A TEAM from the Earls Colne Heritage Museum are helping restore the memory of a heroic group of aircrew who lost the their lives almost 80 years ago.
Members of the museum, in Reuben Walk, have spent the last six months researching the official crash zone of two Second World War planes, where 15 men lost their lives.
On September 20, 1944, two RAF Lancaster planes of the 662 RAF squadron were en route for a “bombing mission” where more than 600 planes were flying to the Nazi-occupied French city of Calais.
Lancaster planes LM167 and LL802 were above the Earls Colne area when both planes collided mid-air due to poor weather conditions, causing the aircraft to crash to the ground.
Tragically, all 15 aircrew were killed because of the incident.
The LM167 Lancaster had eight members onboard, and it crashed in farmland at Holmwood Farm, in between Americas Road and Tey Road.
The LL802 Lancaster had seven members onboard and crashed on farmland near Flories Farm, in the Great Tey parish area.
Four members of crew were from New Zealand and Canada, the remaining ten men were from across the UK.
Operational records at the time mistakenly recorded the crash zone as Wormingford, and over the years, the knowledge of the aircrew and the crash location have been lost to time.
However, a team at the Earls Colne Heritage Museum has been piecing it all together over several months after they unearthed an old Halstead Gazette newspaper article about the incident from 2004.
Through months of research, including a trip to the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, the museum identified the exact crash zones and has also worked hard to find surviving family members.
Gordon Brown, 68, has been the chairman of the museum for the last three years and has a military background, previously being stationed in Colchester 40 years ago.
Gordon has always been a keen amateur historian and came across the newspaper article which inspired him to look further into it.
He said: “These two Lancaster aircraft which crashed at the time, there were people in the village very aware of it, they saw the aftermath.
“Then in the next 80 years, the knowledge has reduced as these people have died.
“Because of bad weather on the day, they didn’t have the technology we have today, the planes collided and crashed.
“Relatives were told they crashed in Wormingford, some of these people were thousands of miles away in New Zealand.”
The museum has now organised for a memorial to be unveiled on the 80th anniversary of the incident for the fallen heroes after obtaining permission from landowner, Robert Prestney.
It will be situated close to Americas Road, Tey Road, and opposite Chalkney Wood.
The memorial will feature a brick base and bronze plaque which will have all the names of the fallen aircrew.
Dignitaries, RAF representatives, two 80-year-old sons of the deceased aircrew will be attending this private unveiling ceremony.
Gordon has been blown away by the community support as a fundraising page set up to afford the memorial has raised £2,575 of its £3,000 target.
Admirably any surplus future donations will be given to the RAF Benevolent Fund.
He said: “We are very excited, there has been tremendous support to it.
“The excitement is that the support to create a memorial has been phenomenal.
“Businesses in the area have provided their support, to provide materials and skills for free to produce the memorial.
“The fact we have found two sons who are both now in their 80s who will be coming to the unveiling and neither knew where their fathers had died.
“They are overjoyed that there will be memorial.
“It is very satisfying, people have not just given financially, but it is the time and expertise and support and interest that has been generated.”
Lesley Berner is a researcher who has lived in Earls Colne for the last sixteen years.
Having a keen interest in ancestry, she decided to volunteer at the museum last year.
Lesley has played a key role in tracking down the family members of the 15-air crew, but she is extremely thankful to the volunteer team at the museum.
All of whom which bring a “wealth of local knowledge” and give up their time freely to man the museum and engage with visitors.
She is also grateful to the team of volunteer trustees that help the museum move forward.
Lesley said: “I am very honoured to be involved in this research and am looking forward to meeting relatives of the 15 crew.
“Essentially, it has been a quite emotional journey, six months ago I didn’t know about this.
“I like to research; it has been a rollercoaster.
“It is quite humbling to be part of it.
“It is quite story.”
To donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lancastermemorial.
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