Liberator Crash and Memorial

In the churchyard of St John the Baptist, Cockayne Hatley there is a memorial in the shape of a B24 wing tip designed by Gary Breeze and made of Welsh slate. It was dedicated on Sunday 2 August 1998 to the crew of a Liberator KN736 which crashed in Potton Wood to the west of the village.   

On 18 September 1945 a crew of Australian and British airmen were carrying out training flights practising their take off and landings under emergency engine failure conditions. At about 3pm the seven man crew, and a Scottish Terrier puppy named Bitsa, took off in the refuelled four engined Liberator KN736 from its base at Bassingbourn in Hertfordshire. Following a successful test where the starboard outer engine was shut down as the plane took off Flight Lieutenant Edward John Spiller DFC (RAF) decided that the next part of the training, handling the plane with only two operational engines, should go ahead.  

At first the exercise went well, but it soon became apparent that they had insufficient control and were unable to maintain altitude. As they headed to the north-west and the rising land towards Greensand Ridge at Potton it became vital to restart at least one engine. The crew followed the restart procedures, but without success and the plane rapidly lost speed and altitude. The rising ground meant the crew had little time to rectify the situation and when the starboard wing stalled the plane went into a dive. It crashed into the southern part of Potton Wood breaking into sections and bursting into flames. 

Two local men, Sam Bonnett and C Dennis, were first to come to the assistance of the crew and were soon joined by others from Cockayne Hatley and nearby farms. Flight Sergeant RV Carling (RAF) was very seriously injured and, although badly hurt, Flying Officer Frank Doak  (RAAF) was able to walk away from the crash. Section Officer Noel Gilmour, DFC (RAAF) had burns, cuts, broken bones, concussion and bruises. He regained consciousness some way from the plane unaware of how he had got there. In his account of the incident Gilmour remembers waking in the dark at about 8pm when being removed on to a stretcher. He was told that the ambulance collecting the injured had returned later when it was realised that one of the crew was missing. Gilmour had been found deep in the wood thanks to the barking of McNulty’s dog, Bitsa’ attracting the attention of the rescuers. The dog was later adopted by the WAAF ambulance driver. 

Three members of the crew died immediately with a fourth dying later of his injuries at RAF Tempsford. 

• Flight Lieutenant 426286 Patrick Joseph McNulty DFC, 446 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. Died aged 22 and buried in Cambridge City Cemetery. 

• Warrant Officer 434008 James Raymond Potter, 446 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force. Died aged 22 and buried in Cambridge City Cemetery. 

• Flight Lieutenant 147197 Edward John James Spiller, 466 (RAAF) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died aged 28 and buried in Edmonton Cemetery, Middlesex. 

• Flight Sergeant 1863014 Delbert Roy Turner, Flight Engineer, 466 (RAAF) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Died aged 20 and buried in St Margaret Churchyard, Lowestoft, Suffolk. 

The official investigation by the RAF blamed pilot error by Flight Lieutenant Edward John Spiller which some believe to be unfair as there may have been other contributing factors. There was a suggestion that one contributing factor could have been the incompatibility of the intercom systems between the British and US systems.  

The RAF removed what was left of the plane after the fire with only small pieces of debris and scarred trees remaining. 

The memorial was suggested in the late 1990s by the Spiller family following a visit to Cockayne Hatley. The position was chosen as the church is close to the site of the accident and at the time Potton Wood was part of the Cockayne Hatley estate. 

References: 

• 130CH:  pamphlet The Memorial in the Churchyard at Cockayne Hatley, To Commemorate the airmen who died in the Liberator crash in Potton Wood on the 18 September 1945 
• Z1428/133: Village Link Magazine, Aircraft Crash in Potton Wood in 1945, April 2014 
• Z1428/143: Village Link Magazine, WWII aircraft crash, December 2015-January 2016 

External source:  

Potton Liberator KN736 (accessed February 2021)