TRAINING ACCIDENT 3 – 20/11/1942
SGT. J.R. BARLOW (R.A.A.F.) DIED. SGT. W. J. BAKER (R.A.A.F.) DIED.
F/S. H.J. BUCKLEY (R.A.F.) DIED. F/O. J. LOVE (R.A.A.F.) DIED.
F/O. K. PETTIFORD (R.A.A.F.) DIED. F/S. S. CHEEK (R.A.A.F.) INJURED.
DETAILS OF ACCIDENT.
Took off from Lichfield at 08.03 on a bombing and photograph exercise. Early in
the flight, two Spitfires came near to the Wellington Bomber. It was said that they
came from an American unit. They passed so closely that they took off the trailing
aerial leaving the Wellington with no wireless equipment.
At about 14.10, eye witnesses on the ground saw the aircraft flying low over some
factory buildings near Leek in Staffordshire and then, to their horror, it smashed
into high ground at a place called Hen Cloud. All of the crew were killed except for
F/S. Cheek. He was taken Leek Cottage Hospital before being sent to Cosford
Hospital. The four Australians were buried in St. Stephens Churchyard in Fradley
and F/S. Buckley was buried in his home town of Pontypridd in Wales.