Lancaster bomber crash memorial at Delapré Abbey

Help Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust raise funds for a memorial near Delapre Lake to mark the site where a Lancaster bomber crashed in 1945, resulting in the loss of 5 lives.

On Thursday 26th April 1945, at 16.55hrs, a Lancaster bomber of 50 Sqn (based at RAF Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire) was in low flight just to the south of Northampton. It had passed low over Wootton Hall and Delapré Abbey, when it struck a tree in the course of banking steeply to avoid cables and slipped in on the turn and crashed on farm land close to Delapré Abbey, where the lake is now. On crashing it burnt out and, of the seven crew, only two RAF air gunners survived, one seriously injured, the other only slightly. Four of the five airmen that died that afternoon were members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Those killed were:

425740 Flg Off (Pilot) Cedric John Evans, RNZAF, 22, of Inglewood, Taranaki, NZ

4215760 Flt Sgt (Nav) Thomas Richard Thwaite, RNZAF, 20, of Hamilton, Auckland, NZ

1817207 Sgt (Flt Engr) Denis Harold Millichamp, RAFVR, 21, of Nottingham, UK

425688 Flt Sgt (Air Bomber) Ralph Franklin Carrodus RNZAF, 23, of Hastings, Hawkes Bay, NZ

425580 Flt Sgt (W.Op/Air Gnr) Ian James Loveridge RNZAF, 24, of Rongotai, Wellington, NZ.

The two surviving members of the crew were: Sgt E.R. McRae RAF (Mid Upper Gunner) and Sgt G.A. Fuller RAF (Rear Gunner).

This aircraft was one of eight 50 Squadron Lancaster bombers on detachment for the first day of ‘Operation Exodus’ - a large scale 12 day airlift to repatriate some 75,000 recently liberated British prisoners of war to Britain. PD339 was returning to its base after transporting one of the first batches of prisoners from Brussels to an RAF base near Aylesbury and was just 15 minutes into its flight home.

Two local farm workers, Mr Albert Brown and Mr Harry Richardson, were awarded the British Empire Medal for their brave efforts in trying to save the airmen.

Please help Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust raise funds towards this important memorial which has been requested by the families of the men involved and the Trust's volunteers who have worked hard to research and raise awareness of this important event. Every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution.

Images kindly loaned by the families of Ian Loveridge and Ted McRae.