On the night of 23rd / 24th August 1943 the crew of this aircraft were one of a number of 102 Squadron aircraft that were to fly operational flights to bomb Berlin. At 20.43hrs this aircraft was in the process of taking off, the pilot applied power to the engines but the engines on the port side instead of gaining power they lost power, the aircraft then swung off the runway and headed towards the control tower. The pilot raised the undercarriage to bring the aircraft to a halt quickly. It avoided striking the control tower but a fire broke out in the damaged aircraft. All escaped the aircraft but the navigator caught his foot on part of the aircraft as he left and fell onto his head sustaining injuries. The pilot was the Commanding Officer of 102 Squadron.
Pilot - W/Co Stanley Jackson Marchbank RAF (33007).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Eric Reginald Crane RAFVR (902164).
Navigator - P/O William Grenville Corbett RCAF (J/20958). Slightly injured.
Bomb Aimer - P/O Harold Frank Pullen RAF (50980). (102 Squadron Bombing Leader).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt E G Clarke (Possibly Sgt Edwin Geoffrey Clark RAFVR (1237628).
Air Gunner - Sgt S Corner.
Air Gunner - Sgt John Joseph Duncan RAFVR (1140271).
Halifax JD127 was built to contract ACFT/1808/C4 by English Electric Co.Ltd. at Samlesbury and was delivered directly to 102 Squadron at Pocklington on 6th May 1943. As a result of flak damage on 26th May 1943 and then on 28th May 1943 Cat.A/FB damage was the damage assessment each time with a repair on site being carried out each time. On 23rd August 1943 it crashed at Pocklington on take off for Ops to Berlin. Cat.E2/FB Burnt damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge on 26th August 1943 having clocked up a total of 176 hours flying from new.
Stanley Marchbank was born in July 1910. He gained his commission following training at Cranwell and was granted a permanent commission in the RAF as P/O on 23 July 1932. He was later promoted to F/O on 23rd January 1934, F/Lt on 1st October 1936, S/Ldr on 1st February 1939 and W/Co (temp) on 1st June 1941. DFC for service with 102 Squadron, Gazetted on 6th June 1944, while Commanding Officer of 102 Squadron. He was later promoted to W/Co (war subs) on 14th January 1945 and remained in the RAF after the war with his war substantive rank being converted to W/Co on 1st October 1946. He received an OBE, Gazetted on 9th June 1949. He was then promoted to G/Cpt on 1st July 1951 and as Acting A/Cdre was appointed as Air Deputy at the NATO Defence College in 1956. He retired from the RAF on 7th November 1959 and died in November 1988.
Eric Crane received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 30th September 1943 and was promoted to F/O on 30th March 1944. He was awarded the DFC for service with 102 Squadron, Gazetted on 15th August 1944 and was later promoted to F/Lt on 30th September 1945.
Harold Pullen received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 13th April 1943 and was promoted to F/O on 13th October 1943. For service with 102 Squadron he was awarded the DFC, Gazetted on 16th February 1945 and was later promoted to F/Lt on 13th April 1945. Post-war he remained in the RAF and transferred to the Secretarial Branch in 1949. He retired at his own request on 1st February 1968.
William Corbett was living in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada when he enlisted for RCAF service in November 1941. He begun operational flying in late July 1943 and for service with 102 Squadron he was awarded the DFC, Gazetted on 13th October 1944.
John Duncan received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 17th November 1943. On the night of 25th / 26th November 1943 he was flying in Halifax HR811 on Ops to Frankfurt when the aircraft was probably shot down by a night-fighter over Germany, one member of his then crew was killed but he and seven other members of the crew became PoWs. He later received promotions to F/O on 17th May 1944 and F/Lt on 17th November 1945. Post-war he remained in the RAF at least until relinquishing his commission on 24th November 1963.
Edwin Clark received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 19th April 1944 and was promoted to F/O on 19th October 1944 and F/Lt on 19th April 1946.
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