On the night of 15th / 16th March 1944 the crew of this 578 Squadron aircraft undertook an operational flight to bomb Stuttgart and took off from Burn airfield at around 21.00hrs. All appears to have gone without incident for most of the flight with the crew releasing their bombload as instructed. Just before 03.30hrs the aircraft was in the circuit to land at Burn and was initially given permission to land so started to make an approach to land. Moments later the aircraft in front of this aircraft in the landing pattern was having trouble in lowering their undercarriage so this aircraft received instruction to hold off landing and to make another circuit. The crew of LW495 applied power to the engines and did as instructed. What happened next was never understood. The aircraft lost height and simply flew into the ground on land on the south-east side of Selby, hitting a wooded area first and then cartwheeling and disintergrating. Five of the crew died as a result of the crash while two somehow survived.
The wooded area appears to have been woodland in or near to what was then called Stainer Wood and was much larger than what remained of the renamed Staynor Wood today. The location given elsewhere is that the aircraft crashed at Selby Brickworks, the brickworks was by the side of the Bawtry Road and around a mile west of the crash site. This has probably ended up being used as a reference point rather than being the actual crash location but has now crept into being linked to be the actual crash site in modern accounts (namely the "Aircrewremembered.com" account). Air historians Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton located small parts of the aircraft in a field at the crash site in September 1998 to confirm the location having first spoken to witnesses.
Pilot - P/O Frederick William Lerl RCAF (J/19296), aged 24, of Ryley, Alberta, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/C/20).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Stanley Hugh Jenkins RAFVR (1262364), aged 32, of Plumstead, London. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/C/18).
Bomb Aimer - F/Sgt Keith George Redford RAF (656698), aged 22, of Ewell. Buried Epsom Cemetery, Surrey.
Air Gunner - P/O Harold Copeland Bell RCAF (J/86232), aged 22, of Scott, Saskatchewan, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/C/19).
Air Gunner - Sgt John Harry Davis RAFVR (1606693), aged 28, of Wickham. Buried Wickham Churchyard, Hampshire. Died of injuries on 17-3-1944.
Navigator - P/O John Leslie Ross Coleman RAF (53438). Injured.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Cecil Francis White RAFVR (960455). Injured.
Frederick Lerl was born on 18th May 1919 at Ryley, Alberta, Canada and was the son of Joseph Anton and Keteurah Berta (nee Sykes) Lerl. He stated on his service papers that his father was born in Bohemia, Austria (now Czech Repulic) but had emigrated to the USA and was a US citizen. He lived in Alberta all his life working as a ledgerkeeper prior to enlisting for RCAF service. He enlisted on 28th August 1941 in Edmonton, Alberta and after training in Canada he was awarded his pilot's flying badge on 17th July 1942. He arrived in the UK in Summer 1942 and trained at 3 (P)AFU before posting to 20 OTU in October 1942. He remained at 20 OTU until June 1943 and may have been an instructor there. On 4th June 1943 he was posted to 1652 HCU and then to 51 Squadron on 9th July 1943 (with other members of this crew). He received a commission on 15th October 1943 and was posted to 578 Squadron on 14th January 1944. His brother Eldon Francis Lerl served in the RCAF overseas.
Harold Bell was born on 7th October 1922 at Islay, Alberta, Canada and was the son of Norman Frederick and May Elizabeth (nee Peacock) Bell. The family lived in Alberta until 1927 then moved to Britsh Columbia for six months before settling in Saskatchewan. He left school in 1938 and worked as a general labourer in the area around Scott where the family lived. He enlisted for RCAF service on 16th March 1942 in Regina and trained as an air gunner in Canada, being awarded his air gunner's flying badge on 18th December 1942 Prior to heading overseas he married Dorothy Rose Bauman in December 1942 in MacDonald, Manitoba (the middle picture shows both Harold and Dorothy). Once in the UK in early 1943 he trained at 20 OTU and 1652 HCU before posting to 51 Squadron on 9th July 1943. He served with 51 Squadron until posting to 578 Squadron on 14th January 1944. He received a commission after his death, backdated to 15th March 1944.
The other three graves of the RAF airmen killed in this accident.
John Davis' brother Able Seaman Robert Edgar Davis was killed on 14th October 1939 when HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a U-Boat at Scapa Flow. He was one of 834 men lost.
Harold Coleman received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 12th October 1943 and rose to F/O six months later. He was awarded the DFC for service with 578 Squadron, Gazetted on 27th March 1945. Post-Ww2 he remained in the RAF at least until 1950.
Cecil White received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 16th December 1944 and rose to F/O six months later.