Information on the graves located at St. Marks Church Worsley Manchester. James Allen, World War Two JAMES ERIC ALLEN JAMES ERIC ALLEN Fg.Off. RAF.VR d. 7 December 1941 aged 28 106109 JAMES ERIC ALLEN was the son of William Henry and Sarah Agnes Allen (née Aston), his second wife, of Monton Green. He was born on 14 March 1913As a school boy, he attended Eccles Grammar School. He married Vera Margaret Gaskell in the early part of 1940 (Barton district). On 14 April 1941, R.A.F. Wellesbourne Mountford opened, 4 miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon, which became home to No. 22 Operational Training Unit RAF , flying Vickers Wellingtons and Avro Ansons for RAF Bomber Command . It was part of R.A.F. No.6 Group Bomber Command and remained an O.T.U. over the next four years, its purpose being to train British and Commonwealth aircrews, (pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators and air gunners) day and night, and have them ready to move on to operational squadrons. As 22 O.T.U. grew in size, sadly the loss of aircraft and personnel rose accordingly. In total, some 90 aircraft were destroyed, with 80 airmen injured and 299 killed. Of these, 244 were Canadians. James Eric Allen came to Wellesbourne as a member of No.12 course, training to be a pilot on Wellingtons. Each course taught the basic skills over an eight-week period. Because of the intensity of the course, accidents started to occur more frequently. One such accident, typical of dozens that were to befall Wellesbourne, occurred on 7th December 1941. It was a Sunday evening and the Midlands was suddenly engulfed in severe snowstorms. Two aircraft were carrying out circuits and landings. At 1830 hours, Wellington T2566 of 'B’ Flight was on finals, approaching runway 24 when the pupil pilot, P/O J. Lynas, aged nineteen, completely lost visual sight of the runway lights. He dramatically lost height and hit a row of trees in line with the flarepath. The aircraft burnt out in the ensuing crash by Heath Spinney on the Newbold road, killing P/O Lynas, P/Instructor Turner and WO/AG Sgt. Chancellor, and badly burning P/O Jackson and AG Sgt. Lane. Five minutes later, Wellington X9625 of 'A’ Flight was unable to line up with the runway due to the snow and, in trying to overshoot, caught the trees on Loxley Hill, finally crashing into the top of Red Hill, near Woodfield farm, quite close to the station wireless building. All four of the crew initially survived the crash, but sadly P/O J. E. Allen and W/O A. D. Cuthbert RCAF died later of their injuries. The other crew members were Sgt. J. H. Cox and AG Sgt. Allen. The death of James Eric was recorded in Stratford-upon-Avon in December 1941. His will, which was proved on 2 February 1942, shows that he lived at 'Berwyn', 1 Larch Avenue, Swinton. He had died on 7 December 1941 at Ettingley Farm, Loxley, Warwickshire. His estate was left to his wife, Vera Margaret. His name appears on the War Memorial Board from Eccles Grammar School which was re-dedicated in its new home in St. Paul's Church, Monton, at 10.45 on Remembrance Sunday, 13th November 2005 Researched and written by Paul R Speakman Back

Information on the graves located at St. Marks Church Worsley Manchester. Keith Files, World War Two Keith Barnet Files Baptism: 5 Oct 1913, St Marks, Worsley, Lancs. Keith Barnet Files - [Child] of James Files & Ethel Born: 5 Sep 1913 Abode: Astley House Boothstown Occupation: Colliery Manager KEITH BARNET FILES Sgt. RAF d. 11 January 1941 aged 27 523740 In the course of World War 2, over 200 airmen lost their lives as a result of air accidents over the North Yorks. Moors. Their names are included on a Roll of Honour posted on the yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk website which carries a great deal of information about these incidents. KEITH BARNET FILES is one of those named. He was born on 5 September 1913 to James and Ethel Files (née Fogg) of Astley House, Boothstown, and baptised at St.Mark's one month later, on 5 October, by John H. Mason, the curate. In the baptism register, his father, James, was a colliery manager in the area. On 11 January 1941, a Lockheed Hudson, serial number N7298, took off from RAF Leuchars, but sadly did not return. The crew on board this flight was P/O Basil Lincoln Fox (aged 26 - pilot); Sgt. Keith Barnet Files (aged 27 - pilot/navigator); W/O/Air Gunner Sgt. William Robert Martin (aged 25); and P/O John McDonald Scott Wylie (aged 21 - Air Gunner). Keith Barnet Files is buried in the churchyard together with both his parents. Although his name and grave appear on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission 's website, he is therefore not to be found with the traditional war memorial stone above the grave. His mother died on 25 April 1933, aged 51, and his father in 1965, ages 86. On the 72nd anniversary of the fatal crash, in 2013, a memorial stone and plaque was dedicated to the lost airmen, close to the scene of the crash. It reads: In Remembrance When returning from a North Sea night time patrol, Hudson aircraft N7298 of 224 Sqn., Command, RAF Leuchars, crashed half a mile north of this point in the early hours of 11 January 1941. There was no fire and the crew of four, although injured, survived the crash. Tragically, they had died of exposure before discovery two days later. Pilot: P/O B. L. Fox - New South Wales, Australia aged 26 Navigator/Pilot: Sgt. K. B. Files - UK aged 27 WirelessOp/AG: W. R. Martin - UK aged 25 Airgunner: P/O J. Macdonald Scott Wylie - UK aged 21 They died in the cause of freedom The story surrounding this flight has been recorded in great detail by the yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk website and its manager, and the details below are taken from that website. The photo of Keith Barnet Files above was supplied to the website by his cousin Mr. Keith Files. The winter of 1940-41 was a very severe winter in the North of England with deep snow in the hills for many weeks. On this flight Hudson N7298 took off from Leuchars, Scotland at 01.17hrs on 11th January 1941 and flew in a south-easterly direction out into the North Sea to undertake a night time operational flight. The precise details of the flight are not fully known, as the RAF's crash card for the incident refers to the operation as being a "special task" and what this task was has not yet been learnt. One suggestion is that the crew had flown some fifty miles out into the North Sea from Leuchars looking for vessels trying to cut through minefields. What exactly happened then is not recorded, but the aircraft probably flew too far south. The crash investigation initially thought that during the flight the wireless equipment and direction finding equipment might have failed. The crew probably were unsure of their position and possibly flew a rough westerly course to make landfall in odrer to try and work out where they were, but then they should have headed along the coast. Instead of this, the aircraft drifted over land and struck high ground. The aircraft struck the top of the area of high ground on Warren Moor, above Kildale, in the early hours of the morning, but did not catch fire. The exact time for the crash is not known. This webpage and other accounts of the incident suggested that Warren Moor was covered in snow at the time of the accident but in 2013 a witness to the incident stated at the memorial service that there was in fact no snow present at the time but that the night was a stormy one and that the crew were flying in poor visibility. All four of the crew survived the crash and, although injured, they managed to scramble clear of the plane but probably later returned to it after the danger of fire had passed, to shelter from the weather. Sadly, all four men had died before they could be rescued. They had all died probably through a combination of their injuries and of exposure before being found at 16.30hrs on 12th January 1941. Their bodies were found under a wing of the Hudson huddled together. Local recollection recounts that the owners of nearby "Park Farm" thought that they heard voices on that night but as the weather was so bad they did not venture out to investigate. The crew must surely have all been seriously injured. Had they been able to explore their surroundings, they would have found the Kildale to Baysdale track (a few yards away) or farms just down from the moor top. I have been contacted by a local man, Mr Bell, whose father was farm manager at Baysdale Abbey during the War and he recalls his father telling him of seeing something odd on the moor the next morning which was noticed whilst he was tending to sheep in the valley bottom. Upon exploring, it became clear that it was an aircraft on the moor. He recalls his father being one of the first to the crash site and that a good clean up job was done by the RAF in the weeks after the accident. This story probably relates to the Hudson accident. The operations logbook lists all the flights made by other 224 Squadron aircraft and crews in the search for the missing Hudson, with six Hudsons undertaking flights - four in the late morning and two in the afternoon, with only one of these later aircraft carrying out a search as far south as was needed. This aircraft searched the coast around Scarborough and Flamborough Head and upon landing the crew reported that the weather was too bad to go inland on their search so returned to base. The death of Sgt. Keith Barnet Files is also recorded in the Roll of Honour in the scouts records, in which it is stated that he belonged to the 1st Manchester Grammar School Group and that he died whilst on active service. On 3 June 1927, he was one of a small number of boys from Manchester Grammar School who boarded the 'Mooltan' (P&O) in London for Gibraltar, with two school masters. Then, on 17 June, he arrived back in London with the school party on the 'Maloja' (P&O) which had originated from Sydney. His name also appears as a member of the Royal Aero Club. This record shows that Keith was living at "The Hurst" on Leigh Road and that he was an engineer. He received his certificate on 24 August 1937 at the Northern School of Aviation at Barton, flying a Hillson Praga (manufactured by F. Hills and Sons). Researched and written by Paul R Speakman Back

The Ellesmere Crypt at St. Marks Church, Worsley, Manchester. The Egerton Family. Francis Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere The Ellesmere Family Crypt Click on image to expand Home

Information on St Mark's Church, Worsley, Manchester, UK, Church of England, Author Paul Speakman St Mark's Church Worsley The Burne Jones Window The West Window The Pugin Glass Peter Rasbotham Window The Ellesmere Clock The White Frontal Salvator Mundi The Choir Stalls The Nave The Choir The Church Bells Kneelers The Visit of Queen Victoria Richard Knill Freeman Plan of the Church The Truth The Baptismal Window The St. Hilda Window The Angel Scrolls Pugin and Barry The Sebastopol Lace The Reredos The Memorial Tomb The Pulpit and Lectern The Baptismal Font The Organ A F Egerton Angels War Memorial James Attwood The Rectory Church Play 1983 Home

Worsley August 1945 Below is an aerial photograph of Worsley taken by the RAF in August 1945. Courtesy of Historic England Red Dot - St Mark's Church Orange Dot - The Bridgewater Canal Green Dots - Roe Green CC /Worsley CC Cyan Dot - The Ellesmere Memorial, Leigh Road Magenta Dot - Worsley New Hall Blue Dot - Grounds of Worsley New Hall (Now RHS) Purple Dot - Site of the McCrea's House (Destroyed 1940 blitz) - Link Yellow Dot - V1 Crash Site Xmas Eve 1944 - Link Home

Manchester Evening News February 1971 Manchester Evening News 1971 The below article is from the Manchester Evening News on 27th Feburary 1971. Home

St Marks Church, Worsley, Salford, Greater Manchester. Church of England Links Below are a list of links that may be of interest St Mark's Church Worsley Sir George Gilbert Scott Worsley Civic Trust Boothstown Village Website Salford Local History Forum Lt Thomas Crompton RHS Gardens Bridgewater The Bridgewater Canal Eccles and District History Society Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society Commonwealth War Graves Commission Historic England Home

Information on the graves located at St. Marks Church Worsley Manchester. John Rowson, World War Two John Rowson JOHN ROWSON Pte. RAOC d.3/6/1941 aged 20 925722 JOHN ROWSON was a member of the 4th Div Workshops, Royal Army Ordnance Corps. He was the son of Peter and Margaret (née Knight) Rowson of Walkden. They had married at St.Mark's on 21 April 1919. The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment. Baptism: 22 Dec 1920 St Mark, Worsley, Lancs. John Rowson - [Child] of Peter Rowson & Margaret Born: 5 Nov 1920 Abode: 244 Lumber Lane Worsley Occupation: Colliery Worker Researched and written by Paul R Speakman Back

Information on the graves located at St. Marks Church Worsley Manchester. Norman Lingard, World War Two Norman Arthur Lingard NORMAN ARTHUR LINGARD Sgt. RAF.VR d. 28 March 1942 aged 27 1059599 NORMAN ARTHUR LINGARD was born in the first quarter of 1915. He was the son of Arthur and Betsy Lingard (née Beckett), of Worsley, who married in the middle of 1912. A memorial in the United Reformed Church on Worsley Road bears his name, together with five others who died in World War II. He was buried at St.Mark's on 1 April 1942. Norman Arthur Lingard was flying a Lancaster (serial number R5501, coded EM-G) when it collided with a Miles Master (DK973) during a daylight cross-country exercise. Both aircraft crashed at 1320 hrs on Canwick Hill, just to the east of Bracebridge Heath, 2 miles South of Lincoln. The crew of four, all members of 207 Squadron, were all killed: Sgt. N. A. Lingard; Sgt. D. A. Wood; Sgt. R. W. Cox; and Sgt. T. C. Massey. The pilot of the Miles Master, Lt. J. D. Linaker was also killed. The following account of the incident is recorded in chapter 5 of the book On the Wings of the Morning by Vincent Holyoak. This is a copy of the relevant chapter. For six weeks that it was stood down, 207 was busily engaged in converting on to the Lancaster. By the end of April, it could boast sixteen of the new type on strength with as many trained crews. In the meantime, the seemingly interminable circuits, night landings and cross-countries were not without their drama, with two aircraft being destroyed. The first and most tragic loss was that of 27-year-old Mancunian Sergeant Norman Lingard and his crew in Lancaster R5501 EM-G. Just after lunch on March 28, they were engaged in a daylight cross-country exercise south of Lincoln when Cranwell based Miles Master DK793 flown by a pupil pilot, Lieutenant Linaker, began to carry out a series of unauthorized feint attacks. Unauthorized aerobatics of any kind were expressly forbidden. Many a trainee had been killed showing off, and on one pass witnesses on the ground saw the Master slice into R5501’s tail section, both aircraft spinning out of control to crash on the Bracebridge Road. Lingard and fellow Sergeants Wood, Cox and Massey, along with the Master pilot were all killed instantly. Norman Lingard had already survived many operations as a second pilot and to die in such a way was particularly sad. Researched and written by Paul R Speakman Back

Information on the graves located at St. Marks Church Worsley Manchester. Geoffrey Topham, World War Two Geoffrey Topham GEOFFREY TOPHAM Cpl RAF d.3/12/1941 aged 20 72127 GEOFFREY TOPHAM was the son of Harold Corless Topham and Winifred (née Hyde), of Chorlton- cum-Hardy, Manchester. His birth was registered in Barton district in early 1921. The circumstances of his death are difficult to verify, but it is possible that he may have been flying a Beaufighter I - T4703 - of No.1 OADU (Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit). This aircraft had been reported as a loss for this day, having collided with Beaufighter T4715 on take-off at RAF Portreath, 27 OTU. However, his death was registered at Newcastle under Lyme and this makes the above scenario unlikely. Researched and written by Paul R Speakman Back

Fred Slinger , World War One , WW1 Information on the graves located at St. Marks Church Worsley Manchester UK Fred Wilby Slinger FRED WILBY SLINGER Pte. Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Branch), d. 5 July 1917 aged 30 76748 BURIED AT WORSLEY Gunner F. W. Slinger, who was buried at Worsley on July 9th with full military honours, was well known in the Winton and Worsley Districts. He was 30 years of age, lived for some time in Catherine Street, attended St. Mark's School, and later became telegraph boy at Worsley. From here he was transferred to the Parcels Department at the Manchester Port Office, where he was employed when war broke out. He was a member of the 5th Manchester Territorials, but did not proceed with the Division to Egypt, and shortly after transferred to the Royal Scots. With the infantry he saw active service on the Western Front, taking part in the Somme battle last year, and in the offensive of this summer. Early in the present year he was transferred Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps, and became one of the crew of Tank no.2. On June 7th, after the battle of Messines, Slinger was at work outside his tank in the zone of shell fire, when he was struck by a portion of a German shell. He was brought to Leicester Hospital, where he received every possible attention, but his wounds proved fatal, and he died on July 5th. Slinger was married but had no children, his widow's home being with Mrs. Goring at 7 Cleaveley Street, Worsley Road, Winton. [Local newspaper] This is how the death of Fred Wilby Slinger was reported in a local newspaper. He was married to Elizabeth (née Goring) on 22 May 1915 at St. Mark's. His father was Thomas, a shop assistant. Fred's address was Railway View, K. William Street, and he was 28 years old. His wife, Elizabeth, was 24 and her father was Erasmus Goring, an engineer, of Patricroft. Fred was awarded the Victory Medal in 1919. He was buried by Campbell Blethyn Hulton on 8 July 1918, having died of wounds at the Fifth Northern Military Hospital, Leicester. Researched and written by Paul R Speakman Back

Information on the graves located at St. Marks Church Worsley Manchester. Leonard Hardman, World War Two Leonard Hardman LEONARD HARDMAN Sapper RE d.13/5/1945 aged 28 1649041 LEONARD HARDMAN was the son of Richard and Ethel (née Tennant) Hardman and was born in the third quarter of 1916 in Barton district. He was also the husband of Bertha (née Merritt) Hardman, of Boothstown, Manchester. They were married in the first quarter of 1940, in Barton registration district. His home address was in Farnworth, but he died at Southmead Hospital, Westbury. The role of the Royal Engineers was to maintain railways, roads, water supply and bridges. From 1940, they also disposed of bombs. Researched and written by Paul R Speakman Back