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Plane crash, Digbeth 1944

Lloyd

Lloyd

master brummie
I don't know if this has been covered elsewhere, but I am presently researching a plane crash near to Digbeth Coach Station on Wednesday 22nd March, 1944. The plane was an RAF Wellington twin-engined bomber which developed engine troubles and came down on a factory or warehouse roof next door to the Bus Garage - it was in the Evening Despatch the next day, and there was a picture (which I think I've seen many years ago). The two crew were killed, unfortunately.
Does this stir any memories? Others are researching the RAF museum archive, which has some detail, and hopefully the Newspaper photograph archives will yield a copy of the picture, but any other detail would be useful. Thanks.
 
Lloyd,

I believe this is the incident you refer to -

22/03/1944 Wellington HD987 of 105 OTU crashed on to a bus workshop in Birmingham when control was lost following engine failure. F/Lt B J Bolchin, P/O D Huddleston and Sgt B Morgan were all killed.

(https://www.couplandbell.com/marg/crashes1944.htm)

I came across this post while re-searching the incident for the web-site. I can add no more than the above, but at least you have an idea where it came down! Any more information you could provide for our website?

Steve
 
Thank you, Steve, that indeed is the incident.
Although a Midland Red bus at Digbeth garage was damaged in the incident (the company claimed and received compensation from the RAF!) and reports say the plane crashed on a 'Bus workshop', it was not the Midland Red premises. I am guessing that it was a former coachbuilders, Buckingham's, in Bradford Street, just across Mill Lane from the rear of the garage / coach station, and am trying to get confirmation of this.
I am not the one dealing with the main research, but when all the details are available I will pass them on to you. Thanks for your reply!
Lloyd.
 
I visit an elderly couple every week and the gentleman tells me he was in the RAF at the end of the war. His job at the time was to go with a team and collect crashed aircraft. I am not sure when exactly but I will ask him next week.
 
Thanks Lloyd,

I look forward to receiving those details from you. Do you know anything about the following -

Halifax crash - 80Adelaide Street, Brierley Hill
Heinkel He111 crash - 283? Hales Lane, Smethwick
Blenheim crash - Hagley Road West/Birch Lane, Oldbury
Whitley crash - 28 Park Road, Smethwick

These crashes were in 1941/42. Any information will be much appreciated.

Wendy - I look forward to hearing from you, with whatever details your friend can recall.

Steve
 
my father told me about his involvment in this incident. at the time he was in the raf and on leave . He witnessed the aircraft come down and and set on fire and petrol was leaking out he took the hose off the firefighter and went into the aircraft and turned the petrol taps off as he was familar with this aircraft as he worked as ground crew he said he put his hand on the pilots shoulder but it crumbled as the body was completly incinerated. When he returned from leave he got put on a charge because his uniform was ruined, the charged was dropped after the fire chief sent a letter to his commanding officer confirming these details my father never got any recognition because the letter was thrown in the bin
 
I wonder if this was the same incident? Although the research on this crash is not completed, and is at the moment on 'the back burner' although we have discovered through genealogical searches that the wife of one of the crew is still alive, in her 90s (and pleased yet surprised that anyone would be interested in what happened to her husband), the family of another have been in contact as we know more of the incident than family word-of-mouth has told them, and the grandchildren of the third possibly live in Lichfield.
Contemporary reports say that one crew member was pulled from the wreckage before flames completely consumed it, but he died very soon after (possibly minutes later).

The premises involved was (as I guessed) part of the old Buckingham coachbuilders works on the corner of Bradford St and Mill Lane (they built coach and bus bodies, including some for Birmingham Corporation in the 20s, but were closed [possibly bankrupt] by 1931) and the photograph below shows some of the wreckage the next day. Part of what appears to be the aircraft's geodesic framing can be seen behind the left-hand man, and one of the landing wheel supports is beween him and the other man.

The official RAF report on the incident is rather sketchy in its findings, leaving us to assume from its words that a fault in the fuel system caused both engines to fail. The aircraft had just left either RAF Bramcote or RAF Nuneaton, both being joint home of No. 105 OTU (operational training unit) after overhaul and conversion to 'transport' rather than 'bomber' use, being transferred to another (unknown as yet) RAF Station when the crash occured.
 
I have been asked to re post here. Although my aircraft is a German one I think, not an RAF one,.

I always was interested in the parking lot at Digbeth. During the daytime many relics could be seen parked there. At some time during WW2, most likely in the later part I recall seeing a German aircraft which had presumably been shot down and had crashed onto the roof of buildings adjacent to the entrance road to the Digbeth Garage.
 
Thank you. I have some poorer copies scanned from the paper, but these are much clearer.
 
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