In 1942, the man in charge of Bomber Command was Arthur Harris. He was nicknamed “Bomber Harris” by the newspapers of the day, because he decided to attack ordinary German people living in the larger German cities. Deaths would be very high and it was hoped that the German people would surrender. He wanted a force of 1, 000 Bombers and these were called the “Thousand Bomber Raids.”.

However, there were not enough aircraft, unless those from the training units like the one at R.A.F. Lichfield were used. These would be crews who had not finished their training and had only had a little time learning how to fly. It was very dangerous and many lost their lives, including those from R.A.F. Lichfield.

On the night of the 13^th– 14^th of September 1942, the crew were all killed shortly after take-off.

SGT. W. J. P. FLETCHER (R.A.A.F.)                   SGT. J. A. TURNBULL (R.A.A.F.)

SGT. F. W. LEWIS (R.A.F.)                                 SGT. J. G. MILNE (R.A.A.F.)

SGT. F. THOMPSON (R.A.F.)

 

DETAILS OF ACCIDENT.

They took off from Lichfield at 23.53, carrying 4 x 500lb general purpose bombs. Within minutes of lifting off, the port engine didn’t seem to be working properly, so the crew decided to turn back to base immediately. Tragically, the Wellington spun out of control and when it crashed into the ground, it burst into flames. All of the crew were killed, they had only been in the air for about 9 minutes.

However, the story doesn’t end there. A guard of four ground crew, were told to guard the wreckage of the plane. At 3.20, there was another large explosion and the men guarding the aircraft were killed as well.

The R.A.A.F. men were buried in St. Stephens Churchyard together with one of the ground crew, K. Ward. At just 17 years old, he is the youngest one in the war graves. The R.A.F. men were sent home for burial.