BROOKE-TAYLOR K
Brooke-Taylor, Keith Died
Personal Information
| Rank | P/O |
| Forename(s) | Keith |
| Surname | Brooke-Taylor |
| Gender | M |
| Age | 21 |
| Date of Death | 07-04-1940 |
| Next of Kin | Son of Roydon and Ida Winifred Brooke-Taylor, of Wellington City, New Zealand. |
Aircraft Information
| Aircraft | Handley Page Hampden I |
| Serial Number | L4054 |
| Markings | OL- |
Memorial Information
| Burial/Memorial Country | United Kingdom |
| Burial/Memorial Place | Chevington Cemetery |
| Grave Reference | Sec. H. Grave 286. |
| Epitaph | OF WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND. HE CAME AND GAVE ALL |
IBCC Memorial Information
| Phase | 1 |
| Panel Number | 13 |
Enlistment Information
| Service Number | 41251 |
| Service | Royal Air Force |
| Group | 5 |
| Squadron | 83 |
| Squadron Motto | Strike to defend |
| Trade | Pilot |
| Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
| Location | RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Memorial Stone & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
| Memorial Text | Commemorating 83 Sqn Lancaster, one of the Pathfinder Sqn's operating from RAF Wyton 1942 - 1945 |
| Location | St. Michaels's Church, Coningsby, Lincolnshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed Wooden Plaque & 83 Sqn Badge |
| Memorial Text | This Chapel was furnished by members and friends of 83 Pathfinder Sqn and is dedicated to the memory of those airmen who lost their lives on flying operations from RAF Coningsby in WWII |
| Location | In front of the mess esplanade, Mailly-le-Camp, 10 - Aube Prefecture |
| Country | France |
| Memorial Type | Stone memorial sculpture, inscribed marble tablets and inscribed metal plaque |
| Memorial Text |
En souvenir des heros de la RAF. Qui ont participe au bombardment du camp de Mailly. Unites de la RAF engagees dans le raid sur Mailly-le-Camp, la nuit du 3 au 4 May 1944. N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617- 619-625-626-627-637
Translation "In memory of the RAF heroes who took part in the bombing of Mailly Camp. RAF units engaged in the raid on Mailly-le-Camp, the night of 3-4 May 1944. Squadrons that took part: N° 9-12-44-49-50-57 61-83-97-100-101 Special Duties Flight-103-105-106-166- 169-192-207-460 (RAAF)-463 (RAAF)-467 (RAAF)-550-576-617-619-625-626-627-637" |
| Location | Lincoln County Hospital Chapel, Lincoln, Lincolnshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Memorial Type | Inscribed Metal Plaque |
| Memorial Text | In memory of Officers, NCO's & Other Ranks of 5 (Bomber) Group RAF who gave their lives Sept 1939 - May 1945 |
Casualty Pack Number Find Out More
| AIR 81/1979 (P351550/40) |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Fellow Servicemen
Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.
| Name | Outcome |
|---|---|
| McNicol A (Sgt) | Died |
| Roberts W (P/O) | Died |
| Sharpe D W (AC1) | Died |
Last Operation Information
| Start Date | 06-04-1940 |
| End Date | 07-04-1940 |
| Takeoff Station | Scampton |
| Day/Night Raid | Night (1% moon) |
| Operation | Patrol, Tactical Reconaissance |
| Reason for Aircraft Loss | Ran out of fuel and was abandoned at 04:15 on 7th April 40 over Whitley Bay, on the Northumberland coast. The Hampden crashed into the sea off St Marys Lighthouse. This aircraft actually crashed on landing. There is a very detailed report on its loss at the National Archives. The wireless operator, Denis Sharpe, stayed in the aircraft, probably because he was dead or injured, and was lost in the explosion which rocked the area in the middle of the night. His last resting place was found in a search led by Russ Gray, a member of the North East section of the Air- Crash Investigation and Archaeology Group. Hampden L4054 of 83 Squadron, left RAF Scampton on the night of April 6, 1940, at 7.15 for a security patrol and offensive operations against the enemy in the district of the Sylt coast in north Germany. The aircraft was fired on in that area and nothing was heard again from her until she appeared in the vicinity of St Mary's Lighthouse at 2.45am the next day where she circled for about one-and-a-half hours, signalling SOS repeatedly on a lamp. The SOS was challenged by the then lighthouse keeper, Harold Owen Hall, who, after receiving the correct reply, contacted the appropriate authorities. No other Morse signal was picked up from the aircraft except the SOS. Standard procedure to aid lost aircraft was followed. Searchlight beams over a wide area were trained towards Acklington, the nearest RAF base equipped to land the stricken aircraft. The base lit the flare path at 3am and instructions on how to find Acklington were transmitted to the bomber by Morse lamp, the signal reading "St. Mary's Lighthouse, follow the beam for Acklington". Each separate word was acknowledged by a dash on the aircraft signalling lamp, but the pilot made no attempt to follow them. The plane continued to circle until one engine appeared to fail and shortly after 4am three crew left the aircraft by parachute before she crashed and exploded. The RAF concluded that the fact that the pilot disregarded the instructions to fly to Acklington suggested the aircraft was damaged in such a way as to render a landing hazardous. The plane did not jettison the bomb load over the sea, indicating that the bomb doors or bomb release gear was damaged. And the wireless operator remained with the aircraft because he was probably badly wounded or had been killed. The wireless silence from 9.53pm onwards supported this theory. RAF chiefs surmised that the hydraulic system was so badly damaged the aircraft could not lower the undercarriage or open the bomb doors and it would have been too dangerous to attempt a belly landing at Acklington carrying a cargo of bombs. |