Date:	Thursday 17 May 1945
Time:	17:15
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk I
Owner/operator:	630 Squadron, RAF
Registration:	RF124
MSN:	LE-S
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Litchfield Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B Mk. I RF124/LE-S, 630 Squadron, RAF East Kirkby, Lincolnshire: Written off (destroyed) 17 May 1945. The crash of Lancaster RF124 of 630 Squadron happened on Thursday 17th May 1945 at approx. 5.15 pm. The location of the crash was on Lichfield Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, WV11 3BN near the junction of Moathouse Lane East.

The Lancaster was on a training exercise from its base in East Kirkby, Lincolnshire when it experienced engine trouble over Wolverhampton. Reports at the time state that the Lancaster was descending rapidly with smoke coming from its engines. It is thought that the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing on a large field to avoid nearby houses. It then hit overhead cables and crashed onto the road next to the field causing a 5 foot deep crater and scattering wreckage over the field. All seven crew on board perished in the crash. The R.A.F attended the scene and removed some of the larger sections of wreckage and the body parts that they could find. However, the severity of the crash made it impossible to find all of the remains of the crew so the remaining wreckage and remains were bulldozed into the crater and filled in. A local minister performed a simple funeral ceremony and there it has remained an unmarked war grave ever since. It was a tragedy that they died just after VE Day but they were still on active duty and remained in training for possible action with Japan.

The members of the Wednesfield History Society have done a lot of research on the accident and details of the crew. The crew members who died in the crash were:

Crew:
Pilot: Flying Officer Bernard Hall RAFVR 168650 (NCO:1214027: Commission Gazetted Tuesday 18 January, 1944) [Killed]. Commemorated Boulton (St. Mary) Churchyard, United Kingdom
Flight Engineer: Flying Officer Ronald James O'Donnell RAFVR 183649 (NCO:1608232: Commission Gazetted Tuesday 10 October, 1944) [Killed]. Commemorated Plymouth (Ford Park) Cemetery, United Kingdom
Navigator: Sergeant Reginald Henry (Reggie) Smith RAFVR 1608868 [Killed]. Commemorated Reading (Henley Road) Cemetery, United Kingdom
Bomb Aimer: Flying Officer Victor Francis Dobell Meade RAFVR 170457: Commission Gazetted Tuesday 22 February, 1944) [Killed]. Commemorated Wiveliscombe (St. Andrew) Churchyard, United Kingdom
Wireless Operator: Sergeant Gordon Leonard Rabbetts RAFVR 1853452 [Killed]. Commemorated Mangotsfield (Downend) Cemetery, United Kingdom
Mid-Upper Gunner: Sergeant Vincent Reginald Woodburn Southworth RAFVR 1813035 [Killed]. Commemorated Watford North Cemetery, United Kingdom
Rear Gunner: Sergeant John Alfred Sills RAFVR 1817048 [Killed]. Commemorated Cleethorpes Cemetery, United Kingdom

A number of roads on the Marches housing estate are named in memory of the Crew of Lancaster RF124, which crashed close by.

1. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999.
2. Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War 1945.
3. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain 1985).
4. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database.
5. Wolverhampton Express & Star 18 May 2017: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/nostalgia/wolverhampton-nostalgia/2017/05/18/wednesfield-lancaster-bomber-crash-remembered-at-special-exhibition/
6. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234930705-lancaster-crash/
7. http://blackcountryhistory.org/collections/getrecord/GB149_DW-42_1/
8. 630 Squadron RAF Operational Record Book (Record of Events for the period 1 May to 31 July 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2152/37 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8417559
9. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/Lancaster/RF120-RF208/mobile/index.html
10. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/June/1.html
11. https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/view.php?uid=207434
12. https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/121955
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._630_Squadron_RAF
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_East_Kirkby

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-May-2017 12:09	gerard57	Added
29-May-2023 10:24	Nepa	Updated
14-May-2024 12:20	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]
27-Feb-2025 14:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ]
27-Feb-2025 20:56	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]