Grave/Memorial for the Crew of Whitley Bomber BD230

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Reference WMO/121862

Address:

Field on Bullhurst Hill

Leasow Farm

Highfield Lane

Mugginton

Weston Underwood

England

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Status: On original site
Type: Freestanding
Location: External
Setting: Within a garden/park/churchyard/enclosure/Marketplace
Description: Other cross
Materials:
  • Stone Stone (any)
Lettering: Leaded
Conflicts:
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
About the memorial: This Grave/Memorial is on the crash site of aircraft Armstrong Whitworth Whitley MkV BD230 bomber, from 24 Operational Training Unit at Ashbourne. It had a history of problems and had required major repairs at Armstrong's works at Baggington, Coventry. The ill-fated five-man crew had taken it out on a cross-country training flight. In the early hours of July 24, 1944, having aborted a landing at Ashbourne due to an obstruction on the runway, the crew were climbing to prepare for another approach when the starboard engine caught fire and the extinguishing system failed. The young pilot fought to gain height and retain control but six miles and only a few minutes later the flight was over. Robbed of critical airspeed, BD 230 stalled, heralding a terminal dive before it crashed into the field at Leasow Farm at Mugginton. The oldest person on board was pilot Flight Sgt J W F Cooper, aged 24. The rest of the crew were wireless operator Sgt W C Norcross, 21, navigator Sgt H Cowan, 21, air gunner Sgt M M Lyons, 18, and bomb aimer Sgt W B Smith, 21. Only two bodies were recovered. Sgt Smith is buried at Ashbourne and Sgt Lyon's grave is in his native St Helen's in Lancashire. The remainder were entombed in the forward section of the fuselage, buried some 18 to 19ft in the ground. A year after the crash, the crew's bereaved families decided to erect a memorial on the site to mark the last resting place of their loved ones. The crash had left a huge crater, which had to be filled with ballast from a nearby quarry and all the surface wreckage removed. The families contracted Parsons & Sons of Derby to design and erect a five-foot-high stone cross over the crash site. A dedication service took place and was attended by farmers and people from local villages, supporting the bereaved families. Some years ago, the Allied Air Crews and Historians' Association took custody of the site, providing new guard rails for the memorial.
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