Airspeed Oxford LB537 of No.418 Squadron RCAF crashed at Cornel Min at the southern end of the Carneddau on the 13th January 1945

 

Tommy C. Matthew	Flight Lieutenant	Pilot	Killed
James Firth RCAF	Pilot Officer	Co-pilot	Killed
Geoffrey Day	Flying Officer	Passenger	Killed
Walter Paul Retzer RCAF	Flying Officer	Passenger	Killed

 

On the morning of the 13th January 1945 four personnel from No.418 Sqn took off in the unit’s Airspeed Oxford to fly to RAF Abbotsinch near to Glasgow (now the City’s airport) from their home station of RAF Hartford Bridge (now called Blackbushe) via RAF Woodvale near Southport. When the aircraft failed to arrive at Woodvale or any other station it was reported missing.

Nothing further was heard or seen of the aircraft until the 5th February when a shepherd working on Cornel Min above Llyn Crafnant discovered the wrecked aircraft and the bodies of the four airmen. He reported his find immediately and a team was summoned from the RAF Mountain Rescue Servive at Llandwrog. They arrived the site after dark so postponed any further action until the following day, when they recovered the bodies and identified the aircraft as the Oxford that had been reported as missing a little over 3 weeks earlier.

 

The two Canadian crew members were buried at Chester (Blacon) Cemetery and the British victims were buried elsewhere, with F/O Day buried at Pendlebury St John churchyard in Salford and F/Lt Matthew in Paisley.