Residents of the city Of Salford as well as the wider community are being invited to attend a memorial service which will help to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Lancaster Bomber crash. Those who attend are welcome to pay their respects at the service which will take place on Sunday 31st July at Agecroft Cemetry on Langley Road, Pendlebury to honour the seven man crew of the Lancaster Bomber PB304 and the two local residents who were killed on July 30, 1944 when the plane went down following an aborted bombing run during the Second World War.
The bomber which formed part of the 106 Squadron was in the middle of conducting a raid on Cahagnes in Normandy, France to support the allied invasion but cloud cover blocking the target meant that the aircraft had to circle overhead, facing intense anti-aircraft fire from the German forces.
The brand new Lancaster had been on a bombing raid on German positions at Cahagnes in Normandy in support of British troops on the ground. The attacking force comprised 462 Lancasters, 200 Halifax bombers and 30 Mosquitos but due to cloud covering the target area many were not ordered down through the cloud to bomb at low level and returned to base still carrying their bombs. Moreover, the returning crews could not ditch their bombs in the English Channel due to all the Allied shipping supplying the invading forces.
The crew were advised to abort their mission and return to their base at RAF Metheringham and were conducting a wide sweep via Blackpool when the plan began to lose height over Pendlebury. It attempted to make an emergency landing on Littleton Road playing fields before it unfortunately crashed on the bank of the river Irwell. The impact of the crash caused injuries to around seventy civilians who were on the ground with two residents later dying from their injuries. This added to the death toll from the members of the crew who were killed due to the crash.
Councillor Barbara Bentham, lead member for environment, neighbourhoods and community safety said: “The Salford Bomber crash is a significant moment in our city’s history and we should always take the time each year to remember the crew who gave their lives to protect this country and we will never forget them.”
The crew of the bomber who passed away will be commemorated with a memorial stone which is placed at Agecroft Cemetry. This will help members of the public who may have been related to the crew who passed away by giving them a place where they can go to remember their loved ones and pay their respects. This includes Pendlebury resident Raymond Barnes.
The short service will take place at 11am and will be followed by refreshments.
There were many witnesses to the incident as it happens who were able to carefully describe in detail to investigators what they saw and heard so accurate records could be kept to establish what really happened. While the plane crashed, it very nearly made a successful landing but unfortunately the wings of the air craft clipped the roof tops of houses in Regatta Street and the Lancaster crashed into the far bank of the River Irwell. There was apparently a pause of 30 seconds before the bombs on board exploded.
Two people on the ground (not one as initially reported) died of injuries caused by the blast; a 45 year old ARP warden, Mr George Morris and 72 years old Mrs Lucy Bamford, both of Pendleton.
The Salford City Reporter of August 18 1944 reported on the coroner’s inquiry. Mrs Caroline Morris said her husband had been working in the allotment. Mr Morris had asked his wife to fetch some scissors from the house to cut some roses. As she returned she saw the Lancaster low overhead and thought it was doing stunts. He shouted, “Run for it Carrie!” I ran behind an air raid shelter. There was a loud explosion. I ran home to see whether the children were safe and then ran back to the allotment where I found him lying on the ground. He said his left leg had gone.
Mr Morris seemed to be recovering well in hospital but died a few hours later, the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism brought on by the fracture to his leg.
