Site last updated 1st February 2012

Peak District Air Accident Research

Whitley Mk.V BD230 of No.42 Operational Training Unit (OTU) crashed on Bullhurst Hill close to the village of Weston Underwood near Derby on the 24th July 1944.

Crew / Passengers	Rank - If Applicable	Position e.g. Pilot	Status
John William Edward Cooper	Flight Sergeant	Pilot	Killed - Missing
William Brooksbank Smith	Sergeant	Bomb Aimer	Killed
Henry Cowan	Sergeant	Navigator	Killed - Missing
Walter Clifford Norcross	Sergeant	Wireless Operator	Killed - Missing
Maurice Mitchell Lyon	Sergeant	Air Gunner	Killed

Sgt William Smith was buried at Ashbourne cemetery only a few miles from the crash site and Sgt Maurice Lyon was buried at St Helens Cemetery in Lancashire.

The crew had flown a night cross country navigation flight and were returning to their home base at Ashbourne when the aircraft dived into the ground only a few miles short.

Three of the crew were never accounted for and were assumed by No.42 OTU to have "disappeared with the aircraft which went fifteen feet into the ground".

Above is a photograph of Maurice Lyon's grave at St Helens Cemetery.

Image Copyright: David Hamilton.

Today the crash site is marked by a stone memorial bearing the names of the five airmen who lost their lives in the crash. For three of the men this site is also there grave.

A close up view of the inscription on the memorial.

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