Failed to Return
P/O A C Lockyer
P/O A C Lockyer and crew were posted to 550 Sqdn from 1654 CU w.e.f 13/03/45:
- P/O A C Lockyer (P) RNZAF [KIA]
- Sgt F E Drawbridge (F/Eng) [Surv]
- Sgt W Berry (Nav) [KIA]
- W/O H L Farmer (A/B) [KIA]
- Sgt L Elliot (W/Op) [KIA]
- Sgt S Matthews (MU/AG) [KIA]
- Sgt D Lucey (R/AG) [KIA]
The Lockyer crew, in NG132, were shot down while on a training exercise by an intruder (Fw Rudi Morenz from 1V.NJG2), over the Humber estuary 18:00 17 Mar 1945. Their's was the last Bomber Command aircraft to be shot down over the UK in WWII. There was only one surviver, Sgt F. E. Drawbridge (F/Eng).
The entry on the 550 Squadron Roll of Honour is available here.
Other information about the flight and the target available here.
As a "spare bod" Sgt. Drawbridge went on to flew ops with a number of other crews, including the following:
Pictured below is P/O Lockyer. Photo kindly made available from the Aircrew Remembered web-site. Sources include:
- http://www.aircrewremembered.com/lockyer-alfred-churchill.html
- https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C28679
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P/O Alfred Churchill Lockyer |
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P/O Alfred Churchill Lockyer (plus others unknown) |
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P/O Alfred Churchill Lockyer, extract from "Volume 3 For Your Tomorrow" - Errol Martyn |
Sgt D Lucey (R/AG)
Sgt Lucey is buried in Canovee graveyard (near Macroom) County Cork, about 18 miles from Tower village where he was born. Many thanks to Fergus Hannon for visiting the graveyard and taking a number of photographs of the CGWC gravestone and church and permission to display them on the web-site.
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See the full set of photos of the church and the graveyard here |
Station Narrative No. 17
This narrative, included in the Station Operational Record Book, is the report interrogation of Sgt. Drawbridge following the loss of NG132:
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Lockyer crew, Training, 17/18 Mar 1945
Interrogation of Sgt Drawbridge (sole survivor of crash) |
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(pg. 2 of 2) |
Memorial To The Crew
A memorial to crew can be seen in Rimswell, East Riding of Yorkshire. A number of photos are shown below. The plaque on the memorial records the details from the Station Narrative (above). Thanks to Darren England for researching the crash and for taking the photos and sending them in to the Association.
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The memorial was formally unveiled Sunday 12th February 2023. About 30 people, British Legion, the Buffs, Scouts and Guides assembled to take part in the unveiling. The Association was represented by George Turner and Mike Leeman. George Turner thanked everyone, on behalf of the Association, for what had been done creating the Memorial along with an account of how the crash occurred. A wonderful tribute to a brave crew from 550 Squadron.
A number of photos from the unveiling event are shown below.
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George Turner and Mike Leeman represented 550 Squadron Association |
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George Turner lays a wreath on behalf of 550 Squadron Association |
Many thanks to everyone involved with the raising of this new memorial to a 550 crew. We will remember them.
It was while researching for an entirely different Bomber Command aircraft loss that Darren England came across the loss of 550 Squadron aircraft NG132. Available below is a document recording that research.
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Crashed Lancaster NG132 17th June 1945
Document relating details about the crash (with many references to source documents and materials), and also the efforts made in establishing this memorial Many photos of the crash site (then and now), the location for the memorial and images of supporting documents Thanks to Darren England for making this publication available and permission to use it on the web-site |