On the night of 16th / 17th August 1944 the crew of this 158 Squadron aircraft were tasked with flying an operational flight to bomb Kiel, they took off from Lissett airfield at 21.59hrs. The crew are believed to have released their bombload as instructed over the target area and made for home. They were able to fly back to the general area of their base without incident and joined the landing circuit of Lissett airfield with no indication of there being any trouble with the aircraft as the crew had been in radio contact with the ground controllers. At 02.14hrs the crew were given the instruction to prepare to land by ground controllers at Lissett but a minute while making a left hand circuit of the airfield the aircraft crashed at Foston on the Wolds a few miles from their base. No proper explantion for the loss of control could be made which resulted in the aircraft diving towards the ground. By the time it crashed the pilot had nearly managed to pull the aircraft reasonably level but there was not enough height left and it crashed. The pilot received praise for his general conscientiousness and it was deemed highly unlikely the crash resulted from his mismanagement of the controls, stating that his ability was regarded as being "well above the average". Human error was ruled out. It was suggested that the aircraft may have received flak damage to the hydraulic system but that this had gone un-noticed, so when the undercarriage was lowered some other problem with the hydraulics then became apparent. A possible problem with the flap hydraulics might have caused the pilot to loose control though no proper evidence for this was found. On crashing it broke up and damaged cottages and other property at Foston on the Wolds. Four of the crew died instantly. Both air gunners and the pilot were taken to Driffield E.M.S.Hospital where both air gunners died of their injuries within hours of the crash. The pilot died two days later. A memorial plaque attached to the wall of the village hall remembers the crew killed in this incident.
Pilot - F/O Walter Bigelow Tower Rosen RCAF (J/28758), aged 29, of Katonah, New York, USA. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (E/B/8). Died 18th August 1944.
Flight Engineer - Sgt George William Blanckley RAFVR (1865666), aged 22, of Slough. Buried Farnham Royal Churchyard, Buckinghamshire.
Navigator - P/O Frederick William Crawley RCAF (J/89905), aged 21, of London, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (E/B/7).
Air Bomber - P/O John Joseph Grant RCAF (J/89906), aged 22, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (E/B/4).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Allen Henry Woolfrey RAFVR (1678701), aged 21, of Chaddesden, Derbyshire. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (E/B/9).
Air Gunner - P/O Keith Thomas Bielby RCAF (J/89968), aged 19, of Kelfield, Saskatchewan, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (E/B/6).
Air Gunner - P/O Edwin George Beard RCAF (J/89967), aged 21, of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (E/B/5).
The joint funeral service for all those who would be buried at Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery following the crash of Halifax LK839 at Foston on the Wolds.
Frederick Crawley was born on 7th July 1923 at London, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Bertie Fredrick and Daisy (nee Gammon) Crawley. Both his parents were born in England but had emigrated to Canada. As a young man he worked as a clerk for a wholesale grocer. He enlisted for RCAF service on 21st October 1942 in London, Ontario and after training in Canada he was awarded his navigator's flying badge on 17th September 1943. He was posted to the UK the following month where he trained at 6 (O)AFU, 19 OTU and 1658 HCU before posting to 158 Squadron on 29th July 1944. He appears to have received a back dated commission after his death, dated to 16th August 1944.
John Grant was born on 6th August 1922 at North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and was the son of Alexander and Mary (nee Finnigan) Grant. As a young man he worked for his father who was a building contractor driving trucks and undertaking carpentry work. He enlisted for RCAF service on 20th August 1942 in Vancouver and after training was awarded his air bomber's flying badge on 6th August 1943. On arrival in the UK before the end of 1943 he trained at 5 AOS before posting to No.1476 A.S.R.Flight in December 1943. This posting only lasted a matter of weeks and he was then posted to 2 (O)AFU, 19 OTU and 1658 HCU before arriving at 158 Squadron on 29th July 1944 with other members of this crew. He also appears to have received a back dated commission after his death, dated to 16th August 1944.
Walter Rosen was born on 3rd July 1915 at New York City, USA and was the son of Walter Tower and Lucie Bigelow (nee Dodge) Rosen. As a young man Walter Jnr studied a Bachelor of arts degree at Harvard University between 1933 and 1937 followed by one year of a Doctor Arts degree at Harvard but in 1938 studied Law at Yale University. When he enlisted for RCAF service he stated that he was an aviation student but with respect, he was a little more than a student. I would also suggest he downplayed his knowledge of flying as he had already clocked up nearly 200 hours flying. He enlisted for RCAF service in Ottawa on 24th October 1941 for aircrew duties and trained as a pilot, being awarded his wings on 25th September 1942. His service then appears to have been in Canada being graded as "pilot special group" and possibly being a staff pilot until Summer 1943 when he was posted to the UK. He received a commission on 23rd July 1943 and appears to have served as a staff pilot with 15 (P)AFU from September 1943 until February 1944 because this seems too long to complete their training course alone. He was briefly posted to 407 Squadron in February 1943 but was then posted to 19 OTU until being posted to 1658 HCU. He was finally posted to 158 Squadron on 29th July 1944.
His parents were reasonably famous. His father was German by birth but had emigrated to the USA where he worked as a banker. His father and mother Lucie Bigelow Rosen created the Caramoor mansion where they lived. Lucie Bigelow Rosen became an expert player and famous for her popularization of the Theremin instrument, playing with the inventor Leon Theremin. Theremin made one of the instruments especially for her. She later created the Caramoor music festival in memory of their son Walter Jnr. The Caramoor centre is still run today.
Keith Bielby was born on 4th July 1925 at Kelfield, Saskatchewan, Canada and was the son of Thomas Tyler and Verley Kathleen (nee Boyle) Bielby. As a young man he left school in 1943 and worked in farming until enlisting for RCAF service. He enlisted on 25th May 1943 at Saskatoon and trained as an air gunner, receiving his flying badge on 26th November 1943. He arrived in the UK in early 1944 where he trained at 19 OTU and 1658 HCU before posting to 158 Squadron on 29th July 1944. He also appears to have received a back dated commission after his death, dated to 16th August 1944.
Edwin Beard was born on 16th March 1923 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Frederick Charles and Daisy Louisa (nee Russell) Beard. As a young man he worked as a payroll clerk for the Department of Transport. He enlisted for RCAF service on 10th November 1942 at Calgary and after training he was awarded his air gunner's flying badge and also a commission on 26th November 1943. He arrived in the UK in early 1944 where he trained at 19 OTU and 1658 HCU before posting to 158 Squadron on 29th July 1944.
Allen Woolfrey's grave at Harrogate.
Having obtained permission from the landowner, historians Albert Pritchard, Ken Reast, Eric Barton and Rodney Robinson located surface remains at the crash site in December 1997 to confirm the location. The photograph above shows a small item located and retained by Eric Barton following his visit in 1997 and given to me to find a new home in 2022. The "57.." number prefix indicates it was from the Halifax type.