Polish Wellington Bomber crash site

[Woolgar]

Today I was enjoying a leisurely cruise along the Leeds-Liverpool canal.

As my son and I (pictured) were opening a bridge to let our barge through I noticed this memorial:

AT NOON on September 23rd 1943 the Polish crew of Wellington bomber HZ251 took off from Skipton on Swale in North Yorkshire for a routine training mission. Shortly afterwards their aircraft fell out of the sky; crashing on the banks of the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Bradley, near Skipton. None of the crew survived.

On April 22nd relatives of the men gathered at the crash site to unveil a memorial in their honour. They were joined by RAF Officers, cadets and veterans as well as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Spitfire and Hurricane, which flew in tribute overhead.

Five of the seven man crew were novices but the pilot, Flight Sergeant Fraciszek Ciaston, had flown seven operational sorties. Navigator Instructor, Flight Lieutenant Jozef Wolnik then just 31, had completed 46 missions over enemy territory and received the Virtuti Militari, Poland’s highest military decoration.

Nick

[m3bobby]

Thats a very tidy memorial. Thanks for sharing.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Nick,

I second m3bobby in thanking you for posting this. It’s very nice to see that the memorial is well kept.

Cheers,
Tony

[Adrian Stevenson]

Thanks Nick, funny how you can just stumble over something of interest.

Some more info here:

Fitting tribute to WWII Polish airmen

Cheers, Ade.

[Woolgar]

Really interesting link Ade

Nick

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Thanks for posting the additional information Ade. I had initially thought the memorial dated back to the wartime era. What a wonderful story. And such a kind gesture of generosity on the part of the two men, Peter Whitaker and Jim Hartley, who took the time and effort to ensure that the memory of these young airmen was preserved.

Regards,
Tony