On the night of 2nd / 3rd October 1943 the crew of this 102 Squadron aircraft took off from Pocklington airfield to undertake a night cross country training flight. By 00.30hrs the aircraft was in the process of landing back at Pocklington but overshot the landing and attempted to fly a circuit of the airfield to go in and make another attempt at landing. As it flew the circuit at between 100 and 150 feet above the ground the aircraft lost height and crashed near the village of Hayton, between Pocklington and Market Weighton. Four on board were killed while three others died soon after of their injuries at York Military Hospital.
Pilot - F/Sgt William Anderson Miller RAAF (415261), aged 26, wife of New Farm, Queensland, Australia. Buried Pocklington Burial Ground, Yorkshire.
Flight Engineer - Sgt John Joseph McShane RAFVR (1345092), aged 21, of Selkirk. Buried Pocklington Burial Ground, Yorkshire. Died of injuries.
Air Bomber - F/O Vincent Longmead Hyatt RAFVR (132394), aged 27, of Bratton. Buried Bratton Churchyard, Wiltshire. Died of injuries.
Navigator - Sgt Charles Thomas Lockwood RAFVR (1040500), aged 20, of Gateshead. Buried Gateshead Churchyard, Durham. Died of injuries.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - W/O Douglas William Graham Randall RAFVR (905742), aged 33, wife of Enfield. Buried Enfield Cemetery, Middlesex.
Air Gunner - Sgt Thomas Smith RAF (649788), aged 25, of Bonnyrigg. Buried Cockpen Old Cemetery, Midlothian.
Air Gunner - Sgt Charles Ross Garrick RCAF (R/190537), aged 20, of Sault Ste-Marie, Ontario, Canada. Buried Pocklington Burial Ground, Yorkshire.
The graves of the three crew were are buried in Pocklington.
William Miller was born on 18th February 1917 in Glasgow, Scotland and was the son of William Anderson (Snr) and Annie Geddes Miller. His father died in Glasgow in 1921 and his mother and her extended family emigrated to Australia soon after. William was working at Mundijong railway station when he enlisted into the RAAF on 17th August 1941 in Perth and after basic training in Australia was awarded his pilot's wings on 15th May 1942. While on embarkation leave he married Edna Dawn Burgess in Perth on 15th July 1942, and then left for service overseas on 24th August 1942. He arrived in the UK by ship three months later. Over the coming months he trained at 14 OTU, 20 (P)AFU, 10 OTU and 1658 HCU before posting to 102 Squadron on 25th September 1943. At the time of his death he was working up to operational flying with 102 Squadron. His widow later remarried and moved to South Carolina, USA.
Charles Garrick was born on 23rd June 1923 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Gilbert Ernest and Margaret (nee Pillar) Garrick. The family later moved to Sault Ste.Marie. His brother Paul Eric Garrick also served in the RCAF. Charles was working for the Bell Telephone Company when he enlisted for RCAF service on 31st August 1942 in Toronto. Having training in Canada he was awarded his air gunner's flying badge on 28th May 1943. On arrival in the UK soon after he trained at 10 OTU and 1658 HCU before posting to 102 Squadron the same 25th September 1943 in William Millar's crew.