Halifax DG421 at Pocklington airfield.
On the night of 17th / 18th June 1943 this 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft was being flown on a night-time circuits and landings training flight. Just over an hour into the exercise the aircraft made a landing at Pocklington airfield at 01.55hrs as part of the series of short routine training flights but the aircraft began to swing off the runway, the trainee pilot over-corrected the swing and the undercarriage collapsed.
Instructor Pilot - F/O Kenneth Arthur Clack DFM RAFVR (124623).
Trainee Pilot - Sgt Arthur William James RAFVR (1315690).
Trainee Pilot - Sgt Arthur Jack Salvage RAFVR (1386112).
Air Gunner - F/Sgt Douglas Wilson Milliken RCAF (R/139843),
Bill Chorley quotes only two names (Sgt "Savage" and Sgt James) as being in this aircraft in his superb Bomber Command Losses HCU book, however through correspondance with Mr Rodger Milliken it transpires that his uncle was on board this aircraft when it crashed at Pocklington. Doug Milliken's logbook entry for this incident is shown above and also lists F/O Clack who was probably an instructor. There may have been others in the aircraft at the time but their names are not known.
Doug Milliken and Arthur Salvage and their crew completed their training and were posted to 51 Squadron on 4th July 1943. Arthur Salvage received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 19th August 1943. On 4th December 1943 they were flying Ops to Leipzig in Halifax HR732 when the aircraft failed to return and was recorded as missing. All the crew of the aircraft are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. P/O Salvage's wife received his wedding ring from the German authorities in 1947 suggesting that his body was recovered and if correct then the location of where he was then buried is not known. P/O Salvage was twenty three years old.
Douglas Milliken was born on 6th January 1922 in Regina, Saskatchewan and was the son of Robert Matthew and Elsie Louise (Vickers) Milliken. He was still a student when he enlisted for RCAF service in Regina on 26th November 1941 with his friend Merton Zapfe (who was killed on 24th May 1943 also flying with 51 Squadron). He trained at 10 OTU at Abingdon when he arrived in the UK and 1663 HCU between 1st May and 24th May 1943. WO2 Milliken was twenty one years old when he died, he left a twin brother and other siblings. Milliken Island in Saskatchewan is named in his honour.
He received his commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 16th May 1942 and was promoted to F/O on probation (war subs) on 16th November 1942. He was instructing at 1663 HCU at the time of the incident in June 1943 at Pocklington. He later began a second operational tour with 76 Squadron who were by now based at Holme on Spalding Moor and had been promoted to the rank of Acting S/Ldr. On the night of 30th / 31st March 1944 he was flying Halifax LW696 on Ops to Nuremburg when the aircraft was shot down over Germany with all but one of the crew being killed. S/Ldr Clack was just twenty one years old and is buried in Hanover War Cemetery.
Kenneth Clack was awarded the DFM for service with 76 Squadron, Gazetted on 29th May 1942. The citation mentions the raid on the Tirpitz at Trondheim and reads.."This airman has completed many successful sorties including attacks on targets at Berlin, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Stettin. One night in April, 1942, he was the captain of an aircraft detailed to attack the German naval base at Trondheim. After releasing the bombs his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire which caused one engine to fail and the bomb doors could not be closed. He succeeded in returning to base and landed safely with the bomb doors still open. The following night, as his former aircraft was not serviceable Flight Sergeant Clack volunteered to fly another aircraft to attack the naval base again. He delivered his bombs successfully and machine gunned gun emplacements. His courage and determination have been outstanding."
Arthur James received his commission on 30th September 1943 to the rank of P/O on probation (158917) and was later posted to 51 Squadron. On 8th / 9th October 1943 he was flying Halifax JN885 on Ops to Hannover when the aircraft crashed in Germany with the loss of the whole crew. He is buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery.