Date: 28th January 1945
Unit: No. 5 L.F.S. (Lancaster Finishing School)
Type: Lancaster III
Serial: LM308
Code: -
Base: Syerston, Nottinghamshire
Location: Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire
Pilot: W/O II Richard Barlow Rathbone R/168095 R.C.A.F. Age 28 Killed
Fl/Eng: Sgt. Albert Mercer 2218573 R.A.F.V.R. Age 23. Killed
Nav: Fl/Sgt. Hugh Munro MacKenzie R/203166 R.C.A.F. Age 21. Killed
Air/Bmr: Fl/Sgt. John Alexander Emerson R/189328 R.C.A.F. Age 30. Killed
W/Op/Air/Gnr: Fl/Sgt. JohnHenry Reid R/190328 R.C.A.F. Age 20. Killed
Air/Gnr: Sgt. Jasper Martin 1595881 R.A.F.V.R. Age 20. Killed
Air/Gnr: Sgt. Joseph Francis Fitzgibbon R264756 R.C.A.F. Age 20. Killed
REASON FOR LOSS:
Took off at 00.01 hrs from Syerston, Nottinghamshire on a night cross country sortie. Completed the operation and on returning to the base acknowledged the landing instructions from flying control. The 2 minutes later at 02.16hrs LM308 crashed at high speed exploding on impact. Eyewitnesses claim that they saw it on fire in the air.
The Aircrew Remembrance Society would like to thank the family of the pilot: W/O II Richard Barlow Rathbone for the use of these photographs and also to Lady Helen Nail for her fantastic efforts at the crash site of Lancaster LM308. A memorial is in the process of being planned in the near future. We will, of course, keep our followers informed of this as and when news is announced.
Pilot of LM308 W/O II Richard Barlow Rathbone (Photographs of Richard Barlow Rathbone reproduced here thanks to the Rathbone family, in memory of my brother, my brother-in-law, and our uncle - on behalf of Richard's sister, Susan, Donna Johnson's mother Evelyn and Donna's sisters and Donna Johnson)
Above left newspaper cutting reporting the death of Joe Fitzgibbon and right copy of letter (see below) (Photo’s courtesy of Don Fagan)
Copy of the letter sent to the father of Sgt. Joe Fitzgibbon by a member of the usual crew who never flew that night.
(Please click onto the cutting to see a larger version.)
“Dear Mr Fitzgibbon,
I suppose you have now heard about Joe.
I hope his mother and the rest of the family will not take it too hard. It happened four days ago and this is the first time I was able to sit down and write a letter. You need not worry about Joe as far as religion goes, for it was only the morning before it happened that he got me out of bed to go to Mass, Joe went to Confession at five on Saturday.
They took off at half eight Sunday evening on a test cross country; I was down to the plane to see them off. About one or two in the morning, the boys heard a loud noise, I didn't because I was asleep. An officer told me about it in the morning.
It all happened like this: early in the morning they were seen over base, trying to land. Their port engines were on fire, the next they just blew up, nobody got out. I suppose I was lucky, you see I happened to have a bad head cold, and I went to M. D. and asked to be grounded. It was the first time in my life that I was grounded.
At present I am looking for a new crew but I shall never get another crew as the boys.
Well, I'll close for now...give my regards to all at home.
Bill”
Fl/Sgt. Hugh Munro MacKenzie (Photo courtesy of Mike Harrison)
(Photo’s A.R.S. private collection - Emerson grave photo - Tony Glover)
Burial details:
W/O II Richard Barlow Rathbone. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery Sec. G. Row F. Grave 8.
Son of Gerrard Jackson Rathbone and Susan Emeline Rathbone, of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Sgt. Albert Mercer. Southport (Duke Street) Cemetery. Sec. 28. Grave 961.
Son of John and Margaret Mercer, of Southport.
Fl/Sgt. Hugh Munro MacKenzie. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery Sec. G. Row F. Grave 9.
Son of Farquhar MacKenzie, and of Catherine MacKenzie (nee Munro), of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Fl/Sgt. John Alexander Emerson. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery Sec. G. Row F. Grave 10.
Son of John Eymundson Emerson and Jean Beatrice Emerson, of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; husband of Phyllis Emerson.
Fl/Sgt. JohnHenry Reid. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery Sec. G. Row F. Grave 7.
Son of James Henry and Mary Wilma Reid; husband of Glaidus Madelene Reid, of Marysville, New Brunswick, Canada.
Sgt. Jasper Martin Castleford (Whitwood) Cemetery. Sec. N. Cons. Grave 923.
Son of Samuel and Emma Louisa Martin, of Cutsyke, Castleford.
Researched by: David King (Aircrew Remembrance Society) With thanks to the following: Bill Chorley - "Bomber Command Losses", Theo Boiten - "German Nightfighter War Diaries", Martin Middlebrook "Bomber Command War Diaries". The superb work of the C.W.G.C. Purchase these research books "HERE"
