On 1st March 1944 this 76 Squadron crew were tasked with flying an operational flight to bomb Stuttgart. There had been snow settle on the aircraft earlier in the day but this had been cleared and dried. They took off from Holme on Spalding Moor airfield at around 23.40hrs and began to climb away normally. The aircraft reached around 600 feet off the ground when it stalled, lost height and crashed at 23.42hrs just over a mile north-west of the airfield. All on board were killed. The aircraft's bomb load was only incendiaries which appear to have ignited following the crash. The crash investigation found that the aircraft had no forward speed at all when it struck the ground, it crashed in a perfectly flat left hand spin which had developed after the stall. It was not learnt how the aircraft had stalled resulting in the flat spin developing.

Pilot - P/O James Leonard Richards RCAF (J/19978), aged 23, of St.John, New Brunswick, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/13).

Flight Engineer - Sgt Geoffrey Hamilton Hawkins RAFVR (1604329), aged 20, of Harrow. Buried Pinner Cemetery, Middlesex.

Navigator - P/O Frank Chester Flitcroft RAFVR (171865), aged 21, of Stockport. Buried Stockport Cemetery, Cheshire.

Bomb Aimer - P/O Robert Sirluck RCAF (J/86913), aged 22, of Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/16).

Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Philip Charles Bates RAFVR (1391048), aged 21, of Blackheath, London. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/14).

Air Gunner - Sgt Rudolph Tipaldi RAFVR (1822669), aged 24, of Corby. Buried Corby Cemetery, Northamptonshire.

Air Gunner - F/Sgt Clive Arthur Rye RAAF (423427), aged 20, of Milson's Point, New South Wales, Australia. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (F/B/15).

James Richards was born on 6th November 1920 at St.John, New Brunswick, Canada and was the son of Edward and and Gertrude (nee Bernard) Richards. James was one year into an electrical engineering course at the University of New Brunwick when he enlisted for RCAF service. He enlisted for flying duties on 9th December 1941 at Moncton and after training in Canada was awarded his pilot's flying badge on 18th December 1942. He arrived in the UK in January 1943 and over the next months trained at 20 (P)AFU, 19 OTU and 1663 HCU before posting to 76 Squadron on 27th October 1943 with other members of his crew. He received a commission on 14th January 1944.

Robert Sirluck was born on 15th November 1922 at Winkler, Manitoba, Canada and was the son of Isaac and Rose (nee Nitikman) Sirluck. Both his parents were born in Russia but had emigrated to Canada. Both were part of a number of Jewish settler families who made their new home in the Winkler area and set up business there. As a young man Robert worked in the offices of his father's grain elevator business as well as studying agriculture at the University of Manitoba. He enlisted for RCAF service on 26th March 1942 at Winnipeg and after training in Canada he was awarded his air bomber's flying badge on 22nd January 1943. Arriving in the UK in March 1943 he trained at 6 (O)AFU, 19 OTU and 1663 HCU before posting to 76 Squadron on 27th October 1943. He received a backdated commission after his death, dated to 29th February 1944. The Sirluck Lake in Manitoba is named in his honour.

Clive Rye was born on 13th December 1923 at Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and enlisted for RAAF service in Sydney. The photograph of him shown here was found on "www.awm.gov.au".

Graves of the RAF members of this crew buried across the UK.

Frank Flitcroft received a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 13th January 1944. His grave is in some disrepair.