Memorial Details
Memorial
Plaque R.A.F. Bomber crew 1940 St. Mary's Lighthouse
Reference
W84.06
Place
WHITLEY BAY
Map ref
NZ 352753
Original Location
St. Mary’s Lighthouse, St. Mary’s Island.
Which war
1939-45
Dedication, Creation or Publication date
Unveiled 12th April 2008 by Group Captain W.J. Millington, Commanding Officer, R.A.F. Boulmer. Dedicated by Canon Robin Greenwood, St. Mary's Parish Church, Monkseaton.
Memorial Description
Plaque, A4 size, set in a wood frame. At centre top is the badge of R.A.F. Bomber Command 83 Squadron. Lettering is in lower case sans serif lettering with the quotation in italics.
Materials used
Brass
Inscription
In memory of / (Names) / of Bomber Command / 83 Squadron, R.A.F. Scampton, Lincolnshire / who gave their lives at Old Hartley, St. Mary’s Island / Northumberland / on the morning of 7 April 1940 / whilst flying Handley Page Hampden Mk 1 L4054 .
“…wherever and for as long as freedom / flourishes on the earth, the men and women / who possess it will thank them and will say they / did not die in vain.”
For your tomorrow
Presented by / Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group / The Friends of St. Mary's Island / The Family of Denis William Sharpe
“…wherever and for as long as freedom / flourishes on the earth, the men and women / who possess it will thank them and will say they / did not die in vain.”
For your tomorrow
Presented by / Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group / The Friends of St. Mary's Island / The Family of Denis William Sharpe
Names
Who commissioned
ACIA; Sharpe Family; Friends of St. Mary's Lighthouse.
How money was raised
Public subscription.
Notes
1. In attendance at the service were family members of Denis William Sharpe, whose body was never recovered. He was the wireless operator, and had stayed in the plane after the other baled out. It is unknown whether he was dead or injured, but he was lost in the explosion.
2. The Handley Page Bomber, believed to be still carrying her bomb-load, was returning after a raid in Germany in 1940. She circled St. Mary’s Lighthouse for 90 minutes signaling SOS before crashing and exploding.
3. The story was followed up by Russ Gray, a member of the Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group. Very careful studies of RAF records and witnesses led him to a field where the remains of the aircraft were located.
4. Other crew members were Australian pilot Wilfred Roberts; navigator Keith Brooke-Taylor from New Zealand, Observer Andrew McNicol from Barrow.
5. Bomber Command Losses states that the aircraft, a Hampden I L4054 Ol- was on patrol, having taken off from Scampton at 1915, ran out of fuel and abandoned the flight at 04.15 over Whitley Bay and crashed into the sea in the vicinity of St. Mary’s Lighthouse, and that none survived.
2. The Handley Page Bomber, believed to be still carrying her bomb-load, was returning after a raid in Germany in 1940. She circled St. Mary’s Lighthouse for 90 minutes signaling SOS before crashing and exploding.
3. The story was followed up by Russ Gray, a member of the Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group. Very careful studies of RAF records and witnesses led him to a field where the remains of the aircraft were located.
4. Other crew members were Australian pilot Wilfred Roberts; navigator Keith Brooke-Taylor from New Zealand, Observer Andrew McNicol from Barrow.
5. Bomber Command Losses states that the aircraft, a Hampden I L4054 Ol- was on patrol, having taken off from Scampton at 1915, ran out of fuel and abandoned the flight at 04.15 over Whitley Bay and crashed into the sea in the vicinity of St. Mary’s Lighthouse, and that none survived.
Newspaper cuttings, photos or archival material
Photos: Russell Gray
Evening Chronicle 26/03/2008 reports story of plane crash and proposed memorial.
Air Crash Northumberland Gray, Corbett, Shipley & Anderson, 2008, Countryside Books, ISBN 978 1 84674 112 8
Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War 1939-1940; W.R. Chorley; 1992; Midland Counties Publication; ISBN 0 904597 85 7
Source of quotation:
“Wherever and as long as freedom flourishes . . .” From a speech by Queen Elizabeth II when unveiling the memorial to the RAF at Runnymede on 17th October 1953.
“For your tomorrow” Quoted from the inscription on the memorial at Kohima.
Evening Chronicle 26/03/2008 reports story of plane crash and proposed memorial.
Air Crash Northumberland Gray, Corbett, Shipley & Anderson, 2008, Countryside Books, ISBN 978 1 84674 112 8
Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War 1939-1940; W.R. Chorley; 1992; Midland Counties Publication; ISBN 0 904597 85 7
Source of quotation:
“Wherever and as long as freedom flourishes . . .” From a speech by Queen Elizabeth II when unveiling the memorial to the RAF at Runnymede on 17th October 1953.
“For your tomorrow” Quoted from the inscription on the memorial at Kohima.
External web link
Additional Research documents (click to download)
Research acknowledgements
Russell Gray
Research In Progress
If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk
Plaque R.A.F. Bomber crew 1940 St. Mary's Lighthouse (W84.06)
WHITLEY BAY St. Mary’s Lighthouse
In memory of
Pilot Officer Wilfred Roberts, Pilot (aged 25)
Pilot Officer Keith Brooke-Taylor, Navigator (aged 21)
Sergeant Andrew McNicol, Observer (aged 26)
Aircraftman 1st Class Denis William Sharpe,
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner (aged 21)
Of Bomber Command
83 Squadron, R.A.F. Scampton, Lincolnshire
who gave their lives at Old Hartley, St. Mary’s Island
Northumberland, on the morning of 7 April 1940
whilst flying Handley Page Hampden Mk 1 L4054
“wherever and for as long as freedom
flourishes on the earth, the men and women
who possess it will thank them and will say they
did not die in vain.”
For your tomorrow
Presented by
Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group
The Friends of St. Mary's Island
The Family of Denis William Sharpe
NamesW84.06
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Parish Notes
Every Name A Story
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