ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 159510
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| Date: | Sunday 5 September 1943 |
| Time: | 23:20 |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 1661 HCU RAF |
| Registration: | W4929 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Rhyd-wen-Fach, north of Fan Foel, Wales -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire |
| Return. |
This Lancaster was assigned to 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit and was undertaking a night cross-country exercise from Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire, when it crashed on 5 September 1943 north of Fan Foel at around 620 metres. The RAF Inquiry stated that there was insufficient evidence available to establish the exact cause but that the aircraft had been underpowered when it hit the ground.
Visible wreckage includes bent crankshafts, split propeller hubs and engine blocks, with much general wreckage spread over a large area. All 8 crewmen were killed.
On 5 September 1993, family members were flown to the crash site from RAF Brawdy and a memorial stone was erected. The crew comprised of
Sgt N T Duxbury, pilot;
Pilot Officer V R Folkerson, navigator;
Sgt R Wilson, bomb aimer;
Sgt F.W Pratt, wireless operator;
Sgt L Holding, flight engineer;
Sgt J G Curran, mid-upper gunner;
Flight Sgt E M Buckby, air gunner
Pilot Officer R F E Johnson, an extra bomb aimer.
Mission: Training.
Details:
W4929 was one of 50 units built at the Metropolitan-Vickers-Ltd at Manchester, to contract 69275/40 to produce 200 aircraft. She was delivered to the RAF by A. V. Roe on the 28th of February 1943, fitted out at No.46 MU on the 6th of March. She arrived at her first squadron, No.61 on the 16th of March. Later that month she was loaned to 617 squadron on the 26th and allocated her radio codes ‘AJ-J’. On the 20th of April, the squadron O.C. Sqn, Leader Guy Gibson flew her on the low-level practices on a number of occasions which were famously documented in his flying logbook, and these were the training flights as seen in the movie ‘The Dam Busters’. This was the period leading up to the famous ‘Dams Raid’.
W4929 left Scampton to her next posting, No. 619 at RAF Woodhall Spa. After a short say she finally arrived at 1661HCU (Heavy Conversion Unit) at RAF Winthorpe on the 6th of September.
After a quick check over, applying her new codes ‘GP-R’ and refuelling she took off that night on a cross country training exercise, the crew were on their last training flight before being posted to their squadrons, when they flew into the teeth of a severe lightening storm when over the area of mid-Wales. They struck the ground under power at 23:20hrs. All the crew were killed.
Crew:
P/O Norman Thomas Duxbury 22yo 157252 RAFVR. Pilot. Killed. 1
Son of Thomas and Bertha alice Duxbury, of Wigan.
F/O Victor Roy Folkersen 27yo J/22976 RCAF. Nav’. Killed. 2
Son of Axel Johannes and Florence Jane Folkersen of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada.
P/O Thomas Federick Edward Johnson DFM 22yo 145822 RAFVR. Bdr-A/Gnr. Killed. 3
Son of Edward Arthur and Dorothy Annie Kate Johnson; Husband of Annie Kathleen Johnson, of Bisley.
Sgt Roy Wilson 24yo 1492741 RAFVR. Bdr. Killed. 4
Son of Joseph and C.E. Wilson of Clitheroe; Husband of Stella Veronica Wilson, of Clitheroe.
Sgt Leslie Holding 20yo RAFVR. Flt/Engr. Killed. 5
Son of Thomas and Florence Holding, of Beech Hill, Wigan.
Sgt Frank William Pratt 22yo RAFVR. W/Op-A/Gnr. Killed. 6
Son of Alfred George and Hilda Agnes Pratt of Boxmoor, Hemel Hemstead.
F/Sgt Ernest Middleton Buckby 19yo 426524 RAAF. A/Gnr. Killed. 7
Son of Perccy Milton Buckby and Minnie Elizabeth Buckby of Camp Hill Queensland, Australia.
Sgt John Graham Curran 19yo 1821749 RAFVR. A/Gnr. Killed. 8
Son of Kathleen McClelland of Coldstream, Berwickshire.
Buried:
1 New Ground. Grave 442. at Standish (St. Wilfrid) Churchyard.
2 Hereford Cemetery. Plot A. Grave 5578.
3 Woking (St Johns) Crem’. Panel 3.
4 Clitheroe Cemetery. Grave 1994.
5 Standish (St Wilfred) Churchyard N.W. Ground. Grave 443.
6 Hemel Hempstead (Heath Lane) Cemetery. Section M.A. UnCons. Grave 13.
7 Hereford Cemetery. Plot A (C of E). Grave 5598.
8 Bath (Haycombe) Cemetery. Plot 51. Section H. Row R. Grave 250.
Wreckage:
A fair amount of wreckage remains and trails from the initial impact spot up to the the large scar, within which four craters from the heavy RR Merlins impacted. The larger pieces and guns etc were all removed soon after the crash, the un-classified road from Trecastle to Pont-ar-Llecham is only a mile and a half due north. Here was a small military range with truck targets scattered around near the Roman transit camp.
Additional Information:
Thomas Johnson was never known by his first name. To his family he was ‘Boyk’, his wife called him ‘Johnnie’ and even his mother called him ‘Bill’. To his friends he was ‘Tich’ given his small size. ‘Tich’ was born on the 19th of April 1921, the son of Edward and Dorothy Johnson who lived in Marsh Lane, Addlestone. He arrived at the County School in 1932 and was a keen and talented football and rugby player. He played for both school teams during his time at the County School.
After leaving school in 1938 ‘Boyk’ worked as a clerk at Vickers before joining up in 1940 and training as an air bomber. On the 28th of January 1943 he married Annie Cox (known as ‘Nan’). ‘Nan’ was the sister of Alfred Cox a fellow Old Wokingian who was to die in Japanese hands. In 1943 ‘Boyk’ was awarded the DFM. At the time he was serving with 44 Sqn. based at Dunholme Lodge, Lincolnshire. He had already flown a large number of operations to most major targets in occupied Europe in the course of which he invariably displayed the greatest deliberation and coolness when over the target area. As air bomber his skill at target location was excellent and his results were outstanding.
The final chapter of ‘Boyk’s’ story came in 1993 on the 50th anniversary of the crash. Nan Wareham flew in a helicopter to the crash site and unveiled a plaque in memory of the crew of Lancaster W4929. The plaque reads a line from a hymn in Welsh which translates as ‘After the tragedy, may there be peace’.
‘Boyk’ Johnson was cremated at Woking Crematorium, St. Johns, Surrey (panel 3) and his ashes were scattered by a bomber over the North Sea. He is also remembered on the Woking County Grammar School roll of honour located in Christ Church, Woking.
Sources:
1. http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/507021/details/avro-lancaster-w4929
2. http://www.ystradgynlais-history.co.uk/lancaster-w4929.html
3. http://peakwreckhunters.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/avro-lancaster-w4929-coded-aj-j.html
4. http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/507021/details/avro-lancaster-w4929
www.lancasterbomberinfo/page.com
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
www.ystradgynlais-history.co.uk
www.rafcommands.com
www.wokinggrammer.blogspot.com
www.cwgc.org
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Aug-2013 02:47 | JINX | Added |
| 11-Dec-2014 14:17 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 31-Dec-2014 02:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 29-Dec-2015 20:34 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 16-Feb-2016 12:32 | Anon. | Updated [Date] |
| 02-Nov-2018 18:50 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 07-Jun-2020 12:15 | Greg | Updated [Date] |
| 04-Sep-2023 18:58 | Davies 62 | Updated [[Date]] |
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