Brown, Douglas Roy Died

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Personal Information

Rank Sgt
Forename(s) Douglas Roy
Surname Brown
Gender M
Age 21
Date of Death 28-09-1943
Next of Kin Son of Alexander and Verlie E. Brown, of Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, Canada.
BROWN DR 139

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number W4904
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery
Grave Reference Sec. C. Row C. Grave 7.
Epitaph HE GAVE HIS LIFE THAT OTHERS MIGHT LIVE IN PEACE

IBCC Memorial Information

Map
Directions to panel 136
BROWN DR 139

Location

Row -
Panel 136
Column -
Line -

Directions From the Chadwick Centre, take the central path towards The Spire.

Phase 2
Panel Number 136

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/194139
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 1
Squadron 1667 HCU
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location All Saints Church, Moor Munkton, North Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Memorial stone and inscribed marble tablet. Note that this memorial was moved from its previous, incorrect location of Old Edlington near Doncaster, some 50 miles distant from the actual crash site.
Memorial Text In memory of the Airmen who lost their lives on the 28th September 1943 when their Lancaster Bomber W4904 from RAF Lindholme crashed near this village
Location Bawtry Hall, Bawtry, South Yorkshire
Country United Kingdom
Memorial Type Inscribed Marble Tablet
Memorial Text In memory of those who did not return 1939 - 1945

Miscellaneous Information

Some sources say this aircraft crashed at Cockhill near Edlington, Doncaster and there is even a memorial to the aircraft at this location. However, there is a large body of evidence which proves that it crashed at the given location, including death certificates (the deaths being registered in Moor Monkton rural district, between York and Harrogate), the AIB report (which states that the crash site was Cockhill, 6 miles NNW of York), and the AM765c (which states that the crash was heard at RAF Marston Moor station).

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
Butler R E (Sgt) Died
Howell A (Sgt) Died
Mullen A W (F/S) Died
Pearce M R (Sgt) Died
Turley L R W (Sgt) Died
Weston R P (Sgt) Died

Last Operation Information

Start Date 28-09-1943
End Date 28-09-1943
Takeoff Station Faldingworth
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training- night navigation Bullseye exercise. Takeoff 2010 hrs
Reason for Aircraft Loss Heard just after midnight by the Royal Observer Corps. approaching from the south, just west of York. This was the authorised course and correct time. A few minutes later the aircraft was heard descending at very high speed, apparently with the engines off. The aircraft struck the ground near Moor Monkton, between York and Harrogate, and flares were seen exploding at the crash site. The weather was said to be extremely bad, although it had been suitable at the place and time of departure. Later investigation showed that the aircraft had broken up in the air and had left a trail of wreckage some two miles long. The AIB report concluded that the aircraft's break up was a secondary effect of the loss of control, the primary cause most likely due to the adverse weather at the time. Lancasters were known to be vulnerable to break-up when accelerated to very high speeds. The relative inexperience of the pilot was also stated to be a possible factor- he had a little over 20 hours on type, of which approximately half was at night.
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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.