Help Please- Lancaster L7578- 5 LFS

Chris – You have a PM! 😀

According to Bomber Command Losses Vol. 8 – HCUs and Miscellaneous by W R Chorley, this aircraft was coded RC-L.

Don

Have you tried contacting Newark Air Museum?

Some information is held on file in the Archive on local bases like Syerston. I believe that some of this is currently being used on a new Nottinghamshire Airfield education resource and Tim O’Brien has also used it in researching his new book on RAF Syerston!

Chris – You have a PM! 😀

According to Bomber Command Losses Vol. 8 – HCUs and Miscellaneous by W R Chorley, this aircraft was coded RC-L.

Don

Don….you have a reply 🙂 Thank you

No problem – the curatorial contact details are on the bottom of this page http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/opening_times.html 🙂

Not sure when the book will be published but no doubt the Museum Shop will stock it!! 😀

Have you tried contacting Newark Air Museum?

Some information is held on file in the Archive on local bases like Syerston. I believe that some of this is currently being used on a new Nottinghamshire Airfield education resource and Tim O’Brien has also used it in researching his new book on RAF Syerston!

Thank you. No I haven’t thought of that, I will give it a try. I’m eagerly awaiting TOB’s book to be published so I can get her a copy.
Thanks again.

I asked a “friendly” artist if he could produce a side view of this Lancaster as we think it would have looked at the time of it’s crash, on charge with 5 LFS, Syerston. This is based on information received from those who have kindly helped me.

Please have a look and see what you think. Any commments? has anything been missed or anything not quite right?

[ATTACH]183098[/ATTACH]

With many, many thanks to my old mate “spitfireman” for his tireless efforts and taking time in producing this for me.
Cheers Baz!! 😀

Chris,

I took this picture this afternoon along with pictures of each of the individual headstones. If you would like a set of higher resolution images please PM me your email address and I will send through copies.

Although I have visited this section of Newark Cemetery many times I must confess that I hadn’t appreciated the significance of the close arrangement of these 7 headstones. Thinking of each of you tonight!

Out of interest Chris, I passed through Lambley to and from Newark this afternoon, but as the comment to Peter below shows it’s a small world – Canadians again on the crew. You must also have been typing as I was downloading the pictures! 🙂

Peter & Jack Russell – I paid my special respects to ‘Herb’ Warne before I left this afternoon and to all the brave souls buried there!

Sadly – that’s me about out of photo space on here; what can be done Mods?? :confused:

1654 Conversion Unit wore these codes from 1942 to 1945

Manchester I UG*B L7419
Lancaster I UG*? ED308
Stirling III UG*K EH923

Baz

Thanks matey, maybe the log entry on that particular site is wrong then? a bum steer? I’ll show you next time I’m over……..mmm, my head hurts! :confused:

Icare9 – Yes it would/ does, thank you. I’m hoping that we can arrange a visit to the crash site as well as the cemetery, when she visits her childhood home in Lambley village later this year.

Chris,

I am visiting newark Cemetery tomorrow to visit my mother’s grave, if it helps in any way I can call over at the war grave section and photograph the grave.

Regards TO23

TO23 – Many thanks for the offer. She has seen a photo on the AIX forum and, as I said above, hopes to visit in person this year. A kind thought and much appreciated.

Somewhere I have a pretty complete report on this crash which was prepared by Brian Walker. If I recall the accident was thought to have been caused by the parachute harness of one of the crew getting entangled in the controls during a critical phase of the climb out from Syerston. I too live not very far from the crash site.

John

John – I have had site of the Accident Card for this crash, AM Form 11??. Is it this to which you refer? If not I would be interested to see it. In the report it refers to “….evidence to suggest the Bomb Aimers Parachute harness fouled the controls” or something along those lines.
I wonder what evidence? How did they come up with that?? All very interesting.

Thanks again to all,

Chris

Somewhere I have a pretty complete report on this crash which was prepared by Brian Walker. If I recall the accident was thought to have been caused by the parachute harness of one of the crew getting entangled in the controls during a critical phase of the climb out from Syerston. I too live not very far from the crash site.

John

Chris,

I am visiting newark Cemetery tomorrow to visit my mother’s grave, if it helps in any way I can call over at the war grave section and photograph the grave.

Regards TO23

Hi wcf:
Would it help your Mum at all if she knew that all the crew who died in the crash were in a collective grave at Newark upon Trent cemetery, which is not too far from the crash site? They still remain together as a crew even in death. She might find some solace in that thought.

Name: BROE, BERNARD
Rank: Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 22. Date of Death: 26/05/1944. Service No: 1450090
Additional information: Son of Harold Edward and Elsie Broe, of New Mills, Derbyshire.
Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. F. Coll. grave 309. NEWARK-UPON-TRENT CEMETERY

Name: CLARK, ALBERT DENNIS
Rank: Sergeant (Nav.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 28. Date of Death: 26/05/1944. Service No: 1473146
Additional information: Son of Albert and Jane Clark, of Sheffield.
Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. F. Coll. grave 309. NEWARK-UPON-TRENT CEMETERY

Name: MIDDLEMAS, JAMES GRAHAM
Rank: Sergeant (Flt. Engr.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 19. Date of Death: 26/05/1944. Service No: 1822037
Additional information: Son of Harry and Isabella Middlemas, of Galashiels, Selkirkshire.
Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. F. Coll. grave 309. NEWARK-UPON-TRENT CEMETERY

Name: NICHOLLS, DERECK
Rank: Sergeant (Air Gnr)
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 19. Date of Death: 26/05/1944. Service No: 1852333
Additional information: Foster-son of Mrs. J. E. Osborne, of Sonning Common, Oxfordshire.
Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. F. Coll. grave 309. NEWARK-UPON-TRENT CEMETERY

Name: NOBLE, ARCHIBALD THOMAS
Nationality: Canadian
Rank: Pilot Officer (Air Bomber)
Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Air Force
Age: 28. Date of Death: 26/05/1944. Service No: J/87968
Additional information: Son of Thomas Arthur and Mary Hannah Black Noble, of High River, Alberta, Canada.
Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. F. Coll. grave 309. NEWARK-UPON-TRENT CEMETERY

Name: SANDERSON, GEORGE BENJAMIN
Nationality: Canadian
Rank: Pilot Officer (Pilot)
Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Air Force
Date of Death: 26/05/1944. Service No: J/86545
Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. F. Coll. grave 309. NEWARK-UPON-TRENT CEMETERY

Name: WRIGHT, DENNIS
Nationality: Canadian
Rank: Flight Sergeant (Air Gnr.)
Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Air Force
Age: 20. Date of Death: 26/05/1944. Service No: R/203453
Additional information: Son of Henry and Mary Wright, husband of Lillian Mary Wright, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. F. Coll. grave 309. NEWARK-UPON-TRENT CEMETERY

At least they have not been forgotten.

1654 Conversion Unit wore these codes from 1942 to 1945

Manchester I UG*B L7419
Lancaster I UG*? ED308
Stirling III UG*K EH923

Baz

Does the UG*- code fit any of these squadrons then?

I know 44 were KM*.

I have emailed Newark today regarding my original query so thanks again for the suggestion and your continued help.

Chris

Not sure whether this might help provide a 44 Sqn connection and perhaps how the aircraft got into a training role.

RAF Winthorpe’s 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit [HCU] was formed as part of 5 Group by Sqn Ldr J Nettleton VC.

1661 HCU took over 9, 44 and 49 Squadron bomber conversion flights with the task of converting 5 Group’s OTU crews onto flying Manchesters & Lancasters, ready for Ops.

29 December 1942 – A & B flights at Waddington and C flight at Scampton all noted “as being ready for transfer to RAF Winthorpe”

Can anyone confirm what squadron would have worn the code UG*M? and where they may have been based?

I have just seen an entry in a Lancaster register which suggests L7578 would have been coded UG*M.

It also suggests it was on charge with 44 Sqn, but I know that not to be the case.

Thanks again.

Chris