7
The Halifax Bomber Crash 1944
On the night of 4th May 1944 a Halifax Bomber from RAF Blyton was returning from a training run. It flew in very low over The Green and almost immediately crashed into the rear corner of the Police Station and into the paddock behind the old Prison, just clearing the roadway.
The only survivor was the Rear Gunner, Sergeant Garrod, who was an Australian and he was thrown free from the tail of the plane which broke away on impact. He was taken to Scunthorpe hospital.
The flames covered a wide area and the heat was so intense that it was not possible to rescue the other airmen as the flames reached the ammunition. The pig in the police station pigsty was also a casualty!
Eye Witness Account
EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT from Mr Joe Wright who was staying with his mother at Spa House at the time with his wife and baby.
“We were asleep in the back bedroom. I was awakened by a tremendous whoomph and we thought it was a bomb at first. My mother and my wife hurriedly took the baby out and dashed up the back garden in case the house collapsed. It was impossible to get round the front of the house at first because of the tremendous heat. It cracked the glass of the front windows and set the hedge on fire. There was a continuous crackling as the flames reached the ammunition. There were people very quickly on the scene but none could get near. The Station ambulance arrived and the Rear Gunner was taken to hospital. I remember my mother making cups of tea for all and trying to keep them occupied.”
RAF Blyton was decommissioned at the end of 1945.
The Memorial
This picture was taken in the 1960s and shows the building in rather poor condition.
After closure the building was remodelled from three storeys to two, extended outwards using materials from some of the outbuildings, and is now flats and a private residence.
