Halifax HR783 at Crockey Hill.
On 6th August 1943 the crew on board this 51 Squadron aircraft were undertaking an airtest when the aircraft suffered a fire in the starboard outer engine which resulted in engine failure. The pilot was unable to keep control and the aircraft crashed at around 15.30hrs near Crockey Hill sadly killing the seven on board including a ground crew passenger who had gone along for the ride. The engine failure alone should not have caused this experienced pilot to loose control and it seems likely that the fire caused some other technical fault which rendered the aircraft uncontrollable. A member of this pilot's regular crew was not on the aircraft as he had travelled to York to be measured for his officers uniform.
Although conjecture it would seem likely that on his way back to base at Snaith he would have passed the wreckage of his crew's
aircraft at Crockey Hill, as a result Percy Newland survived the war.
This was one of a number of incidents which occurred near Crockey Hill during the War years. Nearest to this was a Junkers Ju88 which crashed about 300 yards away in April 1942.
Halifax HR783 was built to contract ACFT/1688/42 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett and was taken on charge by 51 Squadron at Snaith on 31st March 1943. During its life it sustained battle damage on a number of occasions. On 5th May 1943, 28th May 1943, 24th June 1943, 4th July 1943 and also on 14th July 1943 Cat.A/FB resulted each time from flak damage and a repair on site was carried out each time. On 6th August 1943 the aircraft crashed at Crockey Hill, York that saw seven airmen killed. Cat.E2/FA Burnt damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge on 16th August 1943. It had logged 140 flying hours in total from new.
Pilot - P/O Cecil Agar Lambert DFM RAFVR (146864), aged 29. Buried Reigate Cemetery, Surrey.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Edward Watson RAFVR (1127753), aged 23. Buried Castletown Cemetery, Hylton, Sunderland.
Navigator - P/O Jack Austin Wilkins RAFVR (146788), aged 22. Buried Bristol Greenbank Cemetery, Gloucestershire.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Harry John Evans RAFVR (1551799), aged 22. Buried East Wymess Cemetery, Fifeshire.
Air Gunner - Sgt Gerald Alfred Warren RAFVR (1465627), aged 21. Buried Thundersley Churchyard, Essex.
Air Gunner - Sgt Charles Martin Johnson RCAF (R/83461), aged 21. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/A/3).
Passenger / Ground Crew - LAC Willie Rees RAFVR (1130993), aged 29. Buried Rhondda (Ferndale) Cemetery, Glamorganshire.
Cecil Lambert, his wife Dorothy and young daughter Robin. Cecil Lambert received a commission to the rank of P/O
on probation (emergency) on 8th May 1943. His DFM had only just been awarded on 24th July 1943. The circumstances surrounding the award of his DFM do not appear in the London Gazette however through information collated by the pilot's son-in-law and correspondance with the crew's regular wireless operator who was not on this aircraft when it crashed, Cecil Lambert's DFM was awarded as a result of his piloting a badly damaged aircraft out of a searchlight and flak barrage, and continuing on to bomb the target before returning to the England. The crew had completed twenty two operational flights and were well on their way to a full Tour when this accident occured near York, they were also regarded as the best crew on the Squadron at the time, with squadron suffering many losses in this period. My thanks to Mr Chris Posnett, his father-in-law being P/O Lambert, for the photograph above and for the information he has been willing to share with me and this webpage.
Charles Johnson was the son of Martin and Geraldine (nee Morrow) Johnson and was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on 21st July 1922. He left school in 1940 and began working for a printing company but left this job to enlist for RCAF service on 4th March 1941 in Windsor. He had initially enlisted for ground duties and after training he arrived in the UK in early 1943 serving with 400 Squadron. In October 1942 he remustered as an air gunner and after training at 7 AGS and 1658 HCU he was posted to 51 Squadron on 5th April 1943.
I was invited along to search for the site by air historians Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton in September 2008 and their efforts in speaking to the land owner, witnesses and the farm manager had roughly confirmed the location. Small fragments were found on the surface to confirm the location. The land had been used to produce turf on so access previously had been limited. We would like to thank Ms Jane Cooper (Farm Manager of Hobson's) for her time and allowing the visit.
A part number identified as being a window fairing from this aircraft.
Albert and Ken discuss the loss with Mrs Posnett at the crash site.
Jack Wilkins received a commission on 9th May 1943 to P/O on probation (emergency). I would like to thank his niece Mrs Linda Steel for contacting me in March 2013 and for the additional information she was able to give. CWGC list him as being a bomb aimer but his family inform me that he was infact a navigator.
In June 2009 Ken, Albert, Eric and I were able to assist the pilot's daughter and son-in-law, Mr and Mrs Posnett, to pay their respects at the site of where the accident occurred.
