- Saturday 24th February 2024 marked the 80th anniversary of the final flight of Lancaster ND525 KM-Q with the 7 crew members below aboard. At 18:24hrs that evening we lit a candle in remembrance of all those who lost their lives defending the allied nations and raised a glass in thanks.
- This site is dedicated to seven members of 44 Squadron who made up the flight crew of a Lancaster Mk 3 bomber ND525 KM-Q who on the night of 24/25th February 1944 tragically lost their lives whilst on a bombing run to bomb the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt, Germany.
1485099 George Robert Shield Halliday - Flight Sergeant (Navigator) RAF (VR)
J/87767 Norval Bergland - Pilot Officer/Air Bomber - Royal Canadian Air Force
1590386 Roy Openshaw - Sergeant (Air Gunner) - RAF
1581863 Victor Bennett - Sergeant (Flight Engineer) - RAF
1320572 Geoffrey Thomas Haynes - Flight Sergeant (Pilot) - RAF (VR)
1555268 George Pierrie Nicholson - Sergeant (Air Gunner) - RAF
1502961 George Andrew Weddle - Sergeant (Wireless Operator) - RAF
The aircraft departed RAF Dunholme Lodge at 18:24hrs on the 24th February 1944 with the mission to bomb the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt, Germany. The aircraft was part of the first wave to leave Dunholme Lodge, travelling over Beachy Head. The wave consisting of 215 Lancasters of which 16 failed to return, 171 Halifax III bombers of which 7 failed to return, and 6 Mosquitoes all of which returned, showing an overall loss statistic of 5.9%.
ND525 KM-Q was lost, probably by flack, with the full bomb load onboard. Bomber Command initially reported the aircraft as lost over the target area but in truth came down very close to Avricourt which at the time had been occupied by German forces. Only one French national remembered the crash and reported that the Germans cleared the crash site, interring the crew at Avricourt Communal Cemetery. The bodies were subsequently reinterred at Choloy French Military Cemetery in 1948 and their headstones stand proudly in collective graves 3.A.1-3.
The initial report of the downing of the aircraft over the target area was possibly deliberately wrongly reported by Bomber Command so as to let the families of the crew believe the loss was not in vain. This is purely supposition but the truth became apparent after a request to the National Archive where more information was given. It may also be true that information was scarce at the time so an assumption may have been made on the crash zone. The National Archive has been a wonderful source of information and my thanks to them for opening up files.
MORE TO FOLLOW - SITE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
6/12/2023 JENNINGS1965@HOTMAIL.COM
A little about the crew :
George Robert Shield Halliday (20) - Son of John and Isabella Shield Halliday of Gateshead, UK
Norval Bergland (22) - Son of Ole and Palma Bergland of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Roy Openshaw (18) - Son of John William and Emma Alice Openshaw of Hull, UK
Victor Bennett (20) - Son of Sydney James and Bertha Bennett of Hinckley, UK
Geoffrey Thomas Haynes (23) - Son of Thomas and Mary Haynes of Waltham Cross, UK
George Pierrie Nicholson (22) - Son of George Pierrie Nicolson and Isabella Nicolson; husband of Jean Nicolson, of Grotton, Lancashire.
George Andrew Weddle (22) - Son of George and Mary Weddle, of Low Fell, Gateshead, Co. Durham
AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
The above tribute to the crew was designed by Benoit (Ben) Howson who is very involved in raising awareness of the air crews who were lost during WW2. Ben has liaised with the authorities in the village of Igney where the aircraft crashed and has an agreement from the Mayor to allow the installation of the plaque so that visitors are aware of the crash site. Members of the families of the crew hope to attend the unveiling of the plaque sometime in 2026 which will be an extremely proud moment for us. I would like to extend our humble thanks to Ben for the hard work he has put into this and many other remebrance plaques. More details to follow.