'Their sacrifice was huge': Windsor airman part of Canadian crew memorialized in the UK

Pilot William Taylor was born in St. Thomas but his parents were from Windsor, Ont. He died during a training exercise on December 2, 1943, in Northallerton, Yorkshire. (Source: Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum)

Windsor airman who were part of the Canadian crew are being memorialized in the United Kingdom.

A memorial will be unveiled on Dec. 2 in Northallerton, Yorkshire in memory of the entire crew of airmen who died when their Halifax bomber crashed near an elementary school 81 years ago.

Pilot William Taylor was born in St. Thomas but his parents were Windsorites.

“It's a very, very short story from hundreds of other stories, like that from the Second World War,” Graeme Garnham told CTV News in an interview from Dunfermline, Scotland.

The amateur historian and retired principal did some research for his sister who is a history teacher at Applegarth Elementary School. Staff and students of Applegarth School in Northallerton, Yorkshire hold an assembly about the Halifax Crash near their school on Dec. 2, 2023. (Image courtesy: Applegarth School)

“I went down to my sister’s school, spent a day teaching the children about the facts about where the crew came from,” said Garnham.

The school was commemorating the 80th anniversary of the crash in 2023.

On Dec. 2, 1943, a Halifax bomber with a tail number DJ 982 crashed just steps from the school, according to Garnham and online history records.

“The children in the school were in lessons,” Garnham said, adding “None of the children, none of the people on the ground were harmed.”

But the entire crew of seven were killed.

On board were four RCAF Canadians, an Irishman and two Welshman:

• Pilot William Taylor, 25, of Windsor (born in St. Thomas)
• Navigator James Beatty, 20, from Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Air Bomber Donald Walker, 27, from Sault Ste. Marie
• Air Gunner John Wallace, 22, from Lang, Saskatchewan
• Flight Engineer William Morgan, 19, Mountain Ash, Wales
• Wireless Operator Thoman Skyrme, 21, from Ynysybwl, Wales
• Air Gunner John Winters, 19, from Belfast, Ireland

Crash occurs during training exercise

According to Yorkshire Aircraft, an online historic record of all aircraft accidents in the area, DJ 982 was conducting a training exercise with a Hurricane fighter.

“Fifteen minutes after taking off and while the Hurricane was making a simulated attack on the Halifax, the Halifax was seen to make a steep turn to practice taking evasive action,” the website reads.

“Witnesses believed that the pilot (Taylor) then appeared to have partly regained control and the aircraft righted itself but then entered a flat spin, lost height and then dived into the ground and crashed just off Springwell Lane in Northallerton.”

According to Garnham, the entire crew was training in advance of joining the Royal Air Force (RAF) in active combat.

“The sadness of the story is that these four Canadian men who traveled all of this distance to sort of come to the ‘College of the Allies’, and yet they didn't actually make it to the war,” said Garnham. “Their sacrifice was huge.”

What’s more, Garnham says the three non-Canadian airmen were reservist volunteers tasked with training new crews.

“They didn’t have to be there,” said Garnham.

“It's an important lesson for children to learn that this is still in living memory, that this actually happened, and, it was very, very real,” he said.

Elementary school ceremonies

In December 2023, the school held an assembly on the 80th anniversary of the crash.

Included in the list of VIP’s were two of the former students who were in the school at the time of the crash.

“The human aspect is huge for them to meet people who are now in their 80s and 90s who actually remember the foam from the fire extinguishers and the fire brigade in the playground,” said Garnham.

There is already a memorial plaque inside the school and now this December, the school and town officials will unveil an outdoor memorial, complete with a new maple tree.

“I think it's really important that they understand the gravity of what was going on at the time,” said Garnham.