Page 21 - QARANC Vol 15 No 2 2017

Ceremony to dedicate a commemorative plaque to the crew of USAAF B17G
On 30 April 2017, four members of the Defence School of Healthcare Education (DSHE), Department of Healthcare Education, Maj Jamieson, Maj Carter, SAC Gray and LCpl Gurung (myself) attended the ceremony to dedicate a commemorative plaque to the crew of USAAF B17 G Flying Fortress which crashed near Rollright village on 23 December 1944 in Oxfordshire.
We arrived at the location at 1400 hrs. There were wartime US and UK military vehicles displayed outside the open field from the Oxcot Branch of Military Vehicle Trust. We all enjoyed going back to the history of those military vehicles and their importance back in those days. The ceremony commenced with a welcoming address by PC Chair in front of the village hall followed by a spectacular parade from the US Air Force, Royal Air Force, RAF Association, Royal British Legion and the great Dad’s Army.
James Tobin, a local historian, gave the explanation and description of the event of 23 December. The story was that on 23 December 1944, as the folk of Great Rollright village, Oxfordshire
prepared for Christmas, a tragedy occurred. At 6.15pm that day the peace was shattered by the sound of an American Boeing B-17 Bomber crashing near the village. Earlier that day the aircraft, a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress serial number 43-38812 (‘812’) of the 749th Bomb Squadron, 457th Bomb Group, had taken off from RAF Portreath in Cornwall and was heading for its home base at RAF Glatton, near Peterborough. The bomber had, on 19 December, been diverted to Portreath after a bombing mission to Germany. After taking off for home at approx. 4.30pm on 23 December, ‘812’ seemingly got lost on the way and eventually crashed into the trees near the Triangle at Great Rollright village at 6.15pm, killing eight airmen. Only one man survived the wreckage, thanks to heroic actions of Nursing Sister Lewis from the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS). Sister Lewis was at the village at that time. She alerted the emergency services, then immediately went to the crash site with the other villagers and started to give First Aid to the injured. She went under the
wreckage, administered morphine to crews and placed splints on the injured airman’s leg. Sister Lewis showed a great deal of courage, treating these men in the aircraft wreckage despite hazards such as potentially explosive material, exposure to hazardous substances, and sharp edges on the wreckage itself. Because of this, later Nursing Sister Lewis was commended for her brave conduct.
After that, the Commemorative
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