Vickers Wellington NB824

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WELLINGTON BOMBER NB824 On the night of March 25th 1945, the crew of Wellington bomber NB824 nicknamed F- for -Freddie of 524 Squadron took off from RAF Langham with a crew of seven. They were scheduled for an anti-shipping strike off the Dutch coast. There was light rain at the time, with a completely overcast sky and not much horizon, but it was quite flyable. The aircraft became airborne in the normal way, but within a few seconds after the take-off, the starboard engine failed, and the plane crashed within a very short distance from the edge of the airfield. It immediately burst into flames, and though the fire tender and ambulance went out immediately, they had to cross ploughed fields to reach it, and by that time, the whole aircraft was practically destroyed by fire. It was inevitable that the crash was a heavy one and the three survivors owe their lives to the fact that they were in the rear of the aircraft which broke away on impact. They were also assisted by two American soldiers and Leading Aircraftwoman Ivy Cross, who was later awarded the British Empire Medal for bravery. THE CREW WERE:- [crew names listed on memorial] This plaque was unveiled on 28th March 2015, in the presence of many relatives of the crew, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the crash.

Last updated 2026-04-12