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The victims of a plane crash near York that killed seven people are to be remembered with a new permanent monument near the scene.
All six crew members and the Tockwith village postmaster were killed when a Stirling Bomber crashed in Marston Road at 1.34am on October 9, 1945.
The crash wrecked 19 houses, including a thatched cottage where Oliver Cromwell had reputedly been treated during the Battle of Marston Moor. The accident left a trail of damage stretching from the then Post Office to Ralph Garth.
Tockwith Parish Council will unveil a memorial model of a Stirling bomber at a special service on Sunday October 11, which is the nearest Sunday to the 70th anniversary of the crash.
The council believes the wartime "keep calm and carry on" ethos explains why no memorial has been built before, but now wants to ensure the disaster and its victims are not forgotten.
Until now, the only public memorial has been a piece of typed card in Tockwith Church.
Because the crash happened after the Second World War ended, there are no grants available to the parish council for the monument, so the cost must be met through local generosity.
Council chairman Norman Waller said “The site chosen for the monument is close to where the main impact of the crash was; in fact some of the nearby trees are reputed to have pieces of the crashed aircraft in them. It is felt that the monument is very striking and will have sufficient impact to remind people about the crash without impinging on any public safety.”
The Bomber had been given permission to complete a circuit over the nearby Marston Moor Airfield, but an Air Ministry inquiry found it had stalled at 2,000ft while turning.
It crashed in Marston Road flying west to east, demolishing the village Post Office and Police House. It then bounced over the Chapel and Northfield House and into Swires grocery shop and adjacent buildings, before bouncing again over Melbourne Stores and hitting Cromwell Cottage and Nicholson’s butchers shop.
Post master Arthur Carlill, who had been sleeping in the attic room at the Post Office, was killed as was the entire crew: P/O S.H. Bunting; Engineeer Sgt R.V. Viall; Navigator Sgt R.A. Alexander; Bomb-Aimer F/O H Griffiths; Wireless Op Sgt Albert Bonass; Airgunner F/O J Cantle-Jones.
Village grocer William Todd said at the time: “Tockwith looks like an old shelled French village in the last war and the plane is strewn in pieces all along the main street. It crashed on top of the street and it’s blazing wreckage ploughed its way along the row of shops and houses”.
Mr Carlill, who was also a shoemaker and church organist, had been in the attic room only because his family was airing the beds ahead of the homecoming of his son Barry, who was serving in the Middle East with the RAF.
Barry never changed the frontage of the shop after the crash and it was not updated until after his death only a few years ago, said Cllr Waller.
Another of the crew, Wireless Operator Sgt Albert Bonass, was to have been a guest player with York City FC five days after the crash. He was from York and was a former member of the club, and also played for Hartlepool United and Chesterfield.
The crash severed a water main and people had to draw water from a pump in the garden of The White Cottage. Phone lines were also cut and The Air Ministry set up a headquarters in the main street to deal with claims for damaged property and loss of belongings.
After the crash, bravery awards were presented to several people, including Police Constable Harry Sagar, and Company Officer Leslie Matthews and Leading Fireman John Utley, both of Wetherby. Mr Matthews and Utley received the British Empire Medal, having rescued a woman from a blazing house, while PC Sagar received the Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct. His house had been severely damaged but wearing only his pyjamas, he took charge of the situation in the street.
Local manufacturer Stage One, which has worked on many international projects, including the cauldron for the 2012 Olympic Games, has designed the memorial, and a local builder has agreed to do the ground works.
The unveiling and a commemorative service are expected to be held on Sunday 11 October and the Bishop of Selby has agreed to attend.
The RAF, the ATC, British Legion, Police and Fire Service are expected to play a role in the commemorations and Cllr Waller would like any descendants of those killed to phone him on 01423 358588.Tomick attached the following image(s):
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