Photo: B. Chandler

Acknowledgments: S.C. Knox.

Simon Glancey has provided the following:

Keith Brooke-Taylor was a crew member of Hampden L4054 of 83 squadron which crashed at Old Hartley near Whitley Bay on July 4th 1940.

Hampden I L4054 - took off at 1915 and ran out of fuel returning after nine hours in the air. Abandoned at 0415 over Whitley Bay, Northumberland, L4054 crashed into the sea near St Mary's Lighthouse. The bodies of three crew members were later recovered from the sea, while the wireless operator is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. Both pilots are buried at East Chevington, Northumberland.

Pilot 40319 Plt Off Wilfred ROBERTS, RAF - Age 25.
Pilot 41251 Plt Off Keith BROOKE-TAYLOR, RAF - Age 21.

Roberts was born at Brisbane, Australia, but educated in New Zealand. Selected for a short service commission in the RAF, he embarked for England in 1937. His number of operational flights is unknown but the first was undertaken on the first day of the war.

Brooke-Taylor was probably acting as observer on this flight. His brother, Rex Brooke-Taylor, died on 30 December 1940 while flying with 3 Service Flying Training School, RNZAF.

The aircraft crashed a quarter of a mile West of St Mary’s Lighthouse and was carrying bombs when it crashed and these appear to have exploded scattering the wreckage over a wide area.

(Source: http://www.rafcommands.com/dcforum/DCForumID6/Data/8034.txt)

Northumberland Aviation Diary: Aviation Incidents from 1790-1999; Derek Walton; Norav Publications, 1999.

"In This Quiet Lane" Chevington and Broomhill in World War Two ; J.H. Hardy; 200; Glen Graphics; ISBN 1 900038 75 7

Their Corner Of A Foreign Field: a guide and tribute to the Commonwealth and exiled airmen who are buried in the Scottish border; Clark, Peter, Glen Graphics, 2002. ISBN 1 900038 50 1.

Keith Brooke-Taylor is remembered in Chevington on C27.03 which does not bear names, but the list was in the Unveiling Programme.

The CWGC entry for Pilot Officer Brooke-Taylor