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This is the true story of one Lancaster bomber crew, of many on the night of the 24th of March 1944. The night became known to bomber command as the Night of the Strong Winds. On the evening of March 24th 1944 a Lancaster bomber me635 as-c took off with a full crew of 7 airmen.

f/s E Brown raaf
sgt J.E Scruton
f/s W Mitchinson
sgt R Boyde
sgt J Flavell
sgt W H Burnell
sgt W C Mason

All were to die that night bar one, this is his story in his own words as written for a panel show called Claim to Fame on the t.v channel TWW.

"I was a midgunner in a Lancaster bomber during the last war. On the evening of the 24th of March 1944 we were on a bombing raid to Berlin. We reached Berlin, dropped our bombs at 25,000 feet and as we were leaving the target area, our two port engines were hit by flack and set on fire. My skipper ordered us to abandon the aircraft but at that point a german fighter, attracted by our plane on fire, came into attack us. A shell from the fighter seared across the top of my head and knocked me out. When I came to, I was in the wreckage of the bomber, it had crashed into the side of a hugh pine forest. I was very bruised, the only injury I recieved was from the shell of the german fighter, my head was split wide open. I then gave myself up at a German railway signal crossing. Next day I found out that all 6 of my crew were killed when they baled out of the plane, they said they saw my plane spiral down and hit the side of the ground."

It is known that all the rest of the crew were buried in Berlin war cemetary. Sergent W H Burnell, the only survivor after surviving a fall of 25.000 ft inside the Lancaster was interned in a POW camp Stalag Luft 6 and then Stalag 357 Thorn/357 Fallingsbostal. Here he remained until the end of the war when in April 1945 he was injured by American attacks on the camp causing him to loose a lung. He was flown home on May 4th 1945.

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