Date: 10/11th April 1943
Unit: No. 420 Squadron R.C.A.F. (Snowy Owl)
Type: Vickers Wellington Mk. X
Serial: HE422
Coded: PT-
Location: Burmington near Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire, England
Pilot: Flying Officer Charles W. Jackson R.C.A.F. J/20125. Age 24. Drowned.
W/Op/AirGnr: Sgt. H.B. Elhorn R.C.A.F.
A/B: Sgt. Alexander Hugh Mcdonald (1) R.C.A.F. R/124964
Air/Gnr: Sgt. J.J. Kidd
Air/Gnr: Sgt. K.T.P. Allan R.C.A.F.
REASON FOR LOSS:
F/O Charles Jackson and his crew had been posted to the "Snowy Owls" on March 26th 1943, and this was to be their second operational sortie with the Squadron. On the night of April 10, 1943 thirteen Wellington bombers of No.420 "Snowy Owl" Squadron, RCAF took off from Middleton St George, Durham en-route to bomb Frankfurt. Among these aircraft was Wellington X, serial number HE422 carrying a total of six small bomb containers and crewed by F/O C. W. Jackson (Pilot); Sgt H. B. Elhorn (Navigator); Sgt A. H. MacDonald (Air bomber); Sgt J. T. Kydd (Wireless Op/Air Gunner); and Sgt K. T. Allan (Air Gunner).
Eight aircraft bombed the target and four returned early. HE 422 was successful in bombing the target but on return the aircraft had apparently wandered decidedly off track, becoming low on fuel the pilot gave the order to bale out as they reached the coastline in the vicinity of Tenby, South Wales. Having placed "George" - in (automatic pilot) the crew abandoned the aircraft. All were recovered with no more than slight injuries, with the exception of F/O Jackson who, it is believed was drowned in Carmarthen Bay.
In the early hours of April 11th, the residents of the small Warwickshire village of Burmington were awakened by the sound of an aircraft hitting the ground followed by an explosion. The crashed aeroplane turned out to be Wellington HE422 it had flown some 140 miles after the crew had left her. Among the residents of Burmington who would later retain memories of the crash and subsequent fire, was a very small boy, Bob Aston. He and a colleague were to spend a chilly morning at the crash site 46 years later, successfully coaxing a reluctant JCB into action. The team of aviation archaeologists led by Melvin Brownless & David King (Aircrew Remembrance Society), carried out a recovery at the scene, by kind permission of the landowner, Bill Joynes and the Ministry of Defence. Many relics of HE422 were recovered including a geodetic section, tail assembly, Hercules engine makerís plate, carburettor, supercharger and main wheel & tyre. Perhaps though, the most touching artefact to be recovered was an officer's forage cap. As F/O Jackson was the only commissioned member of the crew, it is reasonable to suppose that the cap had belonged to him.
(1) Update: Sgt. Alexander Hugh Mcdonald later lost his life in November 1943 whilst on a training flight, this time on a Lancaster coded DS649 crashed close to Rose Cottage Farm, between Terrington and Wiganthorpe.
Left: F/O Charles W. Jackson.
F/O Jackson's forage cap recovered from the crash site.
P/O Jackson's sister, Mrs. Hazel Jackson Elliott, with her husband at her brothers grave.
BURIAL DETAILS:
Flying Officer Charles W. Jackson R.C.A.F. J/20125. Carew (St. Mary.) new churchyard, South Wales. Row. B. Grave No. 6.
Son of John Warner Jackson and Ella Eugene Jackson, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Sgt. Alexander Hugh Mcdonald now buried in Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery. Sec. C. Row D. Grave 14.
Son of Hugh MacDonald, and of Rose MacDonald, of Bridgeport, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Further details of the excavation carried out by the Aircrew Remembrance Society can be found in the archaeology section under the same title as this page. (Coming very soon)
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