seem strange as their base was not in this direction. The aircraft flew over Skipton reasonably low and by now the pilot was left with little option to attempt a forced landing. This he did on moorland to the north of Skipton in the region of Deer Gallow Rocks, near Embsay, at 01.15hrs. The pilot had ordered the crew to their crash positions and he stayed at the controls to land the aircraft with it's wheels-up but he was killed in the resulting crash. The other five airmen were injured and were admitted to Skipton hospital but the last two named were later taken to Northallerton Hosptial which was more specialised in aircrew injuries and one of these later died of his injuries.
Pilot - F/O Frederick Stuart Taylor RCAF (J/20217), aged 26. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (20E/7097).
Wireless Operator - Sgt William Sydney Hugh Menzies RAFVR (919401), aged 25. Died of injuries 2nd July 1942. Buried Sleaford Cemetery, Lincolnshire (A/A/143).
Navigator - P/O Glyndwr Morgan Roberts RAF (142376). Injured.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt J Mathews RCAF ("R/110175" no). Injured.
Navigator - Sgt Dennis Rainton RAFVR (1515482). Injured.
Rear Gunner - Sgt Edwin John Warren RAAF (417542), of Exeter, South Australia. Injured.
F/O Frederick Taylor's gravestone at Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery. Fred Taylor was born on 20th December 1916 at Kerrabert, Saskatchewan, Canada and was the son of Edgar Stuart and Lily Margaret (nee Handley) Taylor. By the time Frederick started school in 1925 the family were living in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. He left school in 1934 and started work as a labourer for the Okanagen Valley Land Company. He moved to New Westminster, British Columbia in 1937 where he worked as a labourer for the Swift Canadian Company. In 1939 he changed career and began working at a mental hospital in Essondale, British Columbia. He enlisted for RCAF service in Vancouver on 22nd August 1941. While undertaking training he married Hazel Johnson in November 1941 and the couple had a baby boy, born in April 1942. He was awarded his pilot's flying badge and also a commission on 23rd October 1942. He sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia for the UK on 20th November 1942 and arrived in the UK on 6th December 1942. Following training at 14 (P)AFU he was posted to 12 OTU at Chipping Warden on 4th May 1943.
William Menzies was the son of William Duncan Graham and Jessie Marguerite (nee Pringle) Menzies and was born in Glasgow. His father (born in Preston, Lancashire) was an engineer who was employed by Sir Arthur Duckham. His mother was born in Woolwich, London and the family must have spent more time there as William's older sister and younger brother were both born in London.
Glyndwr Roberts received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 27th April 1943 and rose to F/O on probation (war subs) 27th April 1943 and F/Lt (war subs) on 27th April 1945. He was probably born in the Pontypridd area in 1921 and died in Exeter, Devon in 2018.
Dennis Rainton received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 25th July 1944, he rose to F/O (war subs) on 25th January 1945. He was awarded the DFM for service with 15 Squadron, Gazetted on 14th November 1944 for service prior to his commission. A Dennis Rainton was born in the Sculcoates area of Yorkshire in 1921 and could be the identity of the airman injured in the crash above, a Dennis Rainton died in the Beverley area in 1994.
Wellington BJ965 was built by Vickers Armstrong and was received by 23 M.U. on 13th August 1942. It was taken on charge by 115 Squadron on 27th August 1942. Almost certainly during October 1942 it received minor and unspecified Cat.Ac/FB battle damage which was repaired on site and returned to 115 Squadron on 3rd November 1942. Later in November 1942 it appears to have received further minor Cat.Ac/FB battle damage which was again repaired on site and returned to 115 Squadron on 9th January 1943. The date the aircraft was taken on charge by 12 OTU is not recorded on it's AM Form 78. As a result of the crash on 27th June 1943 Cat.E damage was the damage assessment which saw it written off. It was struck off charge on 2nd July 1943.