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Glenda Spacey raised £150 from 8 supporters
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Closed 01/01/2020
Weʼve raised £150 to Create a memorial dedicated to four young WW2 Commonwealth Aircrew who died when their burning plane crashed in Eagle village, Lincolnshire.
- Lincoln
- Funded on Wednesday, 1st January 2020
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Story
Eagle Village WW2 Memorial Project
Flight Sergeant John Bernard Kennedy Royal New Zealand Air force age 26
Sergeant William Leonard Kelly RAF Volunteer Reserve age 21
Sergeant Verner James Hopwood RAF Volunteer Reserve age 26
Sergeant George Arthur Metcalfe RAF Volunteer Reserve age 28
On the evening of the 12th February 1942 a Hampden bomber aircraft from 455 Sqn RAAF took off from RAF Wigsley, two miles South West of Eagle village to take part in Operation Fuller. The Operation was a Royal Navy-led mission to destroy German battleships which were causing damage to the Atlantic convoys bringing vital supplies to Britain. Three German battleships had entered the harbour at Brest for repairs, and on the night of the 11th of February made an historic dash to return to Germany alongside 66 others, and with air cover they reached the Dover straits virtually undetected. In almost a last attempt to destroy the battleships, which could have a key effect on the outcome of the war, Bomber Command launched their largest operation of the war to that point. Two hundred and forty two British aircraft were sent out against the battleships but all to no avail.
Our Hampden bomber was one of these that set off on a mine laying sortie but developed engine problems and had to turn back for Wigsley. With an engine on fire the aircraft crashed on its downwind circuit killing all the crew. The plane crash-landed in a farm orchard in the centre of the village near to the farm house. It is reported that during the crash a mine on board had broken away from its moorings and came to rest near the stricken aircraft and shortly afterwards this exploded, causing much damage to the centre of the village as roofs were blown off and windows shattered. Amazingly no one in the village was injured as villagers were evacuated before the mine exploded.
We want to tell the story of these four brave airmen and place a memorial in the churchyard for them to be remembered with honour. Any help you can give towards this project will be greatly appreciated.
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Supporters
8
Carol Phillips
Nov 18, 2019
Good luck in fund raising
£50.00
Paul Lane
Nov 18, 2019
£10.00
Colin Campbell
Nov 18, 2019
£10.00
Andrew & Di Vaughan
Nov 18, 2019
Carrie Tsai
Oct 22, 2019
for memory and story, keep going.
£10.00
Carol Phillips
Aug 19, 2019
£20.00
Chris Bergquist Fulmer
Aug 14, 2019
My uncle from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, died in WWII in a plane crash in Europe. Contributing to this makes me feel closer to him.
£20.00
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About CrowdfundingAbout the fundraiser
Glenda Spacey
Lincoln
Over the years I have researched many stories about our village history. One of these was about a WW2 Bomber aircraft that crashed in the village killing all 4 crew. This story captured the hearts of the people of the village and we want to create a memorial to honour the men.