On 7th September 1943 the crew of this 408 Squadron aircraft were undertaking a fighter affiliation exercise. The port outer engine failed during the flight and in the course of trying to fly back to Linton on Ouse airfield and while flying a circuit of the aerodrome the port inner engine then failed, the aircraft then lost height and the pilot then attempted to force land the aircraft on farmland near Newton to Ouse at 12.50hrs but the aircraft crashed. A fire then broke out and destroyed the aircraft. Sadly one of the crew sustained serious injuries when he was thrown from the aircraft as a result of the crash, he died of these injuries half an hour later.
Pilot - Sgt Kenneth Lloyd Brager RCAF (R/115787).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Thomas Donald Cochrane RCAF (R/146396).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Edwin Kent RAFVR (1092493).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Bernard Smith RAFVR (1684936).
Mid Upper Gunner - Sgt Leslie Arthur McQuestion RCAF (R/180964).
Passenger - AC1 M G Cote RCAF (R/160892).
Rear Gunner - F/Sgt Robert Wilson Ogston RCAF (R/179719), of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, North Yorkshire (C/B/13).
Robert Ogston was born on 16th September 1923 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of William Robertson and Frances Helen (nee Caldwell) Ogston. The family lived in Winnipeg and Edmonton when he was a young boy but moved to Toronto when he was eight years old. He left school in 1941, between December 1941 and enlisting for service he worked for United States Lines, in New York as a sailor, he served on board ship and took part in artic convoys to Murmansk. He enlisted for RCAF service on 10th July 1942 in Toronto. Following training in Canada he was awarded his air gunners badge on 30th December 1942. On arrival in the UK in early 1943 he trained at No.7 Air Gunnery School, 23 Operational Training Unit and 1664 Heavy Conversion Unit before posting to 408 Squadron on 5th July 1943. His brother William was serving in the UK at the time of Robert's death. One of the memorial crosses issued to wives and mothers and his air gunner's brevet was sold on Ebay in March 2016.
Kenneth Brager was born on 17th August 1920 in Watson, Saskatchewan, Canada and was the son of Ole and Mabel (nee Gillund) Brager. Both his parents were born in Minnesota, USA. After leaving college he worked as a projectionist at a local theatre. He enlisted for RCAF service in Saskatoon on 31st July 1941 and after basic training in Canada he was awarded his flying Wings on 25th September 1942. Upon arrival in the UK he had trained at 6 (P)AFU from 17th November 1942 possibly as one of their staff pilots as he remained there until 23rd March 1943 when he was posted to 23 OTU. Following training there and at 1664 HCU he was posted to 408 Squadron on 5th July 1943 with his crew (including Sgt Ogston). He received a commission on 18th September 1943.
This crew then received a new rear gunner and continued their tour with 408 Squadron. On the night of 20th December 1943 all were flying Lancaster DS758 on Ops to Frankfurt when the aircraft was shot down by a night-fighter piloted by Hptm Hans-Karl Kamp, of Stab III./NJG4. All but their USAAF navigator Lt Stiller are now buried in Hotton War Cemetery in Belgium.