Operation: Air Test

Date: 20th October 1943 (Wednesday)

Unit No: 90 Sqn, 3 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Stirling III

Serial: EF497

Code: WP:L

Base: RAF Tuddenham, Norfolk

Location: Woodhouse Farm, Ipsden, Oxfordshire

Pilot: Flt Sgt. Wallace Edgar Jones 1314494 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Flt Eng: Sgt. Leslie Thomas MacSwayne 1394138 RAFVR Age 22. Killed

Nav: Sgt. Terry Edwards 1322675 RAFVR Age 28. Killed

Bomb Aimer: Flt Sgt. Harold Omond Spence R154088 RCAF Age 27. Killed

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. George Arthur Yates 1499051 RAFVR Age 21. Killed

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Flt Sgt. Kenneth William Pollitt R173896 RCAF Age 22. Killed (1)

Air Gnr (Rear): Flt Sgt. Ervine Eugene ‘Bud’ Spencer R173981 RCAF Age 22. Killed (2)

Above left to right: Flt Sgt. Harold O. Spence, Flt Sgt. Kenneth W. Pollitt, Flt Sgt. Ervine E. Spencer (from their Service Records)

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 20th October 1943 at 15:18 hrs EF497 took off from RAF Tuddenham in Norfolk to carry out a routine air test prior to operations. These flights were usually of a purely local nature and seldom take longer than 25 to 60 minutes.

At 16:15 hrs the aircraft was seen flying low over the ground at a distance of about eighty-two miles (82) from RAF Tuddenham. The conditions of visibility were from ten (10) to twelve (12) miles, and there was little or no low cloud. Therefore it seemed that an error in navigation could not have caused this aircraft to be so far from RAF Tuddenham.

The aircraft was observed to have been flying low and it appeared to have been carrying out a general "shoot up” of the countryside near the village of Ipsden. The aircraft was then seen then to head directly toward some trees, estimated to be about thirty (30) feet in height.

It would appear that the pilot saw these trees at the last minute and attempted to pull up the nose. The nose and fuselage cleared the trees but the starboard tail plane and elevator struck the trees and broke completely away in the air. They were found in a field close by with parts of branches embedded into the tail unit.

The aircraft remained airborne for about 1 to 1¼ miles before finally crashing at Woodhouse Farm, Ipsden twelve (12) miles SSE of Oxford in Oxfordshire killing all aboard.

The conclusion reached by the Court of Inquiry was the accident was the outcome of deliberate and unauthorised low flying. In his final observations the Investigating Officer stated that, ‘Fortunately fatal accidents caused by unauthorised low flying are rare at present, and it seems that little more can be done to prevent the isolated cases that do occur from time to time’.

(1) Flt Sgt. Kenneth William Pollitt.

Above: Courtesy of The Hamilton Spectator, dated 25th October 1943

(2) Flt Sgt. Spencer was recovered from his rear turret but succumbed to severe head injuries at approximately 18:00 hrs that day in the St. Hughes Military Hospital, Oxford

Above: Courtesy of The Hamilton Spectator, dated 23rd October 1943

Burial details:

Above: Oxford Botley Cemetery (Courtesy of the CWGC)

Flt Sgt. Wallace Edgar Jones. Oxford (Botley) Cemetery, Plot I/2, Grave 9. Grave Inscription: “THY WILL BE DONE”. Born in Cowbridge, Glamorganshire. Birth registered in the 3rd Qtr of 1923 in Cardiff, Glamorganshire. Son of Arthur Edward and Hilda M. (née Chichester) Jones of Llandough, Glamorgan, Wales.

Sgt. Leslie Thomas MacSwayne. Spalding Cemetery, Plot D.D. Grave 1242. Grave Inscription: “IF WE HAD THE WORLD TO GIVE WE WOULD GIVE IT AND MORE, TO SEE OUR LOVED ONE COME SMILING THROUGH THE DOOR”. Born in October 1921 in Willesden, Middlesex. Son of Frederick Thomas and Lilian May (née Harding) MacSwayne of Spalding, Lincolnshire, England.

Sgt. Terry Edwards. Kingswood (Holy Trinity) Churchyard, SE Part, Grave 756. Born on the 29th December 1914 in Bristol, Gloucestershire. Son of Henry Otho and Jane ‘Jenny’ (née Lines - deceased in July 1943) Edwards of Kingswood, Gloucestershire, England.

Flt Sgt. Harold Omond Spence. Oxford (Botley) Cemetery, Plot I/2, Grave 88. Born on the 20th January 1916 in Christianburg, Demerara River, British Guiana. Son of David John Alexander (deceased in July 1927) and Harriet (née Stokes) Spence of Christianburg, Demerara River, British Guiana, South America.

His immediate Next of Kin was his brother Walter Spence of Central Park, New York City, New York, United States.

Sgt. George Arthur Yates. Swansea (Cwmgelli) Cemetery, Section C, Grave 2244. Born on the 10th December 1921 in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales. Son of George (deceased in September 1937) and Mary Ellen (née Thomas - deceased in August 1928) Yates). Nephew of Thomas Brain of Town Hill, Swansea, Wales.

Flt Sgt. Kenneth William Pollitt. Oxford (Botley) Cemetery, Plot I/2, Grave 89. Born on the 12th September 1921 in Hamilton, Ontario. Grave Inscription: “GOD HAVE YOU IN HIS KEEPING UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN”. Son of Francis Christoper and Elsie May (née Nicoll) Pollitt of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Kenneth was engaged to be married to Miss L. Moore of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

When Kenneth enlisted his brother, LAC Bruce Pollitt R200586, was stationed at the Service Flying Training School (SFTS), RCAF Brantford, Ontario.

Flt Sgt. Ervine Eugene ‘Bud’ Spencer. Oxford (Botley) Cemetery, Plot I/2, Grave 90. Born on the 4th April 1921 of Middletown, Ohio, USA. Son of Abbie Jacob and Ollie (née Stubbs) Spencer of Middletown, Ohio, USA. Husband of Joan Eileen (née Bottrill) Spencer of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the crew and their families (Jul 2026).

Other sources listed below:

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