During the evening of 24th February 1944 this 1664 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft were undertaking a training exercise that involved making a series of take-offs, short flights around the circuit of the airfield and landing. This was a basic part to conversion training and the initial short flights were undertaken with an instructor in the aircraft to assess the pilot. The weather on this night was recorded as being good. After making four such short flights lasting ninety minutes in total the instructor deemed that the crew were skilled enough to continue the series of short flights without him on board so he left the aircraft. The trainee crew then flew two circuits of the airfield and landed each time without incident. At 21.08hrs they were in the process of taking off from Dishforth airfield to begin a third solo circuit of the airfield when the aircraft climbed away to around 400 feet off the ground but then dived into the ground around two miles north of the airfield. Sadly all on board were killed. The cause for the aircraft crashing was never understood because of a fire that destroyed much of the wreckage. The location for this accident is given in contempory documents as being in an ajoining field to the main A1 road and around a mile west of the village of Rainton, within twenty five yards of the road. The crash site may now be underneath the A1 which has been expanded since 1944.
Pilot - F/Lt John Gordon Broder RCAF (J/5048), aged 28, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/4).
Bomb Aimer - P/O James Gordon Stewart RCAF (J/87408), aged 20, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/2).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Alexander Pettigrew Reid RAFVR (1560936), aged 21, of Edinburgh. Buried Edinburgh Echo Bank Cemetery.
Air Gunner - Sgt Clarence Walter Gugins RCAF (R/191070), aged 23, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/1).
Air Gunner - Sgt Royston William Cottrell RAFVR (1850861), aged 19, of Bristol. Buried Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol, Gloucestershire.
Air Gunner - P/O Andrew Ian Sinclair RCAF (J/38263), aged 20, of Goshen, Nova Scotia, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/3).
Stewart, Gugins, Cotterill and Reid had all flown operationally together as a part of a crew at 428 Squadron prior to posting to 1664 HCU in February 1944. Their pilot F/Sgt L A Taylor RCAF (R/141568), Navigator - P/O William Benjamin Newman RCAF (J/21644) (later DFC with 138 Squadron) and (Flight Engineer?) F/Sgt D P Morin RCAF (R/169487) only appear to have flown operationally three times at 428 Squadron before being taken off operational flying. In theory the four killed in Halifax DK146 at 1664 HCU may have also gone with Newman and Morin who appears to have been a navigator and flight engineer but what happened to their old pilot Taylor has yet to be learned. Being a pilot-less crew at 1664 HCU they appear to have joined up with the experienced pilot John Broder who had not flown operationally in the UK but had done so in Canada with over a thousand hours flying to his name.
John Broder was born on 13th February 1916 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of Merritt Gordon and Effie Florence (nee Rowat) Broder. As a young man he left school in 1933 and worked as a warehouse clerk and salesman for his father's company and later a sales manager for another company in Winnipeg. He enlisted for RCAF service on 11th September 1940 in Winnipeg and after training in Canada he was awarded his pilot's flying badge and also a commission on 28th April 1941. He married Lorna Louise Johnston in Winnipeg in May 1941. His service then appears to have been in Canada, he briefly served with 14 Squadron RCAF in January 1942 and then appears to have served as an instructor and later a test pilot with No.1 C.N.S. from May 1942 until July 1943. Having had a reasonably safe war to date he was posted overseas soon after. Arriving in the UK in October 1943 and after training at 24 OTU he was posted to 1664 HCU on 2nd February 1944.
James Stewart was born on 20th February 1924 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of James and Agnus (nee Watson) Stewart. As a young man he worked as a machinist's apprentice for the Canadian Pacific Railway company. He enlisted for RCAF service on 20th April 1942 in Winnipeg (when he was just seventeen years old). After training in Canada he was awarded his air observer's (air bomber) flying badge on 22nd January 1943. He was posted to the UK in March 1943 and trained at 9 EFTS, 3 (O)AFU, 24 OTU and 1659 HCU before posting to 428 Squadron on 15th October 1943. This posting at 428 Squadron lasted until 2nd February 1944 when he was posted to 1664 HCU. He appears to have received a backdated commission after his death, dated to 23rd February 1944.
Clarence Gugins was born on 23rd November 1921 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of Herbert and Ruth (nee Preston) Gugins. His brother James Gugins also served in the RCAF overseas. As a young man Clarence left school in 1937 and worked for the Picardy Candy Company in Winnipeg as a stockkeeper from then until enlisting for RCAF service. He enlisted on 9th September 1942 at Winnipeg and after training in Canada he was awarded his air gunner's flying badge on 11th June 1943. He was posted to the UK soon after and trained at 24 OTU and 1659 HCU before posting to 428 Squadron on 15th October 1943. This posting at 428 Squadron lasted until 2nd February 1944 when he too was posted to 1664 HCU.
Andrew Sinclair was born on 22nd February 1924 at Goshen, Nova Scotia and was the son of John Alfred and Nellie Jane Sinclair. As a young man he worked as a bank clerk for the Royal Bank of Canada from leaving school in 1940 until enlisting for RCAF service. He enlisted on 27th February 1943 at Halifax, Nova Scotia and after training in Canada he was awarded his air gunner's flying badge and also a commission on 12th November 1943. He left for service in the UK shortly afterwards and his first flying posting here was to 1664 HCU on 4th February 1944.