Wellington BJ764 Memorial, St Mary Magdalene Church, Beetley

On the evening of 9 November 1942, Wellington BJ764 of No. 425 (Alouette) Squadron RCAF lifted off from RAF Dishforth at 17:33 for an operation to Hamburg. The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the target. Badly damaged, two crew members — Warrant Officer Delorme and Warrant Officer Pambrun — bailed out over occupied Germany and were taken prisoner. The four remaining crew stayed with the aircraft and attempted an emergency landing at RAF Swanton Morley, some 17 miles north-west of Norwich. At 23:58 the aircraft crashed near Beetley, killing all four on board: Flight Sergeant Raymond Rogers Foltz (pilot), Flying Officer George Stevenson Cartwright (observer), Flight Sergeant Roy Norman Victor Burke (wireless operator/air gunner), and Flight Sergeant Joseph Eugene Raymond Laporte (air gunner). All four are buried at Dishforth Cemetery, North Yorkshire, in adjacent graves (34-38). The Oxford University memorial notes he was posthumously awarded the Operational Wings of the RCAF and is believed to have been the first Rhodes Scholar killed in the Second World War. The two surviving crew — Delorme and Pambrun — were both held as prisoners of war.

The tablet is privately sponsored and maintained by St Mary Magdalene's Church. Cartwright is additionally commemorated at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and at Trinity College School, Toronto.

Do you know of any commemorative events or annual services held at this memorial? We would love to hear from local communities who remember.