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Plaque unveiled to honour 14 airmen killed in 1943

Emma PetrieEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
Clare Wilson Fiona Rosevear wears an animal print black and white top and black annorak over the top. She stands in front of greenery.Clare Wilson
Fiona Rosevear lost her great uncle in the crash

Relatives of 14 men who died in a mid-air collision during World War Two gathered as a memorial was unveiled near the crash site.

Two Halifax bombers, returning from an operation in Germany, were waiting to land at their airfields when the accident happened near Pocklington in November 1943.

The two aircraft, one based at Pocklington and one at Elvington, crashed into each other above Mohair Farm at Barmby Moor.

Christopher Dunn, who lost his uncle in the crash, attended the ceremony on Saturday. He said it was "important to come and keep his memory alive".

Clare Wilson Christopher wears a red rose in his lapel and a dark suit with red tie. He wears a jacket over his suit and stands in front of greenery.Clare Wilson
Christopher Dunn lost his uncle in the crash

The Halifax LW333, 102 (Ceylon) Squadron had taken off from RAF Pocklington and carried seven young men.

Fiona Rosevear travelled from Walton-on-Thames to honour her great uncle Sgt John Boxall who, aged 28, was a flight engineer on the plane.

"It's a huge privilege and honour to be invited," she said.

"It was very emotional, more that I thought it would be."

Fiona found out about her great uncle when she was researching her family tree online. It was through this that the 102 (Ceylon) Squadron Association was able to trace her.

"I'm extremely grateful that we have a place where their names are recognised on a plaque," she said.

Clare Wilson The memorial plaque. It reads "In memory of the crews of 102 Squadrown Halifax LW333 DY-K and 77 Squadrown Halifax LW264 KN-K who were killed here in a mid-air collision at 23.55 hours on the 22nd of November 1943. The names of the 14 men who died are listed. At the bottom of the plaque it says: "We Remember Them All". Clare Wilson
A memorial plaque was unveiled near the crash site

Christopher Dunn lost his Uncle Sgt Frederick Dunn who, at age 22, was a bomb aimer in the same aircraft. He has been to the crash site many times over the years.

"I'm now 80", he said, "but it's still important to grieve."

"I never met him, but he met my elder brother briefly after he was born. Eleven days later, he was gone."

"It's important to come and keep his memory alive," he said.

The other aircraft, 77 Squadron - Halifax LW264, which had taken off from RAF Elvington, carried another seven crewmen.

All of them died in the explosion.

Harry Bartlett, chairman of 102 (Ceylon) Squadron Association, has been working on the project to install a plaque since 2018.

"Our driving force for our association is the remembrance and recognition of what the people in our squadron did years before us, so we came up with the idea," he said.

Bartlett said he was "over the moon" that more than 20 relatives were able to attend the event.

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