PARISHIONERS are searching for relatives of a 22-year-old airman killed when his plane was shot down near their village in the Second World War

The family of Flight Sergeant Allan Malone were last recorded living in Bradford and members of the parish council in Wollaston, Northamptonshire, are hoping to be able to trace one or more of them as they prepare to erect a memorial to mark the 80th anniversary of the tragic event.

The airman’s plane, an Avro Manchester from RAF 207 Squadron, then based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, was one of seven detailed to bomb the docks in Boulogne on the northern coast of France on the night of June 21/22, 1941. Each carried 12 500lb general purpose bombs.

They took-off between 1am and 1.42am. Approximately three hours later, at around 4.20am, six aircraft returned. The squadron operations record book records the fate of the missing aircraft: ‘Waddington. 22/6/41. It was learnt that an aircraft that had been shot down by a Beaufighter at approximately 01.55 hrs. near Wollaston, Northants, was our missing Manchester L7314 (‘Y’).’

The Avro Manchester crashed in flames after the attack and some of the bombs exploded. From a crew of seven, traces of five bodies were found along with the identity tag of crew member Sgt A M James.

The other crew who lost their lives were Flying Officer JDG Withers, Flight Sgt W Brown, Sgt S Veitch, Flight Sgt MV Browne and Sgt JA Maville.

The Beaufighter that attacked the plane was from 25 Squadron based at RAF Wittering in Northamptonshire. The accident investigation noted that its pilot had been convinced the aircraft intercepted was hostile, and that this had resulted in his failure to correctly identify it.

He had been influenced by the sector controller who had informed him that a bandit was in vicinity, and subsequently a portion of the blame went to ground control for the part they played in the identification process.

In fact there was intruder activity that night, as another Beaufighter from 25 Squadron shot down a Junkers Ju 88 near the Lincolnshire town of Market Deeping. It was unfortunate that the Avro Manchester was passing during the alert.

To commemorate the 80th year since the plane crash, Wollaston Parish Council is dedicating a memorial to the crew at the edge of the field where the plane crashed. The council is hoping to trace any surviving relatives of the men.

Sgt Allan Malone’s parents Peter and Mary Malone, are shown in the 1939 Register as living at 12 Whitehall Avenue, Wyke, Bradford. Peter worked as a railway goods guard. He died in Wharfedale in 1960 and Mary in Bradford in April 1963.

Despite extensive research Wollaston Parish Council has been unable to discover whether they had other children or whether either of them had any siblings. If they did there may be great nephews or great nieces still living.

Chairman of Wollaston Parish Council Lindsay said: “I came across a tragic incident concerning the loss of an RAF bomber with its seven crew, which crashed very near to our village in 1941. A few members of the community and I decided to raise a monument to these brave airmen who gave their lives on our doorstep. The memorial will be dedicated on the 80th anniversary of the crash. We would appreciate your help in finding any family members of flight sergeant Allan Malone, one of the fallen airmen."

Colonel Kerry Woodrow, a former chairman of the parish council, who is organising the 80th anniversary event ,said: “We are searching for family members and have researched ancestry websites. We have found relatives of three families, two of which are coming to the ceremony. The other lives in Canada so is too far away. We are still looking for relatives of the other four, of which Sgt Malone is one.”

The RAF’s 207 Squadron still exists, based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. They are introducing the new F-35 Lightning fighter into the RAF and Fleet Air Arm.

Wollaston Parish Council would like to hear from any relatives of Sgt Malone or anyone who knows of relatives and asks that they contact parish clerk Debra Styles at: clerk@wollastonparishcouncil.gov.uk