Wellington HE172 at Linton on Ouse airfield.
On the night of 29th / 30th March 1943 this 429 Squadron aircraft was undertaking an operational flight to bomb Bochum but on their return to Yorkshire, having flown through severe weather, this crew were instructed to land at Linton on Ouse. This aircraft crashed landed there at 00.58hrs and was badly damaged.
Pilot - Sgt Richard Campbell Ellison RAF (656945).
Navigator - Sgt William Gordon Bailey RAFVR (1392374).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Horace E J Horton RAFVR (1187663).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Edward C Nicholson RAFVR (1378793).
Air Gunner - Sgt Walter Joseph Mullaney RCAF.
Wellington HE172 was built to contract B.124362/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd. at Hawarden and was taken on charge by 429 Squadron at East Moor on 5th December 1942. As a result of the damage sustained on 30th March 1943 it was originally assessed on site and declared Cat.E/FB which would have seen it written off. On 10th April 1943 a further assessment downgraded the damage and it was Re-Cat.B which saw it transported to Brooklands Aviation Ltd. at Sywell for a repair in works. The repair was complete by 12th June 1943. On 14th June 1943 it was flown to 18 MU at Dumfries. On 30th June 1943 it was taken on charge by 17 OTU at Silverstone. On 30th August 1943 it sustained damage in a flying accident that saw Cat.B/FA damage be the damage assessment. It was transported to Brooklands Aviation Ltd. at Weybridge for a repair in works. The repair was complete on 22nd December 1943 and on 8th January 1944 it was flown to 8 MU at Little Rissington. On 12th April 1944 it was taken on charge by 26 OTU at Wing. At 23.27hrs on 13th August 1944 it crashed at Wing when an engine failed on take off, it swung off the runway and hit trees near the bomb dump with the damaged aircraft then catching fire. Seven crew escaped though they were injured. Cat.E2/FA Burnt damage was the damage assessment and it was written off.
Richard Ellison received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation (emergency) on 3rd June 1943 (147969). On 20th April 1943 all of the above were flying Wellington HE414 on Ops to Brest when the aircraft was badly damaged by flak and caught fire, they crashed the aircraft on landing at Exeter without injury to anyone on board but the aircraft was badly damaged. On 12th June 1943 he was flying an operation flight to bomb Dusseldorf in Wellington HZ355 when the aircraft was badly damaged by a night fighter. P/O Ellison appears to have held the aircraft steady while his crew baled out but was then unable to make good his escape and was killed. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was twenty three years old. His four crew initially evaded capture but Bill Chorley records in his superb Bomber Command Losses 1943 book (and further recorded on other webpages) that the survivors found their way into the Comet escape and evasion line and were in the hands of Lucien Collin's family. The position of three was given to the Germans by a Belgian and the three were captured while being guided through Paris and they ended up in a PoW camp. The Collin family were arrested and later executed by the Nazi authorities. P/O Bailey did manage to evade capture and made it back to the UK though Mullaney later escaped and found the advancing American Army and fought with them until the end of the war.
William Bailey received a commission (147918) to P/O on probation (emergency) on 3rd June 1943. He was promoted to F/O on 3rd December 1943 and F/Lt on 3rd June 1945.