On the night of 22nd / 23rd November 1943 the crew of this 77 Squadron aircraft took off from Elvington airfield at 17.06hrs for an operational flight to bomb Berlin. They appear to have released their bomb load over the target successfully and made for home without incident. On their return to the Elvington area they made contact with their own airfield's flying control and joined the landing circuit with its landing lights on, they were flying in a clear sky with good visibility. While in the general circuit of the airfield to await their turn to land they were flying at around 2,000 to 2,500 feet on the north eastern side of the Elvington circuit the Halifax struck the starboard side of 102 Squadron Halifax LW333 and both aircraft fell to the ground from around 2,500 feet at 23.55hrs. A fairly detailed Court of Inquiry report is to be found in the Canadian air gunner's service file from the other aircraft and adds a lot of information. The 102 Squadron aircraft was in the landing circuit of Pocklington airfield and was also in contact with their own flying control. It was thought probable that neither saw each other because of blind spots until taking evasive action was too late. Neither airfields or their landing routine was blamed, the 102 Squadron landing circuit at Pocklington had six aircraft in it at the time of the collision, Elvington's was similar and neither were crowded as all aircraft would have flown at differing heights. It was thought that it was just unlucky that both LW333 and LW264 had flown at the same height prior to the collision but that the 77 Squadron aircraft had just received an instruction that it was their turn to land so may have cut across their normal landing circuit as its course was going to take them to the end of the Elvington runway that was in use but that this then took them over the end of the Pocklington landing circuit. Following the collision both aircraft fell on land around Newlands Farm, roughly between Barmby Moor and Wilberfoss and all fourteen airmen died as a result of the collision. Both aircraft crashed 500 yards apart.
Pilot - F/Sgt Cornelius Charles Linehan RAFVR (1383508), aged 23, of Poplar, London. Buried Hadlow Cemetery, Kent.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Arthur Dennis West RAFVR (1803260), aged 21, of London. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Navigator - F/Sgt Eric Bertram Gosden RAFVR (609488), aged 30? of Weymouth, Dorset. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Sidney Tweddle RAFVR (1546219), aged 21, of Stanwix, Carlisle. Buried Stanwix Cemetery, Carlisle, Cumbria (Ward 4, Sec A, Grave 6).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Sidney Elder RAFVR (1091022), aged 21, of Longtown, Cumbria. Buried Stanwix Cemetery, Carlisle, Cumbria (Ward 4, Sec A, Grave 8).
Air Gunner - Sgt James Lindsay Bennett RAFVR (1372493), aged 23, of Carstairs. Buried Avenue Road Cemetery, Carstairs, Lanarkshire.
Air Gunner - Sgt William Guthrie Thomson RAFVR (1680443), aged 19, of Heaton, Newcastle. Buried Byker and Heaton Cemetery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Gravestones of two members of this crew at Harrogate.
Both Sidney Elder (left) and Sidney Tweddle (right) had probably gone to school in Carlisle with each other and bumped into each other when they crewed up at OTU and became members of the same crew. They are buried pretty much next to each other in Stanwix Cemetery, Carlisle. 14 trees were planted near the scenes of the crashes on the 41st anniversary of the accident, in attendance was Sidney Tweddle's brother.