Halifax DT524 Memorial, Wressle (Intake Plantation)

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DT524 took off from RAF Riccall at 10:05 on 7 September 1943 carrying a mixed crew of trainees working up to operational standard and three instructors. F/O Maynard Meyer Caplan DFM — a decorated pilot posted to instructional duties after completing his tour — was the senior crew member.

The exercise involved a Hurricane making simulated attacking passes while the Halifax crew practised evasive action under instructor direction. During the exercise the aircraft entered a spin. The starboard outer engine broke away from the wing and the aircraft dived into the ground at the edge of Newsholme Plantation (now Intake Plantation) near Wressle at around midday. All ten men aboard were killed.

Caplan had survived a full operational tour to earn his DFM, then was killed on a routine training flight within weeks of completing it. The mixed RAF and RCAF composition of the crew was typical of HCU operations, where Commonwealth aircrew trained together before joining operational squadrons.

One of the ten crew names has not been recovered from open sources.

Research by local historians Albert Pritchard, Eric Barton, and Ken Reast confirmed DT524 wreckage at the Intake Plantation site and established the two-mile separation from the JD151 crash near Bowthorpe Hall.

The Yorkshire Air Museum is associated with the plaque.

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