Help us verify this location. This memorial's position is not yet precisely confirmed. If you have local knowledge, photographs, or documentary evidence of the exact site, we'd love to hear from you.
Photographs
23 operational training unit wellington iii bk517, Credit: Aircrew Remembered
wellingtonbomber, Credit: Aircrew Remembered
23 operational training unit wellington iii bk517 memorial, Credit: Aircrew Remembered
robert jenkins and co ltd, Credit: Aircrew Remembered
006 17 547x410, Credit: P.Steele / War Memorials Online
007 640x427 547x410, Credit: P.Steele / War Memorials Online
009 12 547x410, Credit: P.Steele / War Memorials Online
On 28 December 1942, the Wellington took off from Atherstone-on-Stour for what should have been a routine 25-minute air test. The flight was described as an Air Test (Medical), suggesting F/O Byrne was demonstrating fitness to fly after illness or injury. The experienced pilot and five crew members climbed into cloud. Witnesses in Bodicote village saw the aircraft flying westwards extremely low with one engine smoking. The Wellington clipped its wing on an elm tree and crashed into the valley a quarter of a mile west of the village. All six men were killed. The official accident card noted the aircraft had "flown into cloud without a wireless operator" — suggesting the crew may have been flying with a depleted complement and unable to obtain weather or navigational assistance. The wreckage was later investigated by the Midland Aircraft Recovery Group, who found the crash site on private land west of Bodicote Church.
Aircraft & Operation Details
Aircraft Type
Wellington
Serial Number
BK517
Squadron
23 OTU
Station
Pershore / Atherstone-on-Stour
Date of Loss
1942-12-28
Operation Type
Training
Cause of Loss
Engine fire; flew into cloud without wireless operator; crashed attempting forced landing
F/O Byrne was 22 years old, from Fulwood, Sheffield. He was the son of Armel and Annie Byrne, and was married to Beryl Jean Byrne of Millhouses, Sheffield.
Memorial Details
Type
Large block of Hornton stone with engraved bronze plaque and RAF insignia, enclosed by circular metal railing fence
Dedication Date
June 2012
Memorial Care
parish council
Organisation
Bodicote Parish Council
Memorial stone with RAF insignia, enclosed by circular metal railing fence.
Local Contacts
These local organisations are connected to this memorial and may be able to help with information or visits.
The IWM register records this as a memorial to the crew of Vickers Wellington BK517 which crashed at Bodicote on 28 December 1942. The memorial is a large block of Hornton stone with an engraved bronze plaque and RAF insignia.
IWM reference: memorial/63182Hornton stone memorial with RAF insignia badge
War Memorials Online records the 1942 Wellington Bomber BK517 Air Crash memorial at Bodicote, Oxfordshire. The memorial was unveiled in June 2012 at a ceremony attended by relatives of the crew who died.
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