213702 Douglas Marwood Royal Air Force 227 Sqd. My late father Douglas Marwood was a crew member of stricken a RAF Lancaster bomber PB649.K that crash landed at Wick early in the morning of 22nd December 1944. The aircraft was badly damaged and losing fuel after a raid on Politz. The aircraft was based at RAF Balderton, Nottingham and belonged to 227 Squadron. The aircraft was guided back to Wick by a Scottish female controller and the plane landed, narrowly missing a torpedo dump. The aircraft was a write-off with no fatalities.
The crew spent 5 days at Wick and had a very enjoyable Christmas. In the words of a New Zealander pilot Mervyn Croker: "we were treated at a bit of a novelty at Wick and thoroughly spoilt". I wonder has anyone any information about these unexpected Christmas guests?
The crew consisted of:
- Flying Officer M.R. Croker (NZ426913)
- Sgt. V Mitchell
- Flying Officer S.J. Pirt
- Flight Sgt. D Marwood
- Warrant Officer W.A. Henshaw (NZ181638)
- SGT. J.P. Wilcox
- Sgt. W.J Williams
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