This week, we are reflecting on the 80-year anniversary of the Lancaster III bomber crash that happened 21 April 1944 in Lavender Vale, Wallington. After much deliberation, it has been decided that it was Numbers 51 and 53 that had to be rebuilt… With thanks to Chris Anderson and Andrew Skelton for bringing this event to our attention so that we could share more nuggets of local history.
Take a walk down Lavender Vale in Wallington; a friendly but otherwise unremarkable residential road in Wallington, and most would not notice that there is something slightly amiss; that there are two houses that do not exactly stand out, but are a little different from all the others in the road… They are the only remaining clue to a very sad series of events that happened eighty years ago – just a few weeks before the D-Day Landings on 6th June, 1944.
On the morning of 21st April 1944, Lancaster III bomber crew ND582 DX-S (S for Sugar) from 57 Squadron, piloted by Canadian Flying Officer Captain Harold J Young, were returning from a raid on the marshalling yards at La Chapelle near Paris, on just two of their four engines. It is unclear whether they had sustained damage from flak or enemy night fighters, but they were not going to make it back to their home base in the North of England.[*see adjunct] With their two remaining engines severely overheating, they chanced on Croydon Aerodrome whose short runway was definitely not designed for bombers! With their communications now inoperable, they received permission to land via Aldis Light.
With hydraulics rendered ineffective as a result of the damage sustained, their first approach had to be aborted due to difficulty in lowering undercarriage and flaps.
Unfortunately, the plane overshot the flare path on its second attempt and this would be their last. The pilot tried to gain height and go around again but, struggling with their severely wounded aircraft and in the dark, they clipped the chimneys of houses in Foresters Drive (presumably just missing the houses in Sandy Lane South) and crashed into the read of two houses in Lavender Vale.
Tragically, the pilot, together with Flight Engineer Sergeant William Clarke RAFVR (age 23) and Navigator Flight Sergeant Reginald C. McIntyre RAFVR were killed in the crash with Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Sergeant William Fyfe RAF succumbing to his wounds later in hospital. Also lost were three residents, two of whom would likely have been asleep at the rear of their houses at the time of the crash.
Amazingly, however, Air Bombardier Sergeant Dennis Barber RAFVR and Mid-Upper Gunner Sergeant Arthur Lester RAFVR survived, as did Rear Gunner Sergeant Patrick FA Hayes RAFVR after the rear section of the fuselage broke away and came to rest – on the other side of Lavender Vale – supported by the front one of the houses and, reportedly, a small monkey puzzle tree!
There is little doubt the pilot and crew would not have attempted the landing had they known the outcome, particularly in view of the civilian casualties. The pilot did everything he could to save his aircraft and, more importantly, his crew. My hope is, on this 80th anniversary, that just a few more of us will be aware of the heroism of this Lancaster crew and the tragic events that unfolded eighty years ago. We owe them and their fellow service men and women our freedom today.
Crew – Lost
- Flying Officer Capt. Harold J Young RCAF (Age 26)
- Flight Engineer Sgt. William Clarke RAFVR (Known as Nobby, age 23)
- Navigator Flight Sgt. Reginald C McIntyre RAFVR (Known as Mac)
- Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Sgt. William Fyfe RAF (Age 25) – survived crash but succumbed to his wounds at Croydon General Hospital
Crew – Survivors
- Air Bombardier Sgt. Dennis Barber RAFVR
- Mid-Upper Gunner Sgt. Arthur Lester RAFVR
- Rear Gunner Sgt. Patrick FA Hayes RAFVR (Age 23)
Lavender Vale Residents / Civilians Lost:
- Mrs Haidee MI Marsden-Smith
- Mrs Eva West
- Mr Henry A Hayes
Barbara McMaster, one of the medical team tending the wounded, reported in her diary (quote taken from Joanna Bogle, Douglas Cluett and Bob Learmouth, Croydon Airport: From War to Peace):
“Rossy and I retire to bed early, Rossy being duty W.A.A.F. ambulance drive – and I am just dropping off to sleep when Gerry comes rushing up: ‘Crash on the ‘Drome!’ The next few hours I seem to exist, not to live. Monty and I prepare the Crash Room, Blood transfusions, saline infusions, Oxygen apparatus, Radiant Heat etc., whilst Bob and Gerry proceed to the scene of the crash. We learn it is a heavy Lancaster bomber, and it has crashed not on the ‘Drome, but on to some houses bordering the airfield. Rossy drives the M.O. to the scene of the crash, and we are just left to wait and wait. At last two of them arrive, Sergt. air gunners, both suffering from severe shock and abrasions. We manage to get them into bed after a lengthy struggle with their flying kit, and await the arrival of the M.O. Two more injured members of the Crew arrive on stretchers, but are too bad for us to be able to do anything, they are rushed straight to Hospital…”
The headlines from the local press (quotes taken from Joanna Bogle, Douglas Cluett and Bob Learmouth, Croydon Airport: From War to Peace):
“Plane Crash Drama
“Death roll of Seven. Fires Lit Early Morning Scene. Seven lives were lost and six people were injured when, early on Friday morning, a Lancaster bomber, trying to make an emergency landing, over shot its intended landing-ground. Its undercarriage caught the tops of two houses in Foresters-drive, Wallington, and the plan crashed into the backs of six houses in Lavender-vale. Four [this was the wrong figure] of the crew were among the killed and four more were taken to hospital. Mr Henry Hayes, leaving his house at 41 Lavender-vale, immediately after the crash to see what had happened, collapsed and died. Civilians killed were Mrs Marsden Smith, of 57, Lavender-vale, whose husband is in the Army abroad, and Mrs West, of 55, Lavender-vale, whose body was found, still in bed, between two houses with one of the ‘plane’s engines resting on it. Mrs Marsden Smith’s three-year-old son, Peter, was rescued, slightly injured, as was Mrs Eva Ely, daughter of Mrs West. On striking the buildings, the ‘plane disintegrated and parts buried themselves into the backs of the houses, where they caught fire. The area soon became an inferno, rescue squads and firemen working hard despite the danger from exploding ammunition. Adding to the eeriness of the scene were brilliant flashes from the ‘plane’s flares as, at intervals, they caught alight. A fireman, Mr Basil Kerr, fractured his leg. The crash occurred shortly before 3 a.m., and had not most of the residents been asleep in the front bedrooms at the time the casualties would probably have [been] heavier.”
*Adjunct: On visiting Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby (East Kirkby aerodrome as it was then) you may come across just a few photographs, one of which shows operations on the very night of 20/ 21 April, 1944 on which the raid on the marshalling yards at La Chapelle took place and when ND585 was lost – taking off from this very airfield! Sadly, I believe two aircraft from the squadron did not return that night. We know the story of ND582 quite well.
This incident was well documented at the time and the records are available on-line. Important and interesting website Aircrew Remembered – just look up ‘Lavender Vale Lancaster’.
Please note that a lot of this text came from:
https://aircrewremembered.com/young-harold.html
With reference also to:
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby
https://www.lincsaviation.co.uk/plan-your-visit/opening-times-and-prices
If you would like to find out more about Croydon Airport, see Clive’s Blog Post: https://pastonglass.wordpress.com/2024/02/15/routes-through-suttons-past-7/
The Past on Glass & Other Stories... 