LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Ernest John CASTOR
Service No: 434240
Born: Mourilyan QLD, 4 October 1919
Enlisted in the RAAF: 6 November 1942
Unit: No. 1667 Conversion Unit (RAF), RAF Sandtoft, Yorkshire
Died: Aircraft Accident (No. 1667 Conversion Unit Lancaster aircraft WD 639), Lincolnshire, 5 April 1945, Aged 25 Years
Buried: Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Yorkshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Julius and Pearl May Castor, of Mourilyan, Queensland, Australia
Roll of Honour: Mourilyan QLD, Innisfail QLD
Remembered: Panel 120, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Lancaster WD 639 of 1667 Conversion Unit took off from RAF Sandtoft, near Doncaster, at 0258 hours on the morning of 5 April 1945, to carry out a non operational training flight. The aircraft dived into the ground in a field about three quarters of a mile from Crowle, Lincolnshire. A major portion of the aircraft was buried in soft earth, and after five bodies were recovered, digging was suspended owing to a crater falling in.
The crew members of WD 639 were:
Flight Sergeant Wilfred Stuart Bennett (432937) (Wireless Operator Air)
Flight Sergeant Ernest John Castor (434240) (Air Bomber)
Sergeant Stanley Joseph Crawhall (1684977) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer)
Flight Sergeant Thomas Evans (19183) (Rear Gunner)
Pilot Officer James Edward Grayson (434588) (Pilot)
Flight Sergeant Douglas Lionel Hayes (429952) (Mid Upper Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Maxwell Bentley Kilsby (437422) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/7/943