Memorial Details
Memorial
Plaque Wellington Bomber X3171 crash 1943
Reference
G54.01
Place
GREENHAUGH
Map ref
NZ 795874
Original Location
Hollybush Inn
Which war
1939-45
Dedication, Creation or Publication date
Unveiled 4th November 2006 by Aidan Donnelly and Len Lambert.
Memorial Description
Plaque, 297mm x 420mm (A3 size), set on narrow wood pattress. At centre top is the R.A.F. badge. Names are listed in a single column. Lettering is in Roman lower case with the quotation in italics.
Materials used
Brass
Inscription
In memory of / (Names) / who gave their lives at / Comb Moor, Northumberland on / 1st March 1943 / whilst flying a / Vickers Armstrong Wellington 1C Serial No. X3171 / of 15 Operational Training Unit, R.A.F. Harwell, Berkshire.
“….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.”
Plaque presented by the Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group.
“….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.”
Plaque presented by the Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group.
Names
Who commissioned
Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group.
Cost
£270
How money was raised
Charitable donations from surviving family members and people visiting during the recovery of the wreck plus ACIA members.
Sculptor, Artist or Designer
Designed by Russell Gray; Made by Alan Doyle
Notes
1. Aidan Donnelly is a great nephew of Joseph Donnelly of one of the crew who was killed.
2. Len Lambert was a friend of Billy Gibson who died in the crash. Mr. Lambert survived a crash in a Lancaster bomber around a year after this crash which killed his friend. He spent the rest of the war in a German prisoner of war camp.
3. The men were serving with 15 OTU. The aircraft had taken off on a training flight from Harwell on a cross-country training flight. Control of the aircraft was lost in cloud and dived almost vertically. No crew members survived.
2. Len Lambert was a friend of Billy Gibson who died in the crash. Mr. Lambert survived a crash in a Lancaster bomber around a year after this crash which killed his friend. He spent the rest of the war in a German prisoner of war camp.
3. The men were serving with 15 OTU. The aircraft had taken off on a training flight from Harwell on a cross-country training flight. Control of the aircraft was lost in cloud and dived almost vertically. No crew members survived.
Newspaper cuttings, photos or archival material
Photos: J. Brown; Russell Gray
Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses: Vol.7: Operational Training Units 1940-1947. W.R. Chorley, Midland Publishing 2002 ISBN 1 85780 132 6
Evening Chronicle 02/11/2006 reports unveiling the coming weekend.
Air Crash Northumberland Gray, Corbett, Shipley & Anderson, 2008, Countryside Books, ISBN 978 1 84674 112 8 tells the story.
Source of quotation:
“….wherever and for as long as freedom . . .” Part of Queen Elizabeth II's address at the dedication of the Royal Air Force Memorial at Runnymede on 17th October 1953.
Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses: Vol.7: Operational Training Units 1940-1947. W.R. Chorley, Midland Publishing 2002 ISBN 1 85780 132 6
Evening Chronicle 02/11/2006 reports unveiling the coming weekend.
Air Crash Northumberland Gray, Corbett, Shipley & Anderson, 2008, Countryside Books, ISBN 978 1 84674 112 8 tells the story.
Source of quotation:
“….wherever and for as long as freedom . . .” Part of Queen Elizabeth II's address at the dedication of the Royal Air Force Memorial at Runnymede on 17th October 1953.
External web link
Additional Notes
Gleaned from Evening Chronicle 02/11/2006
1. Sgt. W. Gibson was from Newcastle. Son of William and Violet Gibson, was buried in Stamfordham Churchyard.
2. Sgt. George Marshall, air gunner, was from Trimdon, Co.Durham. Son of James and Alice Marshall, he is buried is Trimdon Grange Cemetery.
3. Joseph Donnelly was a bomb-aimer from Ayrshire. He was aged 20.
1. Sgt. W. Gibson was from Newcastle. Son of William and Violet Gibson, was buried in Stamfordham Churchyard.
2. Sgt. George Marshall, air gunner, was from Trimdon, Co.Durham. Son of James and Alice Marshall, he is buried is Trimdon Grange Cemetery.
3. Joseph Donnelly was a bomb-aimer from Ayrshire. He was aged 20.
Research acknowledgements
Russell Gray (ACIA); Jim Corbett (ACIA)
Research In Progress
If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk
Plaque Wellington Bomber X3171 crash 1943 (G54.01)
GREENHAUGH Hollybush Inn
In memory of
Pilot Sergeant David Llewellyn Barley aged 20
Bomb-Aimer Pilot Officer Joseph Donnelly aged 20
Bomb-Aimer Pilot Officer Thomas Winstanley aged 20
Wireless Operator/ Sergeant Dennis Ronald Bending aged 22
Air Gunner
Navigator Sergeant William Stanley Gibson aged 20
Air Gunner Sergeant George Marshall aged 21.
who gave their lives at
Comb Moor, Greenhaugh, Northumberland on
1st March 1943
whilst flying a
Vickers Armstrong Wellington 1C Serial No. X3171
of 15 Operational Training Unit, R.A.F. Harwell, Berkshire.
“. . .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.”
Plaque presented by the Air Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group.
NamesG54.01
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Parish Notes
Every Name A Story
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