Insert Boy Here - being a tailgunner

Here is what the tailgunner's compartment looked like. 

The tailgunner on a bomber plane was popularly referred to as 'Tail End Charlie'. The tailgunner's compartment was at the very back of the plane. His job was to shoot down enemy aircraft, and to alert the pilot of any planes approaching from the rear. The tailgunner's exposed position made it the most dangerous job on a bomber plane. Many aircraft would return to base intact, except that the  tailgunner's compartment would be completely shorn off.

The picture above was sourced from http://www.w4960.nl/lancaster.html

Here is Keith (a tailgunner).

Stuart Thomson (Stew) - The Wireless Operator

Stuart Thomson was from Trois Rivieres, Quebec. He was the crew's Wireless Operator, and he was 6 months younger than Keith. 'Stew' died about 3 months before his 21st birthday.

All the guys in the crew were chain smokers, and they depended on their friends in family to send them cigarettes from back home.

Letter from Keith to his mom, 7 November 1944.
'There is a parcel in the Post office for me now but I was too late to get it tonight so I will wait till tomorrow, I hope it is cigarettes cus I owe Stew our Wireless o.p. 9 packages.'

Stuart McLean Thomson 

This is the Wireless Operator's station. It was situated near the front of the plane, and contained radio equipment, and a detection system for tracking enemy planes at night.

Click here to see more pictures of a Lancaster Bomber's interior. 

The Navigator - Joseph Rochford (Joe)

Joe Rochford was the second oldest person on the crew. He was 3 months older than Keith. As navigator, his job was to read maps and radar signals. The navigator sat at a table behind the pilot and the flight engineer.

 Joe - Navigator on the Lane End Lancaster

A navigator at work on a Lancaster Bomber

Radar next to the navigator's table

More Pictures of a Lancaster Bomber's interior


In December 1944 Joe was taken ill and ended up in hospital. This delayed the crew once again. They had just lost Frank, their first pilot, and were getting a bit fed up of waiting around for  new one.

Letter from Keith to his mom, 30 December 1944.
'Joe, ‘our navigator’, went into the hospital yesterday with a cold so I guess that will hold us up for a little longer. '

Edward Ashdown, Flight Engineer - Part One

The Flight Engineer in Keith's crew was Edward Thomas Ashdown.

He was about 2 months younger than Keith.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/lancaster/ashdown.htm

The Flight Engineer on a Lancaster Bomber would have sat up front in the cockpit, next to the pilot. http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_crew_positions.htm








http://www.lancaster-archive.com/cockpit.jpg

The Magnificent Seven ( 1 man and 6 kids)

A Lancaster Bomber required a 7 man crew. Keith was one of the 7 crew who all died when the Lane End Lancaster crashed on April 5, 1945.

The average age of the 7 crew on board the Lane End Lancaster was 22 years.

Joe Watson, the pilot, was the oldest member of the crew. He was 33 when the plane crashed.

If you exclude the pilot, the average age of the other 6 crew was 20.

The Lane End Lancaster

Keith became the tail gunner on a Lancaster Bomber. His last mission was on April 5 1945. He was part of a 7 man crew on a plane that is today known as the 'Lane End Lancaster'. Shane Allen and Jim Stockbridge have created a website all about this plane, its crew and the circumstances behind its crash.    Lane End Lancaster