Sgt Edgar J Andrews RAFVR and crew - 103 Squadron - RAF Elsham Wolds - 1943
Crashed on take off - 3rd October 1943 - Avro Lancaster III - JB346 - 1943 - Duty Air Test.
Approximate location - Turnpike Farm quite near RAF Elsham Wolds airfield
This crew had recently been posted to 103 Squadron at Elsham Wolds. The aircraft was a new machine and had flown no operations.
I recall being told years ago that JB346 suffered an engine failure on take off and crashed just beyond the airfield boundary at Turnpike Farm and burst into flames. A number of ground crew and airfield personnel working at that side of the airfield rushed to the scene and the rear gunner was pulled alive from the wreckage although he was very badly injured. The remaining crew members perished in the blazing aircraft.
I was also told that the cause of the crash was the failure of one of the starboard engines on take off which should have caused little difficulty as the aircraft was not fully loaded. However it was later discovered on investigation that the wrong starboard engine had been feathered leaving only the 2 port engines running and that was the cause of the crash.
That information came from an eye witness who was involved in the aftermath of this tragic business and I have no reason to believe that it is inaccurate
The full crew who died were as follows :-
Sgt Edgar James Andrews RAFVR – Pilot – 103 Sqn - Son of Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Andrews, of Paulsgrove, Portsmouth. - Wymering SS Peter and Paul Churchyard, Portsmouth Hampshire.
Sgt Thomas Hill Clapp RAFVR – Flight Engineer – 19 – 103 Sqn - Son of Arthur Samuel and Annie Clapp, of Seaton – Seaton ( St Gregory ) Churchyard, Seaton, East Devon.
Sgt Alan John Tait RAFVR – 28 – 103 Sqn - Son of Robert and Margaret Tait; husband of Joy Olivia Tait, of Portstewart – Woodchapel ( St John ) Church of Ireland Churchyard, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Sgt William Glen Parker RCAF ( pictured below ) – Air Bomber – 103 Sqn - Son of Mr. and Mrs. William Leonard and stepson of Clara Parker, of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada – Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire.
Sgt Henry Featherstone RAFVR – Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 30 – 103 Sqn - Son of George Richard and Margaret Sarah Featherstone, of Leytonstone - City of London Cemetery and Crematorium Manor Park, East London.
Sgt Spencer Otty RAFVR - Wireless Operator / Air Gunner – 23 – 103 Sqn - Son of Victor and Jean Otty; husband of Olive Grace Otty, of East Finchley – East Finchley Cemetery and St Marylebone Crematorium, London Borough of Barnet
I do not know the name of the survivor. He may have subsequently died. With the task being an Air Test it may have been a 6 man crew anyway which accounts for no survivor being mentioned in Chorley 1943 Bomber Command Losses.
Sgt William Glen Parker RCAF
Written by David Fell. Parker photo courtesy of the Canadian War Memorial
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