Wellington near Stonegrave

On the 27th of April 1943 this Wellington took off just after 00.30 hrs from Dishforth with nine others from 426 Squadron for Ops. At the controls of this aircraft was the Squadron Commander, Wing Commander Crooks. The target tonight was Duisburg and along with 561 other aircraft they all flew out over the North Sea. About five minutes before this aircraft was to reach its target and 20 miles short of Duisburg at around 02.26 hrs over Wesel, a night fighter; probably an Me110; attacked them from below and raked them with gunfire. Damage was sustained to the Wellington's intercom, hydraulic and electrical systems. One aileron and half the port tail plane were shot away and the sighting gear in the rear turret was badly hit. The pilot dived to port and the rear gunner shot at the fighter, it was not clear whether he had hit it however but the bomber escaped. The Wellington had lost all the fabric from its port tailplane, three feet of trailing edge from the port mainplane was also gone near the fuselage. Damage was also done to the port aileron and centre bomb door, the port engine was also overheating. The pilot still continued with the run on the target but when it was found the bombs would be unable to be released the attack was abandoned. An attempt to pour any available liquid into the emergency hydralic system failed - coffee from thermos flasks and oil from the rear turret were tried but the attempt failed. The wireless operator tried for over an hour to fix the system without result, this would enable the hand operated undercarriage pump to be used but due to there being no hydraulics the under-carriage could not be lowered. Flying Control were informed of the situation, with bombs on board and with no undercarriage Crooks gave the order to his crew to abandon the aircraft soon after the Yorkshire Coast was crossed. This was done at 05.50 hrs and the aircraft crashed near Manor Farm, Stonegrave causing no damage to any property. Two of the crew were injured in their landings. Three of the crew would later be decorated for their actions on this night.

For his efforts in the incident detailed above and for bringing the aircraft back to the UK, Wing Commander Crooks was awarded the DSO, gazetted on 28th May 1943. Part of the citation reads "an ideal leader whose ability and untiring efforts were reflected in the high standard of efficiency of his squadron". For their efforts in getting the aircraft and crew back to the UK, Marsh and Simpson were awarded DFC's, Simpson was presented with his by King George VI. Gazetted on 1st June 1943; the citation reads:

"One night in April 1943, these officers were wireless operator and navigator, respectively, of an aircraft detailed to attack Duisburg. When nearing the target area the bomber was engaged by an enemy fighter and sustained severe damage. On the return flight F/O Simpson displayed exceptional navigational ability in most difficult circumstances, and F/Lt Marsh, who skilfully obtained bearing, rendered him valuable assistance. Both these members of aircraft crew displayed great coolness and skill in a perilous situation."

The raid in general was a partial failure due to inaccurate marking of the target area and a strong tail wind gusting upto 100 mph.

The aircraft was built to contract B124362/40 by Vickers Armstrong's Ltd at Chester and delivered directly to 426 Sqdn at Dishforth in April 1943 and lost as reported above before the month was out on 27th April 1943 with Cat. E2/FB damage being recorded.

Pilot - W/C Leslie Crooks DFC RAF (44054), aged 33, of Peterborough, sustained a back injury.

2nd Pilot - Sgt James A Thomson RCAF (R/121044), aged 20, of Midland Vale, Alberta, Canada. Ok.

Nav - F/O Donald W Simpson RCAF (J/11110), of Ontario, ok

Bomb Aimer - P/O L H Power RAF, broke bone in foot.

W Op / Air Gunner - F/Lt Francis P Marsh RCAF (J/15643), of Toronto, ok.

Rear Gunner - Sgt Thomas F How RCAF (R/132630), aged 25, of West Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada. Ok.

The aircraft crashed somewhere in the region shown on this photograph, whether it came down on this side of the hedge row or the far side (off camera) is still to be determined but small fragments were located here by Dick Barton and Ken Reast in 2006.

Leslie Crooks and his gravestone and Francis Marsh's gravestone.

Only months after the above incident Crooks and Marsh were to be killed when on 18th August 1943, Lancaster DS681 crashed near Greifswald in Germany after a secret mission to bomb a experimental science station at Perrnemunde in the Baltic. They are buried in Berlin War Cemetery. At his death Crooks had already completed one tour of operations and was on the ninth flight of his second tour. Marsh was also on his second tour and was on the sixth operation when he was killed. (The above photos were found on the internet).

Leslie Crooks was made a P/O on probation on 20th June 1940. The date for his DFC still has to be researched.

F/Lt Francis Marsh RCAF was born in 1918 in Toronto and lived there prior to enlisting on 1st July 1940. He trained at 1 ITS (graduated 10th October 1940), 1 BGS (graduated 15th February 1941), and 2 WS (graduated 20th January 1941). He was commissioned in 1942. His DFC was presented to his next-of-kin.

F/O Donald W Simpson RCAF was born in Stratford, Ontario in 1912 and made his home in Islington. He enlisted in Toronto on 12th February 1941. He trained at 3 ITS (graduated 3rd July 1941), 12 EFTS (ceased training 15th August 1941), 6 BGS (graduated 28th February 1942), 9 AOS (graduated 16th January 1942) and 2 ANS (graduated 30th March 1942). He was commissioned in 1942. He was the regular navigator in WO P. C. Mariies' crew, but on the above detailed flight was with W/C Crooks. He was invested with award by King George VI on 1st February 1944. Nothing more is known of F/O Simpson, it is thought he survived the War.

Only weeks after the above incident Thomson and How were killed, when on the 14th of May 1943 when their aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and crashed in Holland. They are buried in Armersfoort General Cemetery, Holland.
P/O Power was promoted to F/O during the next year, it is believed that he survived the War as a POW after his Lancaster was shot down over Germany on 28th January 1944.