Date: 6th May 1942 (Wednesday)
Unit: No. 16 O.T.U. (Operational Training Unit)
Type: Handley Page Hampden I
Serial: AD826
Base: R.A.F. Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire
Location: Bourne End Farm, Wootton, 4 miles SW of Bedford, Bedfordshire
Pilot: Fl/Sgt. Arnold Grant Maxwell. R95390 R.C.A.F. Age: 20. Killed (1)
Obs: Fl/Sgt. John Patrick Hancock. R76975 R.C.A.F. Age: 20. Killed
W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. Donald Kempton O'Brien. R76409 R.C.A.F. Age: 32. Killed
W/Op/Air/Gnr: Sgt. Thomas Lloyd Brown. R70880 R.C.A.F. Age: 24. Killed (2)
(1) Maxwell Island in Sasaginnigak Lake, Manitoba is named after Fl/Sgt. Maxwell
(2) Brown Falls in Saskatchewan is named after Sgt. Brown
REASON FOR LOSS:
This aircraft took off from its base at Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, on a night-cross country and bombing exercise. After completing the first part of their task over the bombing range it would appear that a fire started somewhere on the aircraft. At a height of only 500 feet the Hampden suddenly dived to the ground at 02.57 hrs. killing the Canadian crew instantly.
Mr. William Cook of Bourne End Farm was 18 years old at the time and was the second person to arrive at the crash site.
Although he did not see the aircraft crash it was reported locally that the aircraft was on fire before the fatal crash.
The aircrafts cockpit canopy was found by William lying in a field about a mile away from the crash site a few weeks after the incident.
Hampden I (Courtesy "The Aeroplane")
Fl/Sgt. Arnold Grant Maxwell (A.R.S. archives)
Crew graves (A.R.S. archives)
Burial details:
Fl/Sgt. Arnold Grant Maxwell Kempston Cemetery, Kempston, Bedfordshire. Block J, Graves 77
Son of Thomas Edward and Mary Irene Maxwell, of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada.
Fl/Sgt. John Patrick Hancock Kempston Cemetery, Kempston, Bedfordshire. Block J, Graves 89
Son of Charles F. Hancock and Esther A. Hancock, of Strome, Alberta, Canada.
Fl/Sgt. Donald Kempton O'Brien Kempston Cemetery, Kempston, Bedfordshire. Block J, Graves 100
Sgt. Thomas Lloyd Brown Kempston Cemetery, Kempston, Bedfordshire. Block J, Graves 101
Son of John S. Brown and Eliza J. Brown, of Wolseley, Saskatchewan, Canada
Research by David King (A.R.Society 2008) Further information supplied by Colin Bamford A.R.S. Volunteer
