Westborough Lancaster Memorial

Local remembrance and memorial support

Local authority responsible for memorial upkeep

War Memorials Online entry for the memorial plaque to the crew of 1668 HCU Lancaster LM619 at Westborough. The plaque commemorates the six crew members killed when the Lancaster crashed on 15 January 1945 during night bombing practice from RAF Bottesford.

Memorial plaque near All Saints Church, WestboroughLast fatal aircraft accident at Bottesford during WWII

Detailed article about the LM619 memorial at Westborough. The Lancaster departed Bottesford at 18:20 for routine night bombing practice, conducted an overshoot of the airfield, then crashed in a field at the edge of Westborough for unknown reasons. The rear gunner, Sgt Ashby, was the sole survivor.

Departed Bottesford at 18:20 on 15 January 1945Crashed after conducting overshoot of airfieldRear gunner Sgt Ashby sole survivorEnquiry blamed loss of control in haze and poor visibility

International Bomber Command Centre post detailing the circumstances of the Lancaster LM619 crash at Westborough, Lincolnshire on 15 January 1945. Confirms the aircraft was from 1668 Heavy Conversion Unit and was on a training exercise.

IBCC documentation of the incidentConfirms 1668 HCU training flight details

Chapter 17 of 'On the Wings of the Morning' by Vincent Holyoak, published by the Bottesford Living History project, covers the final wartime accidents at RAF Bottesford including the LM619 crash. Provides broader context of the Heavy Conversion Unit's operations.

Part of comprehensive Bottesford wartime historyLM619 was the last fatal crash at the station

Aviation Trails feature on RAF Bottesford covers multiple accidents at the station including the LM619 crash. Provides context about the Heavy Conversion Unit training operations that took place at Bottesford in the final years of the war.

Contextualises LM619 within broader Bottesford accident history