Date:	Thursday 9 May 1940
Time:	evening
Type:	Bristol Beaufort Mk I
Owner/operator:	22 Sqn RAF
Registration:	L4453
MSN:	OA-B
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	North Sea, 69 miles East of RAF North Coates, Lincolnshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Coates, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF North Coates, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
Bristol Beaufort Mk.I L4453 ("OA-B") 22 Squadron, RAF: Missing 9/5/40 on minelaying sortie to River Elbe. Took off 19.40 hrs from North Coates. Set course for the river Elbe, but contact was lost after the Beaufort was fixed by D/F as 69 miles east of base. Aircraft of the squadron, an RAF High Speed Launch rescue boat and trawlers all took part in an unsuccessful search. All four crew lost:

Crew:
Flt/Lt 37109 Charles Lester Mackenzie Lester RAF killed.
Sgt 565970 William Southward (aged 24) RAF killed.
Corporal 506611 John William Maxey RAF killed.
LAC 531188 Kenneth Percy Turrell (aged 24) RAF killed.

As no trace of the Beaufort or its crew of four was ever found, they are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 27
2. Coastal Command Losses of the Second World War Vol.1 by Ross McNeil p 32
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/205: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142030
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/XXII_squadron.html
5. https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/25070/Commonwealth-War-Graves-Holy-Spirit-Churchyard.htm
6. http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/raf-losses-may-1940-an-update.16940/page-2#post-194619
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1803341/lester,-charles-mackenzie/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1807692/southward,-william/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1076606/maxey,-john-william/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1809151/turrell,-kenneth-percy/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
19-Mar-2008 01:44	JINX	Added
02-Feb-2015 17:04	AlLah	Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
30-Apr-2018 19:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Country, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
15-Jun-2019 22:27	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Source, Narrative]