Stirling LJ628 in the Upper Commons area, Peak District.
This incident has been documented years before I created this webpage. I have had to include the basics of the incident purely to complete my record but I would direct anyone with an interest in this incident to Alan Clark's webpage at www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk. Alan created the first webpage on the incident many years ago. Alan was part of the team of people who helped the Stirling Project group recover the bulk of the remaining wreckage from the site in 2005. The incident is also covered in detail in Ron Collier's "Dark Peaks Aircraft Wrecks" book in which he interviewed some of the survivors.
During the morning of 21st July 1944 the crew of this 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft were undertaking a training flight. The aircraft took off at 10.05hrs from Wigsley airfield, close to the Nottinghamshire / Lincolnshire border and the flight was to give the trainee crew experience in flying with just two engines working. Soon after the exercise had begun it was found that this Stirling would not maintain height on just two engines so the third engine was restarted and the excerise on flying with one engine shut down continued. By 10.45hrs the aircraft had flown into cloud and the crew appear to have become lost. At 10.45hrs the aircraft descended and then flew into rising moorland on the eastern side of the Peak District, in the region of Upper Commons, roughly between Stocksbridge and Howden Reservoir. Where the aircraft struck the moorland it was reasonably gently sloping ground, the aircraft appears to have crashed fairly flat and only two of the crew sustained minor injuries.
The crew list I give below is one that I have tried to work out based on where they all had either previously served or would later serve and by using their squadron records to gain names, initials and service numbers and by then cross-referencing them in the AIR78 files in the National Archives. As the full names of the crew does not ever appear to have been fully researched in the modern era I would welcome any corrections. I would also speculate that the higher ranking passenger was flying in the aircraft to gain experience in being in the Stirling type having just been posted to 1654 H.C.U. and having just flown a Tour on Lancasters.
Pilot (Pupil) - F/O Leonard Thomas Gardiner RAFVR (160769).
Pilot (Instructor) - F/O John O'Leary DFC RAFVR (158033).
Flight Engineer (Instructor) - Sgt John David Gittings RAFVR (1325329).
Flight Engineer (Pupil) - Sgt James Arthur Charles Ludlow RAFVR (1585308).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt James William Coulson RAFVR (1322091). Injured.
Navigator - Sgt E J MacDonald (probably Sgt Edward John MacDonald RAFVR (1634537)).
Wireless Operator - Sgt Thomas Edward Burroughs RAFVR (1602282). Injured.
Air Gunner - Sgt Herman Arthur Walsh RAF (SR.710319).
Rear Gunner - Sgt Lennox Schultz van Niekerk RAF (SR.710354). Injured.
Passenger (/Pilot) - S/Ldr Hadland. (Probably Acting S/Ldr Leonard George Alfred Hadland DFC RAFVR (115932)).
Leonard Hadland was granted a commission in September 1941. He appears to have flown most of a Tour with 9 Squadron and was awarded the DFC for service with them (Gazetted in May 1944). On 29th September 1943 he was forced to ditch Lancaster ED648 off Mablethorpe on return from an operational flight to Bochum. Two members of his crew were killed. On 15th February 1944 he and most of his then 9 Squadron crew were posted to 617 Squadron. They flew operational flights with 617 Squadron on 4th March 1944, 10th March 1944, 15th March 1944, 16th March 1944, 20th March 1944 and 25th March 1944. He and most of his crew appear to then have flown the required number of operational flights to qualify for them to have completed a Tour and the crew was then split up. The 617 Squadron record book states that F/Lt Hadland was posted to No.5 Lancaster Finishing School on 30th April 1944. His navigator was posted to 1654 HCU on the same date. I find it highly likely that it was Leonard Hadland flying in Stirling LJ628 when it crashed with 1654 HCU in July 1944 but have not located definite proof as yet, while in the rank of Acting S/Ldr.
John Gittings had already flown a Tour with 467 Squadron and was serving as an instructor at 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit at the time of this incident in July 1944.
Gardiner, Ludlow, MacDonald, Walsh, Burroughs and Van Niekerk were later posted to 44 Squadron together and flew in the same crew. Leonard Gardiner was awarded the DFC for service with 44 Squadron, Gazetted on 4th December 1945.
James Coulson sustained injuries that required slightly longer hospital treatment so that once fit again the other members of his former crew had already formed a new crew with a different bomb aimer. Coulson joined the crew of Arthur Jung RCAF and was posted to 50 Squadron.
John O'Leary had earlier served with 106 Squadron and was awarded the DFC for service with them, Gazetted on 3rd June 1944.