Date:	Saturday 14 July 1945
Time:	02:00 LT
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk I
Owner/operator:	626 Squadron RAF
Registration:	PD287
MSN:	UM-U2
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Burdale, near Wharram Percy, 12 m NW of RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Wickenby, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Wickenby, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B. Mk. I PD287/UM-U2 of 626 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 14 July 1945 when crashed at Burdale, near Wharram Percy, 12 miles North West of RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire. Six of the seven crew on board were killed.

On the night of 13th/14th July 1945 crews of a number of Wickenby-based 626 Squadron Lancasters were instructed to undertake a training flight as part of a wider operational exercise and to use turning points after take-off, firstly off Mablethorpe, then a point some fifty miles out into the North Sea due east of Mablethorpe, a further point into the North Sea (100 miles due east of Dundee), then returning to the coast at St. Abbs Head (near Berwick) before returning to base at Wickenby.

The flight was to be made at various altitudes ranging from 5,000ft to 20,000ft and when they reached a point 100 miles left to Wickenby they were to inform base and they were to be issued with a time at which they had to land.

Lancaster PD287 (UM-U2 of 626 Squadron) had taken off from Wickenby at 23.44 hours and flew the course as instructed, until they drifted too far inland from St.Abbs Head but corrected the error. When they reached the 100 miles from base point along with a time to land they also received information of a thunder storm combined with possible icing effects on the aircraft would effect their route south over the general area of the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

The crew were informed that they would need to reduce height to fly below these storm clouds. The aircraft flew into the thunderstorm and was subsequently found to have crashed at Burdale, near Wharram Percy, 12 miles North West of RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire at 02:00 hrs. The Lancaster had disintegrated across a field with six of the seven man crew being killed.

The rear gunner survived the crash and he spent five hours laying injured in the field blowing on a whistle to summon help, the whistle blasts were eventually heard by a group of farm workers heading to begin harvest. It was thought that the aircraft may have been struck by lightning prior to the crash but it was thought more likely that a vivid lightning flash had temporarily blinded the pilot which resulted the aircraft striking trees near the crest of a ridge while in level flight and while flying at cruising speed.

Pilot - Flight Sergeant Sydney Philip Bell RAFVR (1389006). Aged 27. Of Wakefield. Buried Wakefield Cemetery, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Navigator - Sgt Lawrence William Garfield RAFVR (1815298). Aged 23. Of Warley Woods, Smethwick, Staffordshire. Buried Quinton Cemetery, Warley, Birmingham.
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Henry Jacob Plastow RAFVR (1824870). Aged 20. Of Edinburgh. Buried Piershill Cemetery, Edinburgh.
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner - Sgt Percy John Allsebrook RAFVR (1574022). Aged 21. Of Milton, Southsea. Buried Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Stanley Welsh RAFVR (1597250). Aged 19. of Annfield Plain, Durham. Buried Harelaw Cemetery, Stanley, Durham.
Air Gunner - Sgt Roy Charles Thomas Goldthorpe RAFVR (1893883). Aged 20. Of Welling. Buried Bexleyheath Cemetery, London.
Air Gunner - Sgt John Critchley RAFVR (2204035). Sole survivor

Wharram Percy is a deserted medieval village and former civil parish near Wharram-le-Street, now in the parish of Wharram, on the western edge of the chalk Wolds of North Yorkshire, England. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Wharram-le-Street and is signposted from the Beverley to Malton Road (B1248).

Burdale is a hamlet in North Yorkshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Malton. It lies in a deep valley (or dale), also known as Burdale, in the Yorkshire Wolds.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
2. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
3. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/yorksother/pd287.html
4. http://www.626-squadron.co.uk/crews11.html
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-683-lancaster-i-near-burdale-6-killed
6. http://www.wickenbymuseum.co.uk/Museum/Newsletters/Newsletter%20July%202014.pdf
7. 626 Squadron RAF Operational Record Book (Record of Events for the period 1 June to 31 October 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2145/39 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8417471
8. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/Lancaster/PD265-PD337/mobile/index.html
9. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/July/1.html
10. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2414310/sydney-philip-bell/
11. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2711989/lawrence-william-garfield/
12. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2350013/percy-john-allsebrook/
13. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2452124/henry-jacob-plastow/
14. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2696616/stanley-welsh/
15. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2824120/roy-charles-thomas-goldthorpe/
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._626_Squadron_RAF#History
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Wickenby#Residential_units
18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wharram_Percy
19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burdale,_North_Yorkshire

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Aug-2013 15:42	JINX	Added
13-Sep-2013 06:29	ncritchley	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, ]
09-Nov-2018 17:00	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator, ]
13-Nov-2019 18:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
25-Jan-2025 00:53	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ]