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 

William Brooksbank Smith

Sergeant

Bomb Aimer

Killed

Henry Cowan

Sergeant

Navigator

Killed

Walter Clifford Norcross

Sergeant

Wireless Operator

Killed

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.

 

Memorial at the crash site of BD230

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.    

 

BD230 Memorial

A close up view of the inscription on the memorial. 

 

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