WO. Alan Griffiths
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 299 Squadron
from:Manchester
(d.7th October 1945)
Alan was returning from Cairo to Shepherds Grove, Suffolk in a Shorts S29 Stirling 1V bomber. En route, the crew informed ground they were short of fuel and elected to divert to Rennes Airport. At 0028LT, the radio operator reported the fuel reserve were estimated for 10 minutes. Two minutes later, while completing a last turn in poor weather conditions, the aircraft nosed down and crashed in flames in a field short of the runway. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 26 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, visibility was poor due to low clouds, and the airfield was not sufficiently lighted.
Crew were:
- F/O Charles Thomas Dillon, pilot,
- F/Lt Donald William Lee, navigator,
- F/Sgt Donald Wareham, flight engineer,
- W/O Alan Griffiths, bomb aimer,
- W/O Victor Gerald Last, air gunner,
- W/O Eric Antony Pether, wireless operator and air gunner.
Passengers:
- Lt Col Alexander John Severs Mackenzie,
- C/O Dorothy Mary Mackenzie,
- Cpl Margery Greenfield,
- Pvt Margaret Jean Mortlock,
- LAC Agnes Aitchison Maltby,
- Cpl Edward Vernon Maltby,
- Sgt Hilda Victoria Timms,
- Lt Jack Edward Lloyd,
- Lt Frederick Edmund Withers,
- Lt Col George Howard Jones,
- Sgt Marie Elsie Isabel Innes,
- Sgt John Edward Timms,
- Cpt Cecil Tom Keates,
- Pvt Leonard Harold North,
- Lt John Alexander Leo Carus,
- AC1 Harry Ronald Goulding,
- LAC Sidney George Wordsworth,
- LAC John Ernest Simcock,
- Maj Samuel Harry Arthur Williams,
- AC1 Joseph McWilliams.
