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Newark Air Museum Memorial

For the year 2000, the museum decided to erect and dedicate a memorial to honour Bomber Command and 1661 HCU.
One of the exhibits at the museum was the propellor boss and reduction gear from "Stirling" EF. 186. which had crashed on December 4th 1944, killing all nine crew members.
The prop boss was the property of the Stirling Project who had excavated the crash site mush earlier.
The Project very kindly gave us permission to mount the boss on top of the memorial.

Much later, after a chance word with a visitor, Jim Sheffield, who told me more about the pilot, F/O Campbell, I decided to plant nine trees around the memorial each one dedicated to one of the crew.

Researching F/O Campbell's service with 463 Squadron, made me realise yet again just how cruel war and fate could be.
F/O Campbell---posted to 463, June 11th 1944,-----completed 34 ops over occupied Europe, bringing crew and aircraft back safely each time.-----Posted as an instructor to 1661 HCU October 21st 1944.------killed on a training flight December 4th 1944. Just six weeks after a tour such as his!
F/O Campbell is buried at Botley Cemetery, Oxford. Plot H/1, Grave 216.
The story goes that Campbell, while undergoing his Conversion training at RAF Swinderby (just up the road) was prone to forget to raise or lower flaps as the case may be, which resulted in his instructor shouting at him------"Flaps, Campbell, Flaps Flaps" which resulted in his nickname of "Flaps".
By all accounts he was a brilliant pilot, well loved by his crew.

Flying Officer GR Campbell RAAF.

S On the night of 4/12/44, F/O Campbell had already taken up one trainee aircrew on a night familiarisation flight.
The aircraft, a Short Stirling, landed and taxied up to the control caravan. A second crew was standing by waiting to fly on a similar exercise, the trainee pilot being Flight Sergeant Standring.

The Stirling then took off again with F/O Campbell still as the pilot instructor.

After entering cumolo/nimbus clouds the aircraft crashed out of control at Breeder Hills, Grantham, Lincolnshire.
All nine crew members were killed.