Operation: Essen, Germany

Date: 23rd/24th October 1944 (Monday/Tuesday)

Unit No: 625 Squadron, 1 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: PA174

Code: CF:G

Base: RAF Kelstern, Lincolnshire

Location: Near Weeley Lodge in Essex

Pilot: Plt Off. Lloyd Allan Tweter J89394 RCAF Age 21. KiA

Flt Eng: Sgt. Sidney Roy Gilpin 1896753 RAFVR Age 19. KiA

Nav: Fg Off. Joseph Vincent Collingwood J38766 RCAF Age 31. KiA (1)

Bomb Aimer: Flt Sgt. Robert Howard Armstrong R180101 RCAF Age 21. KiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt. Lewis Ivor Davies 1833380 RAFVR Age 20. KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Sgt. John Allan McKendry R173301 RCAF Age 21. KiA (2)

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Desmond Roderick Smith R150932 RCAF Age 20. KiA (3)

Above: Plt Off. Lloyd Allan Tweter and Fg Off. Joseph Vincent Collingwood (From their Service Records)

Above: Flt Sgt. Robert Howard Armstrong and Sgt. Desmond Roderick Smith (From their Service Records)

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 23rd/24th October 1944 625 Squadron were detailed to join a force of 1055 bombers on an operation to bomb Essen.

PA174 return was routed to cross the English coast at Orfordness, above 10,000 feet just north of Clacton-on-Sea. The aircraft was seen to dive out of cloud about 4 miles north of Clacton-on-Sea. It was seen to describe a left hand orbit and dived into the ground near Weeley Lodge in Essex at 21:08 hrs where it exploded and burst into flames. The aircraft appeared to be diving under full power.

At the time of the accident the cloud base was approximately 1,800 feet and cloud extended to some 22,000 feet with severe icing conditions in cloud. From photographs of the wreckage it appears that the aircraft dived steeply into the ground. It is not possible to state whether this was due to icing or loss of control when flying on instruments. Parts of the outer nacelle fairings and maps were found on line of flight of aircraft over 2 miles away from scene of the crash.

No evidence could be produced to provide a definite cause of the accident but the Court of Inquiry concluded that a combination of the two probable causes were contributory factors in the crash:

The air speed indicator and static vent may have iced up, and the pilot may have opened up the throttles and. pushed the nose down to prevent stalling, thus going into a high speed dive.

The pilot may have failed in his instrument flying during the descent through 13,000 feet of cloud and he may thus have lost control. This theory is supported by the orbit made before the crash occurred.

Note: This was a new aircraft with just 6 hrs and 50 minutes on the airframe and Plt Off. Tweter was on first operation as Captain.

PA174 was one of three (3) aircraft from the Squadron that failed to return. The other two were:

Lancaster III LM691 CF:O - Flown by Sqn Ldr. Charles W.C. Hamilton which was involved in a mid-air collision with 462 Sqn Halifax III LL599 whilst returning from the operation. Sqn Ldr. Hamilton survived whilst his crew perished;

Lancaster III PB531 CF:H - Flown by Fg Off. Owen Henry Morshead. The aircraft and crew were lost without trace.

(1) Fg Off. Collingwood had two brothers and a sister who also served. WO. Bernard Thomas Collingwood RCAF and Sub-Lt Francis Joseph Collingwood RCN at Halifax. WRNS Rita Mary Collingwood. All survived the war.

(2) Sgt. McKendry had one brother who also served. Thomas Edward McKendry was serving at No 5. OTU RCAF at Abbortsford in British Columbia, Canada. He Survived the war.

(3) Sgt. Smith had two brothers who also served. Sgt. Achilles W.W. Smith M63204 who served with the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, 83 Company RCASC, overseas. Yeoman of Signals V12252 Robert B. Smith who served in HMCS Chatham, Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Both survived the war.

His eldest brother, Leading Signalman Cedric De Herries Smith 2533 RCN serving in HMCS Margaree and was posted MiA on the 22nd October 1940. HMCS Margaree was sliced in two in a collision with a convoy Merchant freighter, Port Fairy. He was amongst the 142 souls to go down with the forward part of the ship. He is remembered on the Halifax memorial Panel 4.

Burial details:

Above: The Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission)

The RCAF crew who perished were buried at the Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery at 10:00 hrs on the 3rd November 1944.

Plt Off. Lloyd Allan Tweter. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Section H. Row B. Grave 12. Grave Inscription: “LOVED IN LIFE, MISSED IN DEATH: MAY HE REST IN PEACE”. Born on the 7th January 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta. Son of Olaf Gunner and Freja (née Skerin) Tweter of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Sgt. Sidney Roy Gilpin. Cambridge City Cemetery, Grave 15150. Grave Inscription: “GOD PROVED HIM WORTHY AND TOOK HIM UNTO HIMSELF. THY WILL BE DONE”. Born in the 2nd Qtr of 1925 in Staines Middlesex. Son of Sidney Francis and Lilian (née Moser) Gilpin of Greenford, Middlesex, England.

Fg Off. Joseph Vincent Collingwood. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Section H. Row B. Grave 8. Grave Inscription: “SACRED HEART OF JESUS HAVE MERCY”. Born on the 5th April 1913 in Ontario. Son of Edwin Joseph (deceased) and Catherine (née Kelly) Collingwood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Plt Off. Robert Howard Armstrong. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Section H. Row B. Grave 11. Grave Inscription: “A LOVING SON EVER REMEMBERED BY HIS MOTHER, FATHER BROTHER AND SISTERS”. Born on the 27th March 1923 in Makinak, Manitoba. Son of Robert William and Elizabeth (née Clements) Armstrong of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Flt Sgt. Armstrong was posthumously appointed to a commission and promoted to J92624 Plt Off. with effect 22nd October 1944.

Sgt. Lewis Ivor Davies. Trealaw Cemetery Plot X, Grave 342. Grave Inscription: “BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART: FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD”. Son of John Evan and Ann Jane Davies of Trehafod, Pontyprydd, Wales.

Sgt. John Allan McKendry. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Section H. Row B. Grave 9. Grave Inscription: “HE HAS GONE ON BEFORE YET IS NOT FAR AWAY HIS MEMORY EVER WITH US DAY BY DAY”. Born on the 26th December 1922 in Toronto, Ontario. Son of Thomas and Margaret Norah (née Sneath) McKendry of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sgt. Desmond Roderick Smith. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Section H. Row B. Grave 10. Grave Inscription: “HIS BROTHER CEDRIC, ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY, WAS LOST IN THE ATLANTIC 22ND OCTOBER 1940 AGE 27”. Born on the 23rd October 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta. Son of Augustus de Herries and Maria (née Birnie) Smith of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the crew and their families (Nov 2025).

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