Lancaster at East Moor airfield.

On the 24th of December 1943 this aircraft was outbound to Berlin when it developed a technical fault and the crew were forced to return home early. They overshot the runway on landing at East Moor and the aircraft suffered Cat.A(c) damage. It was repaired and flew again.

The aircraft was built to contract AC 239 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd at Baginton and delivered directly to 426 Sqdn at Linton on Ouse in October 1943 but was soon transferred to 432 Sqdn at East Moor the following month. It suffered Cat. A(c)/FB damage in the incident detailed above and was repaired on site with repairs being completed by 14th January 1944. It was transferred to 408 Sqdn at Linton on Ouse in February 1944 and coded "EQ-X". It was lost as Cat. E(m) on 25th February 1944 when the crew failed to return from Ops to Schweinfurt. It is believed to have crashed in the River Rhine with seven killed, of which three were missing. DS844 completed only 3 Ops with 432 Sqdn, this being the 2nd.

Pilot - F/Sgt Walter Fernyhough RCAF. Of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

FEng - Sgt Jack Hembry RAFVR (174783). Of Coedpenmaen, Pontypridd, Glamorgan.

Nav - Sgt John Vernon Musser RCAF. Of Wallenstein, Ontario, Canada.

AB - Sgt Henry John Kennedy RCAF. Of Brockville, Ontario, Canada.

WOp/AG - F/Sgt G Lamphier RCAF.

A/G - Sgt A Lagimodiere RCAF. Of Lorette, Manitoba, Canada?

A/G - Sgt D Racher RCAF.

On 29th June 1944 P/O Fernyhough DFC and his crew, including P/O J Hembry, P/O J Musser and P/O H J Kennedy, were lost when Halifax MZ591, of 432 Sqdn, failed to return from Metz. Their aircraft was shotdown by a night-fighter and crashed at Chevrieres, 18 km NE of Creil. All are buried in Creil Communal Cemetery. The WOp/AG, P/O Woolfenden, baled out and became a PoW. P/O Fernyhough was lost on his 30th Op. with 432 Sqdn.

Walter Fernyhough was awarded the DFC, with the award being agreed two days before his death, it was not Gazetted until 25th January 1946. He was born in Clyde, Alberta in 1923 and lived in Victoria, B.C. prior to enlisting in Vancouver on 10th March 1942. He was Commissioned in March 1944. The recommendation for his DFC is dated 26th June 1944 and at this date he had flown 30 sorties (175 hours ten minutes) begining on 25th November 1943. The citation reads..

""Pilot Officer Fernyhough, as pilot and captain of aircraft, completed numerous operations against the enemy in the course of which he has invariably displayed the utmost fortitude, courage and devotion to duty.""

A Donald Lagimodiere RCAF was reported missing in Canada on 13th September 1943 after his twin-engined aircraft did not return from a flight over Nova Scotia to its base at Debert, N.S. It seems likely that this airman was a brother of Sgt Lagimodiere RCAF involved in the incident detailed at the top of this page.