F/S Albert W Buxton RAAF and crew – 103 Squadron – RAF Elsham Wolds – 1943
Crashed during Air Test – 8th September 1943 – Avro Lancaster III – JB153 – Duty Air Test
Alfred Buxton ( pictured above ) and his crew were posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds in July 1943. They flew 9 operations and were lost in a tragic crash whilst undertaking an Air Test in September 1943.
02-Aug-43 – Hamburg – Lancaster – ED417 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF – Early return – Port inner engine failed soon after take off.
09-Aug-43 – Mannheim – Lancaster – ED701 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
10-Aug-43 – Nuremberg – Lancaster – ED701 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
15-Aug-43 – Milan – Lancaster – ED417 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF - Bombs hung up and could not release.
17-Aug-43 – Peenemunde – Lancaster – ED701 - F/S AW Buxton RAAF
31-Aug-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF - Landed at Tangmere
03-Sep-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
05-Sep-43 – Mannheim – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
06-Sep-43 – Munich – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
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08-Sep-43 – F/S A W Buxton RAAF and crew plus 3 ATC cadets killed during an air test. The pilot landed at Wymeswold to drop off a 7th crew member who was starting leave. Soon after take off and at a height of no more than 500 ft the pilot turned to port and commenced a low level circuit. It then appears that the pilot made a steep bank and turn and the aircraft lost height and hit the ground at a shallow angle very close to a farm occupied by Mr Knightley and his family. All 4 motors were running at the time of the crash. On the 11-Sep-43 a Court of Enquiry was convened to investigate this incident.
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Left - Normand Kidd. Right - William Whalley
F/S Alfred William Buxton RAAF – Pilot - 23 – 103 Sqn - Son of Alfred and Ida Pearl Buxton of Subiaco, Western Australia - Oxford Botley Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
Sgt J Leeming RAFVR – Flight Engineer - 21 - 103 Sqn - Son of Joseph and Amy Leeming, of Beswick, Manchester; husband of Marion Leeming of Newton Heath, Manchester – Manchester Philips Park Cemetery, Lancashire
Sgt Normand Kidd RAFVR – Navigator - 21 – 103 Sqn - Son of John Robertson Kidd and Martha Normand Kidd of Dysart, Fife - Kirkaldy Dysart Cemetery, Fifeshire
Sgt William Stephen Whalley RAFVR – Air Bomber - 20 – 103 Sqn - Son of Elsie Maud Whalley, and stepson of Walter Needham, of Warrington, Lancashire - Burton-on-the-Wolds Burial Ground, Leicestershire
Sgt Gerald Sweeney RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 103 Sqn - Son of John and Katie Sweeney of Maryhill, Glasgow - Glasgow St Kentigern's RCC
F/S Gordon Albert Joffre Daldy RAAF – 28 – 103 Sqn - Son of Alfred Joffre Daldy and Edith Ester Laura Daldy, of Brunswick, Victoria, husband of Lorna Esme Daldy, of West Coburg, Victoria, Australia - Oxford Botley Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
Cdt Peter Bond ATC – 14 - 1180 Sqn - Son of George Bond and of Mary Bond of Chapel-en-le-Frith - Chapel-en-le-Frith St Thomas-a-Becket Churchyard, Derbyshire.
Cdt 1st Class Ernest Leslie Hall ATC – 17 - 1180 Sqn – Son of Ernest and Sarah Ann Hall of Chapel-en-le-Frith - Chapel-en-le-Frith St Thomas-a-Becket Churchyard, Derbyshire.
Cdt Desmond John Fox ATC – 17 – 1180 Sqn - Son of Norman and May Fox of Chapel-en-le-Frith - Chapel-en-le-Frith St Thomas-a-Becket Churchyard, Derbyshire.
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Lancaster – JB153
This machine completed 4 ops all with the Buxton crew
31-Aug-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF - Landed at Tangmere
03-Sep-43 – Berlin – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
05-Sep-43 – Mannheim – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
06-Sep-43 – Munich – Lancaster – JB153 – F/S AW Buxton RAAF
Item compiled and written by David Fell with photos courtesy of the Australian War Memorial and the Kidd and Whalley families
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