Sergeant 1515736 George Gordon Critchley

BMD details:
Birth 29 July 1921

Census details:
1939 Register - Not identified. Possibly redacted and living at 139 Woodville Street, St Helens.

Notes:
[url=lmem.php?lmem=26]Remembered on the West Park Old Boys Memorial[/url]

Sergeant George Gordon Critchley was a navigator in a Lancaster bomber of 576 Squadron which collided with another Lancaster bomber over the parish of Ulceby in Lincolnshire after taking off for a mission in Berlin on 16 Dec 1943. There were no survivors from either crew. [comment]You can read an eye witness account below.[/comment] On the night of 16/17th December 1943, Lancaster LM322 took off from RAF Elsham Wolds, detailed to bomb Berlin. Just after take off an accident occurred when LM322 collided with Lancaster JB670 from 103 Squadron (RAF) that had RAAF Member Flight Sergeant Thomas Leslie Hobson Kay (413390) (Air Bomber) on board. The crews in both aircraft were killed in the accident. A report into the Flying accident stated: "The accident occurred at dusk just after take off about 5 miles north east of Elsham Wolds. The two aircraft followed each other off with an interval of one minute between. Visibility was moderate, with cloud base at 1,000 feet, and thickness about 1000 feet. Some three minutes after the aircraft had taken off they collided, the collision occurred at a distance of 4 to 5 miles bearing 080 degrees to the take off runway, either at the base of, or in low cloud. Pilots were instructed to climb through the cloud in the direction of take off, before circling the drome. Why these two aircraft did not do so is not known." The Station Commander at Elsham Wolds stated: "It is considered that this accident was due to the disobeying of instructions and should never have occurred. All Captains were briefed that under no circumstances were they to circle below or in cloud but to climb straight ahead after take off. The cloud base was at 1,000 feet and the depth of cloud was not more that 1300 feet. Both these aircraft were seen to circle about 4 miles from the drome immediately after take off, and immediately after take off start to climb through cloud on roughly the reciprocal of their take off. Owing to the fact that there are no survivors, it is impossible to state which aircraft actually caused the collision." The crew members of LM322 were: Sergeant John Hamilton Caldwell (1370276) (RAF) (Wireless Air Gunner) Sergeant George Gordon Critchley (1515736) (RAFVR) (Navigator) Sergeant Stanley Victor Cull (1814522) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer) Flight Sergeant Peter Martin Crowle Ellis (1388790) (RAFVR) (Air Bomber) Sergeant Joseph William Ross (1804080) (RAFVR) (Rear Gunner) Flight Sergeant Frederick Roy Scott (413903) (Pilot) Flight Sergeant Brian Price Wicks (416815) (Mid Upper Gunner) [pic]imgs/WW2_misc/WW2_ROH_1515736_Critchley_1.jpg[/pic] [pic]jeff/GGCritchley.jpg[/pic] [comment] iframe to http://www.walter9.info/Ulceby/html/lancaster_crash.html went missing[/comment]