Photo: Brian Chandler

Sgt. Gibson was serving with 640 Sqdn. He was a crew member of Halifax III MZ492 C8-X which took off from Leconfield on a mission to attack an oil refining plant at Wanne-Eickel. Just after take-off the pilot reduced power and banked sharply. The aircraft crashed into Lakes Wood north of Beverley in Yorkshire. 6 of the 7 crew were killed.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War: 1945; W.R. Chorley; 1998; Midland Counties Publications; ISBN 0 904597 92 X.

Simon Glancey has provided the following:

The Court of Inquiry into the crash stated:
"The aircraft Halifax MZ492 took off from RAF Leconfield at 2036 hours. The aircraft climbed normally to about 500 feet, and the Pilot reduced the engine settings and gave the Navigator permission to come forward from the rest position. The aircraft then lost height while it banked fairly steeply to port and finally struck a tree with the port wing and port outer engine. The port outer wing then became detached and the aircraft crashed over an area some 300/400 yards and some 2 minutes after take off.

The Primary cause of the accident was engine failure and bad instrument flying was considered the next most likely cause of the accident. The Pilot was inexperienced making only his 2nd operational flight by night with a full bomb load. He did not appear to realize that anything was amiss otherwise he would not have ordered lower engine settings and allowing the Navigator to come forward. Sgt Whitman [sic] the Rear Gunner who escaped with minor injuries, appeared to realize that the aircraft was in a steep bank to port and was losing height before the crash occurred."

Thomas Aidan Gibson is remembered in Bamburgh on B3.01 and B3.05

The CWGC entry for Sergeant Gibson