Wickenby AFB

The aircraft left RAF Wickenby in the evening of July 13 on a night training exercise with 11 other similar aircraft. While cruising at an assigned altitude of 2,000 feet, the aircraft flew into a thunderstorm when it went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in an open field located near the village of Burdale, some 10 miles northwest of RAF Driffield. The rear gunner Sgt J. Critchley survived while six other occupants were killed.
Crew (626th Squadron):
F/Sgt S. P. Bell, pilot,
F/Sgt L. W. Garfield, navigator,
F/Sgt H. J. Plastow, wireless operator,
Sgt P. J. Allsebrook, air bomber,
Sgt S. Welsh, flight engineer,
Sgt R. C. T. Goldthorpe, air gunner,
Sgt J. Critchley, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2235LT on July 12 on an operation to Torino. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the Bay of Biscay off the French coast. Four crew members were killed and three others were rescued and became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Thomas Benzie Forbes, pilot, †
Sgt Alfred Hales, flight engineer, †
Sgt L. R. Matthews, navigator,
Sgt William Frank Thomas, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Lawrence Douglas Mitchell, wireless operator,
Sgt Ernest Southon, air gunner,
Sgt George Leonard Albert Deasley, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2316LT on July 9 on an operation to Gelsenkirchen. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt Leonard Frank Jeffries, pilot,
Sgt John Irwin, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Charles Napoleon Roy, navigator,
F/O Eric Bertram Oldham, bomb aimer,
Sgt Leslie Reginald Vincent, wireless operator,
Sgt Claude Jean Philippe Meyer, air gunner,
F/Sgt Geoffrey William Addinsall, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2324LT on July 6 on a cross-country flight, the route being Base - Oxford - Lands End - Mull of Galloway - Fort William - St Abbs Head - Base. The following night, while approaching Kincardine at an altitude of 7,000 - 8,000 feet, the airplane exploded in midair and crashed into the Firth of Forth west of the Kincardine Bridge. The airplane was destroyed and all seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
S/L Robert George Leslie Baxter, pilot,
Sgt John Desmond Butterly, flight engineer,
Sgt Leslie Hopkinson, navigator,
F/O Francis Melville Smith, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Ernest Hindmarch, wireless operator,
Sgt William Henry Bartlett, air gunner,
Sgt Sydney James Betts, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2337LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Walhain. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
F/O Arnold Raymond Herron, pilot, †
Sgt Malcolm Lionel Green, flight engineer, †
Sgt Donald Robert Baird, navigator, †
Sgt H. Williams, bomb aimer,
Sgt Thomas Eric Edmondson, wireless operator, †
Sgt Arthur Leonard Baseley, air gunner, †
F/Sgt Maurice Emile Combres, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2254LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed 7 km southwest of Cologne Airport. Seven crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Norman Ernest Hill, pilot, †
Sgt Colin William Young, pilot,
Sgt John Edwin Foy, flight engineer, †
Sgt Leslie Stanley Capp, navigator, †
Sgt Stewart Whitelock, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Sam Barham, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Sydney Eric Eversfield, air gunner, †
Sgt Leslie Harold Everton, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2309LT on June 28 on an operation to Cologne. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea some 40 km west of Haarlem. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
S/L Frederick John Knight, pilot,
Sgt Ernest Frederick Lawrence, flight engineer,
F/O Howard Cedric Treherne, navigator,
F/Sgt Mervyn Barnaby Noble, bomb aimer,
Sgt Francis Donovan Ayerst, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Frank Birkin, air gunner,
Sgt James Roy Boxall, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 0016LT on an operation to Cologne. Four minutes later, it suffered an engine failure and crash landed 6 km east of the airbase. All seven crew members escaped among them two were injured.
Crew:
Sgt L. F. Jefferies, pilot,
Sgt J. Irwin, flight engineer,
Sgt C. N. Roy, navigator,
P/O E. B. Oldham, bomb aimer,
Sgt W. T. Seward, wireless operator,
Sgt G. W. Addinsall, air gunner,
Sgt J. A. M. Seaton, air gunner.

The airplane was returning to base following a night Bullseye exercise. On approach, it suffered an engine failure and crashed. Four crew members were killed and three others were injured.
Crew:
F/Sgt John Broomfield Lindup, pilot, †
Sgt Jenkin Gildas Lewis, flight engineer, †
F/Sgt Eugene Salmers, navigator, †
Sgt R. A. Collins, bomb aimer,
Sgt Eric Lax, wireless operator, †
Sgt C. B. Anderson, air gunner,
Sgt F Mills, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Wickenby at 2257LT on June 16 on an operation to Cologne. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Grote-Heide. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Arthur C. Aylard, pilot,
Sgt Joseph Scott, flight engineer,
Sgt Thomas Alexander, navigator,
Sgt Maurice Roy Williams, bomb aimer,
Sgt Henry Joseph Patrick Lackey, wireless operator,
Sgt John Wilfred Noel Westlake, air gunner,
Sgt Rex Swain, air gunner.