Whitley Z9163 at Croft airfield.
On the night of 15th / 16th January 1942 a number of 77 Squadron crews undertook operational flights. The crew of this aircraft had taken off from Leeming at 17.52hrs and bombed from 14,000ft. On their return to Yorkshire the weather was poor and low cloud prevented this aircraft landing at Leeming. As the aircraft attempted to land at Croft at 00.30hrs the crew made a low approach to visually inspect the runway but in doing so the aircraft struck something. The pilot then lost control and the aircraft crashed. The 77 ORB states the aircraft sustained damage at Croft and at least one other landed safely at Croft suggesting crews had been diverted there.
Pilot - Sgt Bryan Whitham RAFVR (1175416)..
Second Pilot - Sgt Donald Hill Bootsma RCAF (R/68323).
Observer - P/O Edwin Morris Hooper RAFVR (105179).
Wireless Operator - Sgt Barfoot (Possibly Sgt G E Barfoot RAFVR (934366)).
Air Gunner - Sgt Reginald Wilde RAFVR (1051977).
Donald Bootsma was born in Knoxville, Iowa, USA on 12th October 1912. He enlisted for RCAF service in London, Ontario on 20th August 1940. Having received a commission on 6th June 1942 P/O Bootsma was killed on 11th June 1942 while flying an anti-submarine patrol in Whitley Z9477 with 77 Squadron while on detachment with Coastal Command.
He was twenty nine years old and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Edwin Hooper received his commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 8th August 1941. He was killed on 16th February 1942 when Whitley Z9229 crashed on
return from Ops to St.Nazaire. He was thirty years old and is buried in Redhill Cemetery, Surrey.
Sgt Wilde and Sgt Whitham were killed flying with 77 Squadron on 24th April 1942 on Ops to Rostock in Whitley Z9363. They are
buried in Hamburg Cemetery.
If Sgt Barfoot was the same person as listed above then he was made a PoW on 26th April 1943 when Halifax DT796 was badly damaged by flak on Ops to Duisburg. Five of the seven crew baled out and became PoWs. F/Sgt Barfoot became a PoW. Another member of his then crew F/O R C Stewart was one of the prisoners of war murdered as a result of what became known as The Great Escape.
Whitley Z9163 was built to contract 106962/40 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 10th September 1941. It was initially taken on charge by 10 Squadron at Leeming the same month but was quickly transferred to 77 Squadron at Leeming. As a result of the accident at Croft on 16th January 1942 Cat.A/FB damage was the assessment and it was repaired on site. It was then immediately transferred to 502 Squadron at Docking in Coastal Command, on 22nd February 1942 502 Squadron ceased operating Mk.V Whitley's. The aircraft passed on to the charge of 10 OTU at Abingdon where it had a long career before finally moving to 24 OTU at Honeybourne. On 10th April 1944 the aircraft was reported as missing (Cat.Em) when it failed to return from a navigation exercise over the Atlantic with the then crew of five recorded as missing.