Consolidated Liberator, AL577, Jenkinstown, Co. Louth

In terms of loss of life, the worst of the wartime air crashes occurred on a lonely hill top in County Louth in early 1942. The 16th of March, 1942 would see the deaths of fifteen young allied airmen when their bomber crashed in to the mountain named Slieve na Glogh, which rises up above the townland of Jenkinstown on the Cooley Peninsula. It was the second of three fatal wartime crashed in the area, the others being in 1941 and the last in 1944.

This area would witness the destruction of three aircraft before the war ended. A British Hudson bomber crashed with three fatalities in 1941 and a P-51 Mustang fighter of the US Army Air Forces crashed in September 1944 killing its pilot.

The story of the aircraft crash has been told many times in a number of publications and these are listed below. 

This photo, posted on social media by a local man, was apparently taken at the crash site and this is the best copy available, a snap taken on mobile phone.  The view was explained by local man Derek Roddy as being to the west across the crash site from Slievenaglogh.  The slopes in the background, Annaloughhan Mountain, are, in 2022, covered with forestry but the stone wall is a common visible feature on both.  The tail fins of the aircraft appear to be about on top of the remains of a low stone wall feature which runs through the middle of the photo.  It is along this wall that the 2022 memorial is located.

A modern comparison would be the image below taken in May 2022.

The scene would appear to show the crumpled tail of a Liberator bomber in the right center of the photo, with one of the rounded tail planes still attached and visible.  A comparison can be made with this stock image of an early Liberator bomber.

A further set of photos, it seems known only in the local area until 2022 show the terrible aftermath of the crash and are testament to the violence of the minutes of Liberator AL577.  These are all copies of scans or photo copies that Noel Roddy had collected and annotated over the years.  This photo shows wreckage with a landing gear tire and one landing gear leg.  The curved item to the left of the tire appears to be a broken propeller.

In the image below, the viewer is looking south east across the crash site with a particular rocky outcrop on the left of the image.  Again, Noel Roddy has labeled the images.

The labeled wing above can be seen in the photo below.

The story of the crash began in the far away deserts of North Africa in the winter of 1941/1942. During 1941, Royal Air Force (RAF) 108 Squadron was engaged in bombing missions in support of the British campaign in North Africa. In December 1941, it was decided that in the coming months the unit would transition from the Wellington twin engine bomber to the American built, Consolidated Liberator. The process of transition is explained in detail by Andreas Biermann in his 'Crusader Project' Blog - The first B-24 Liberators in the Desert.

The 108 Squadron diary records the receipt of the first new Liberator on the 29 Nov 1941 at Fayad.  The serial number is not recorded in the Summary (Form 540) and it is immediately noted that the aircraft arrived without any form of defensive gun armament or technical publications.  The following 5 December, "The Liberator" is stated to be serviveable and the training course began.  The Details of Work (Form 541) record this to be AL577, and it flew for the remainder of the month under the command of Major Cairns,  Lt Reynolds and others, who were members of the US Army Air Forces carrying out conversion training for the Squadron.  Deliveries of further aircraft are recorded on 9 December, 10 December and 13 December.  Again their serials are not recorded but AL574 appears in the Form 541 on the 13th and AL530 on the 19th.  The fourth aircraft was AL566 which went direct to a Maintenance Unit for fitment of armament.  AL577 flew its first bombing practice flight on 30 December 1941.  Upon arrival at the squadron, the aircraft were assigned an individual aircraft letter which was painted in large letters aft of the roundel on the fuselage.
Through out the most of January 1942, AL577 continued to carry on the training role in the squadron's effort to become fully serviceable on the type.

Finally, on the night of January 29th, AL577 flew its first bombing raid, to El Aghelia returning the following afternoon to the more mundane training role.  The Form 540 details Liberator 'O' being flown by F/Lt Alexander to attack motor transport on the Agedabia - Aghelia road.  Little mention of AL577 is found in February until the 16th February when it flew a raid on Benghazi.  It again is not mentioned until 21st, 23rd and 27th February when it flew local air tests close to the base.  It might be the case that the unit was no longer recording all training flights.  The identity letter O is associated with AL574 in February records.

The 1st of March records AL577 being fitted with twin 0.5" Browning machine guns but noting this was still inadequate.

The aircraft, AL577, this time noted as being aircraft ID letter N, carried out a special duties flight on the 2 March 1942 to the occupied island of Crete.

Following this introduction into service it was decided that the entire Squadron should convert to the Liberator and it was decided that one of the new aircraft would fly to the United Kingdom with a cadre of experienced 108 Squadron members. There they would collect and prepare new Liberator bombers for ferry to North Africa. This decision is mentioned in the 28 February 1942 ORB.  Ahead lay a long and dangerous flight from Egypt, across North Africa to Gibraltar followed by the long over-water flight to England across the Atlantic. As squadron veteran Steve Challen explained in his writings, the Squadron leader and squadron gunnery officers both volunteered to take one of the bombers to England. On board the aircraft were a crew of six men with thirteen more members of the squadron as passengers. These included six pilots, three navigators, three wireless operator/air gunners (W.Op/A.G) and one fitter mechanic. The nineteen men were a mix of English, Scottish, Australian, Canadian and a lone Kiwi.

Sources for research on this crash are many. Primary among these are the Irish Army Military Archives report dating from March 1942. The The Australian National Archives also have Casualty files for three of the Australians on board the aircraft. From one of these files comes this text describing the outline circumstances of the crash.

EXTRACT FROM REPORT ON FLYING ACCIDENT - LIBERATOR AL.577 16th March 1942 From the information available and action taken at this H.Q. the following report is submitted on the above accident;- 1. The aircraft LIBERATOR AL.577 belonging to 108 Squadron, H.Q. Middle East took off from Egypt on 15.3.42 in transit to United Kingdom, intending to land at RAF STN HURN, near DUNDALK(*), Eire (map reference LJ.1408) at approximately 14.10 hours on 16.3.42. It is understood from Accidents Gloucester that during the early part of the flight the aircraft acknowledged the orders to return to Egypt owing to the bad weather conditions prevailing over the British Isles at that time. The aircraft was West of its course and crashed into high ground. As the accident occurred in Eire and the evidence available suggested that the cause was due to disobedience of orders and bad navigation, it was considered by Accidents Gloucester, that no useful purpose would be served by ordering an investigation. There were 19 occupants in the aircraft, the particulars of whom have now been confirmed by a survivor. As a result of the accident 15 were killed and 4 injured. The injured were admitted to Dundalk Hospital, Eire, and as their progress permitted, they were transferred over the Eire border to Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry and whose conditions permitted of further travel, were eventually conveyed to Stranmillis Military Hospital, Belfast.

* The above transcription is somewhat confusing as it could be read as meaning the aircraft was intending to land at Dundalk however the original wartime transcriber may have missed some words indicating that the aircraft 'did crash at' Dundalk. The punctuation would suggest this. The text below comes from a page in the Australian National Archives Casualty file for Sgt L R Williams.
 

The history of the flight and crash of AL577 was researched after the war by a former comrade of the men, Steve Challen, who as F/Sgt Grenfell Stephen William Challen 937815, flew with many of the men who came down on AL577 in Louth. Steve Challen died in 2004 but not before he attempted to contact the survivors of the crash, T E 'Pat' Pattison, S F Hayden and J R Anderson. He also contacted many of the relatives of the dead men, including the sister of Paul Morey who provided copies of the information Steve had collected. Steve Challen wrote an article about the brief use of Liberators by 108 Squadron in Flypast magazine in 1998.  In this he reported: 

worsening weather en route. It was estimated  that they were approaching the point of no  return. Coupled with this news, the Bendix radio was reported unserviceable — despite the efforts of all the wireless operators on board they were unable to find the fault. Sgt Gibbons had the most Bendix experience — having gained it on the Sumatra trip. While attempts were in hand to restore communications, discussions took place on the flight deck on whether or not to continue. The consensus of opinion, including that of the passengers, was to fly on. 
Much later they found themselves above 10/10 cloud which continued long past their ETA (estimated time of arrival) at Hurn in Dorset.  Everyone was warned to prepare for a possible ditching. Descending slowly through the cloud, a glow was seen which could only be the lights of a town or city in neutral Eire. The size and brightness of this illumination convinced WgCdr Wells that It was Dublin. Rather than risk internment in Eire, he altered course forAldergrove in Northern Ireland, failing to allow for high ground on thelr track. The fuel situation was now becoming serious.

Articles were written about the crash by Lt Col N C Harrington, Irish Army, Michael O'Reilly from Meath, Tony Kearns of Dublin, Patrick Cummins of Waterford and also appeared in books by John Quinn and David Earl.

The late Irish researcher Tony Kearns summarized the aircraft movements over the east coast as recorded by the Irish Army:  The Liberator appears to have crossed the coast at Dublin where it first observed lights. The military post at the Bull Wall reported an  aircraft at 0630 hrs. moving northeast. It passed over Sutton less than a minute later. The search-light post at Howth also reported the aircraft, but its course was uncertain due to the  strong winds. After heading up the coast to Donabate its track  was lost at this time and no more observations were made until 0735 when it was reported over the military post at Dundalk. The weather that morning was overcast with poor visibility and strong southerly winds making it difficult to even hear the aircraft from some of the observation locations.

First hand testimony of the flights events survive from at least two of the survivors, from letters they wrote to the next of kin of their comrades and later after the war to Mr. Challen. Sgt Pattison wrote to tell the father of Sgt. Morey:

We left Egypt on March 15th in a Liberator (giant American four engined bomber); there were nineteen of us together with full kit on board. Our mission to England was a special one, we were not coming back to stay. The nineteen fellows consisted of the ships crew of which your son was navigator and three specially selected crews, with one flight engineer. We left Egypt at 5p.m. (Egyptian time) and had a wonderful trip across the Mediterranean and France; all this time we were right on course. The first indication of trouble was shortly after we flew over the French coast, heading for England. We ran into the worst weather I have ever experienced in three years of flying. It was almost impossible to see out own wing tips. We all knew we should require a good deal of wireless assistance if we hoped to get down safely. Then the real trouble began - the Wireless Operator could not contact any station in England because of some fault in the wireless equipment due to weather conditions. We knew we were over England and we lost height to two thousand feet in order to enable us to pin-point our exact position, but the weather was just as bad at two thousand feet. It would have been unwise to do down any further because of barrage balloons or mountains so we climbed up again and cruised around hoping for the weather to clear, but it did not; instead it became even worse. By this time we had been in the air over fifteen hours and we were carrying fuel for just over fifteen and half hours. We were preparing to bale out and chance it but before we could do so someone spotted lights on the ground. The captain immediately dived down over the lights which we knew was Dublin and circled around at above five hundred feet. About this time two of our four engines ceased running and we were unable to climb very well. The captain then headed straight along the coast of Eire to try to land at an aerodrome in North Ireland. We had been flying for about half an hour after leaving the lights and all this time we were gradually losing height. There was a terrific crash and when I awoke I found myself lying about twenty yards from the machine, which by this time was practically burned out. I tried to stand up, but couldn’t, as I found later in hospital I had fractured my spine in two places. I managed to crawl around in a sort of daze and soon saw there was not much I could do for any of the other chaps in my condition. So I crawled over the mountainside to look for help, but there was no one in sight, I started to crawl back to the machine but fell unconscious before I got there. I woke up while being carried down the mountain on a stretcher and found that we were not discovered until three hours had elapsed. Written from Majestic Hotel, No. 7 P.R.C., R.A.F., Harrogate, Yorks, 5th June 1842

The RAF Casualty file for this crash held in the UK National Archives, AIR81/12771 contains much correspondence between the families and the authorities.  The letters from parents in the UK show their evident sadness having learned their sons died in Ireland when they understood them to be in Egypt.  They were hours away from possible home leave visits.

From various sources the following collection of photos has been assembled of the men on board AL577. Some have come from family members, some from publications and others from online sources.

W/Cmdr (Pilot) Richard John WELLS DFC 39918 + (Snipped from IWM photo CM 2380)	P/O (Pilot) John Peile TOLSON 67640 +	Sgt (Obs/Nav) Paul Herrick MOREY 917067 +	Sgt (WOP/Air Gnr) Henry James GIBBONS 948393 +
Sgt (WOP) Charles Joseph INGRAM 916998 +	F/Lt (Air Gnr) Francis Charles BARRETT DFC 77959 +	F/O (Pilot) James Robert ANDERSON DFC 79508	Sgt (Pilot) Cyril Rowland AMOS 1182180 DIS
F/Sgt (Pilot) Lindsay Ross WILLIAMS 402429 + RAAF	P/O (Pilot) Wilfred Bertrand STEPHENS 113267 +	Sgt (WOP/Air Gnr) Thomas Edward PATTISON 644625	Sgt (WOP/Air Gnr) Sydney Frederick HAYDEN 910905
Sgt (Fitter 2E) Andrew McMillan Smith BROWNLIE 546659 +	Sgt (WOP/Air Gnr) Walter Paul BROOKS 931402 +	F/Sgt (Pilot) George BUCHANAN 1060536 +	F/Sgt (Obs/Nav) Carlton Stokes GOODENOUGH R/62738 + RCAF
F/Sgt (Obs/Nav) Leslie George JORDAN 905148 +	P/O (Obs/Nav) George Frederick KING J/15525 RCAF +	F/Sgt (Pilot) Herbert William Thornley SLOMAN 402677 + RAAF	-

Jim Anderson the son of J R Anderson was so kind to send on many photos from his fathers collection including this one below of a 108 Squadron football team.

J R Anderson is seated in the middle of the of the above group, his pilot's wings badge visible on his chest, and the DFC award below that. James Anderson came from New Zealand and had trained with the Royal New Zealand Air Force prior to transferring to the RAF. He began his wartime career with 40 Squadron of the RAF, piloting Wellington bombers on raids against targets in Germany and France.

A group photo from Jim Anderson of 108 Squadron airmen, without names recorded. The grandson of the airman on the extreme right of the photo recognized his grandfather, David Fairclough Smith.

The above photos was supplied by the Anderson and Brooks family and is described as a press photo of 108 Squadron. Identified in this are Walther Brooks standing at the left, wearing shorts and with flight jacket open. Kneeling on the ground in front of him appears to be F C Barrett based on other photos received of him. Compared to the photos that the Pattison family sent, T E Pattison seems to be the sixth airman from the right kneeling.

The remains of the dead airmen were returned to their families for burial with the exception of the Australian and Canadian airmen. They were buried in adjacent graves in Belfast City Cemetery on 21 March 1942. 

Richard John Wells was a 28 year old combat experienced pilot. Son of Richard Alexander and Ada Wells he came from Mere Street, Diss in Norfolk and Macintosh Road, Romford. He had been commissioned as an RAF officer in 1937 and was posted to the Middle East. His service career saw him twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941, first with 148 Squadron and later with 108 Squadron.

Richard's cousin, Lt(A) Claude G H Richardson, a pilot in the Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, was killed in a Supermarine Walrus crash in January 1944 in Trinidad and Tobago.

John Tolson came from Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Aged just 21, he was co-pilot on this flight. John's father died only a year after him and both son and father lie side by side in adjacent graves. John's brother and family members came to County Louth in 2002 and met some former members of the Irish Army who had attended the crash site, along with local witnesses and some who were raising a memorial to the lost crew men. Members of John's family have been active in remembering John's service and death. This short documentary was created by his nephew to tell the story of John, Paul Morey and commemoration efforts in Louth.
Let us not forget from Heirline Films on Vimeo.

John's relative returned again in 2022 to view the new memorial raised at the site.

Paul H Morey was a 22 year old navigator from Leamington Spa. His sister Cynthia wrote a book about her family and the death of her older brother. That book included some of the details she had obtained from Steve Challen in the 1990's. The book is titled - 'Dark is the Dawn' and was published in 2009. T E Pattison one of the survivors wrote to Paul's father after the crash to tell what had happened and to pass on his memories of Paul. Similarly the new commander of 108 Squadron also wrote to the family to tell of his devotion to service and skills.

Henry James Gibbons was the son of Herbert F. J. Gibbons and Lilian E. Gibbons, of 9 Coleridge Road, Newport. He was 20 years old at the time of his death. He was an air gunner and wireless operator from the squadron. In correspondence with former residents of his parents home, it was learned that Henry was an only child and his photo rested on the mantle of his parents house until their deaths, both in 1968, within a month of one another. No relatives were found in the Newport area and it appears that his father, a railway clerk, was born in Gloucester.
His name is recorded on war memorials in his native Newport, but beyond that, little remains of Henry's memory it seems.

Charles Joseph Ingram was buried in West Ham cemetery in London. His CWGC entry contains no next of kin details but his death registration in Ireland gives his age as 24 years and there is a corresponding birth registered in West Ham district in 1918. His parents, Agnes and Charles W Ingram had married in 1914 and in 1942 lived at 10 Lincoln Rd in Plaistow. The photo of Charles above is a cropped image from the WW2 images collection
.  Charles is found on the 1939 register living with his parents and two sisters at Trinity St, West Ham.  He lists an occupation of Chartered Patents Agents Clerk.

"Francis C Barrett was a an Australian born officer serving in the Royal Air Force. Son of Alice Ida and Francis James Barrett from South Australia, Francis had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in April 1941 for his service with 70 Squadron. This squadron had served in the Middle East from the very start of the war. Australian newspapers carried the story behind the awards, his conspicuous service during 1941 including over Albania. The Advertiser of Adelaide, published:
Flight-Lieutenant Barrett is the senior air gunner of the R.A.F. squadron serving with the Near East Command. He has earned a reputation as a first-class shot, and instructor. he took part in a successful daylight bombing raid over Vlona, Albania and it was chiefly due to his firing accuracy that attacking Italian aircraft were driven off. One enemy plane engaged in a counter attack was shot down by Flight-Lieutenant Barrett.

Being an Australian meant that F/Lt Barrett was interred in the Cemetery in Belfast with the other four overseas airmen. The Barrett family would suffer further during the war as his brother Allen Bernard was also killed in 1945 with Bomber Command. He is buried in Germany. The men's mother had passed away before the war in 1925. The newspaper article at left was published with photo in the The Courier-Mail in Brisbane in April 1941. In March 1942, South Australian newspaper carried a memoriam notice for Francis apparently from a fiancee named Nancy. Another March article published:

Mr. and Mrs. W. Beames, of Main avenue, Frewville, have been informed that their nephew, Flight-Lieut. F. C. Barrett, DFC, was killed on March 16 while on a transit flight in Jenkinstown, Kilkeney, Eire. He joined the RAF in England, and was awarded for the DFC for exceptional accuracy and daring in shooting down Italian planes in Albania. Flight-Lieutenant Barrett attended Pulteney Grammar School, and served an apprenticeship with Herron Engineering. Co. Later he was an engineer at sea, before joining the RAF. He was 32.

James Anderson was born in Lyttelton, New Zealand. His father passed away when he was young. Finishing school he first worked as an Electrical Fitter in the Electrical Supply Department and later the Public Works Department in Addington. He enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force in October 1939 and after graduating was posted to the United Kingdom and received a commission in the Royal Air Force. Joining the RAF's 103 Squadron he piloted Wellington bombers on the early raids against targets in France and Germany. His earliest combat missions were two on the single engined Battle bomber during September 1940 followed by raids as second pilot of Wellingtons. In April of 1941 he became the captain of his own aircraft in raids against the French port of Brest in the RAF's efforts to destroy the German warships the the Scharnhorst and Gneisenhau. It was for his actions during another raid on Brest on June 13/14th 1941 that he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). This raid was delivered at low level against dock buildings. Upon arriving at the target P/O Anderson circled the area in Wellington R1588 until visibility allowed him to bomb the target. His name was published in the London Gazette in July 1941 and his home newspapers carried the citation and his photo that summer. At the beginning of July 1941 he transferred to the Middle East and undertook the dangerous Ferry flight in a Wellington from Portreath in Cornwall, to Gibralter, and thence across the Mediterranean to Malta and then to Egypt. There he joined 108 Squadron flying Wellington bombers and was awarded a bar to the previous DFC when he brought home his crew in the damaged Wellington T2832 on October 23rd, 1941. Sgt's C R Amos and G R King appear to have been with him on that flight. With damage preventing the landing gear from being lowered, four crew members bailed out of the aircraft in friendly territory and P/O Anderson had to bring the bomber in for a crash landing in the desert. After recovering as best he could from his injuries, after the crash, from Aug 1943 until June 1944, he flew non-operationally with No.1 Radio School, mainly in Proctors. From July to September 1944 he flew non-operationally with No.42 O.T.U No. 38 Group, mainly in Whitley bombers. Jim Anderson corresponded with Steve Challen after the war and his son Jim also provided copies of his flying log book and letters he wrote from hospital. He was terribly burnt about his legs in the crash, he recalled coming around after the crash and discovering he was standing in flames. His injuries stayed with him for the rest of his life, requiring dressing for many years. Despite this and having a leg amputated in 1979, he took part in the tragic Fastnet Race in the same year.

His log book records this fateful flight.

He wrote the following in a letter to his mother in August 1942:  Well, there is nothing much to tell about what happened. I was a passenger and we left the day before to do it in one hop in one of our new kites, we were to stay for a while and then take others back. We had cloud for a long time and then saw lights and knew we were O.K. Everybody in the back relaxed and we lay down again. Dawn was breaking and with a few streaks appearing in the clouds we thought everything was lovely and all of a sudden we went into some cloud and we saw the top of a hill go under the escape hatch.  Everybody grabbed for something and in a split second we hit. I was lying on the bottom of the machine bracing myself by the hands against a piece of armour plating. When I came to the fuselage was empty except for a pair of legs sticking out of the tail.  Apparently I must have bent in the middle when we hit and banged my head on the armour as I had quite a dent in my forehead together with a cut on the chin and a piece off my left ear.  At any rate I was pretty badly concussed and have but very confused memories of the happenings afterwards.  The fog lifted in the afternoon and we were found by the Ambulance at about 3.30 in the afternoon.

According to what a couple of the others and myself have pieced together the wing must have caught fire later on. I can remember going toward it for some reason or other and from the burns, I must have stood in the burning wreckage. I can remember tying an old piece old piece of dressing gown round my legs and then wandering out when the Red Cross arrived. I was still getting round quite well and when we got to Hospital I thought  I’d be able to get out in a tew days after my legs had been dressed.  After two days, two of us were sent over to the workhouse at Daisy Hill where I stayed for a fortnight. The other fellow only had bruises and shock and went home after a week.

Cyril Rowland Amos was born in 1917 to Elsie and Harry Amos, his father being a British merchant who lived in Argentina between the wars. Cyril remained in Hospital in Dundalk until the 19th of March and was then sent across the border with Sgt Hayden. Having survived the crash of AL577, Sgt Amos was commissioned as an officer in the RAF during the winter of 1942 and returned to flying duties. Cyril's luck ran out on December 31st 1943 when as pilot of Wellington X9666 from 21 Operational Training Unit he crashed into Ffrith Caenewydd, above Aberdovey, Merioneth in bad weather. Cyril died from his injuries shortly after this crash, which also killed two other airmen and injured two others. Cyril was buried in Tywyn Cemetery in Wales. His brother Harry was a wartime pilot also.

Lindsay Ross Williams was a New South Wales born pilot from the Royal Australian Air Force. He was the son of Henry Stanley and Elsie Ethel Mary Williams, of Five Dock, New South Wales and born in 1915. Like many of the others, he had been sent to Canada for training, being posted to the UK in 1941. He served briefly with 11 OTU and 142 Squadron before transferring to the Middle East in September 1941 after which he was posted to 108 Squadron. He was 26 years of age at the time of his death and before the war had been a farmer.  Remembrance notices in papers were posted by his mother and a fiance, Marriane Warner.

Wilfred Bertrand Stephens, one of the pilot passengers on the aircraft came from Westminster, London. His Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry show that his remains were returned to Mill Hill Cemetery in the City. No next of kin is listed for him but the telegrams in Australian records indicate that his mother Mrs Stephens lived at 213 Watford Way, Hendon. His parents, Eleanor Larkman and Bertrand William Stephans married in 1921 and Wilfred was their only son as the inscription on his grave relates. His father was a veteran of home service with the Tank Corps in the First World War. It is not clear but his father had remarried in 1936 so Wilfred's mother may have passed away or separated from B W Stephens.

Thomas Edward Pattison was a Durham born Wireless Operator/Air Gunner flying as a passenger on AL577. At the time of the crash, his parents lived in Highfield, Leicester.  Tom Pattison after his recovery had the unenviable task of contacting some of his dead comrades families to let them know a little more about their loved ones and their demise. Royal Air Force records show that many of the families were written to and sent a stamped addressed envelope to allow them contact Thomas.  He wrote to the Morey family in particular and in later life he was in correspondence with Steve Challen in his research.  An extract of the letter to the Morey family can be found further up the page.  Tom married after the war but did not have children. He passed away in Leicester in 1997. His sisters were kind enough to contact in 2013 and pass on his photos.

Sydney Frederick Hayden was another of the Australians on board AL577 and like F/Lt Barrett, a member of the Royal Air Force, rather than the Royal Australian Air Force. Sgt Hayden was badly injured in the crash, ending up unconscious and with severe leg fractures. He was treated in Newry and Belfast for his injuries while his father in Australia received messages advising him first that his son was severely injured and interned in Eire. Further telegrams over the following weeks would pass on the welcome news that he was recovering. Sgt Hayden returned to Australia in July 1943. The address of his father, Sidney William Hayden, was given at the General Electric Company in Sydney, Australia. Sgt Hayden had been born in 1920 in England and one year later sailed with his mother Charlotte and older brother to Australia where the family lived. Steve Challen managed to make contact with Sydney Hayden in the 1980's or 90's but it appears that he did not wish to discuss his wartime experiences. Sidney only died in 2005 and his grand daughter was so very kind to supply a great number of photo's of Sidney both before and after the crash. As discovered by Steve Challen, Sidney certainly never spoke much of his wartime experience with family either. They themselves were only too aware of his injuries that resulted in him walking with the aid of leg calipers even up to the 1960's and with crutches after that.

In the photo above, Sidney Hayden appears second from the right with three unknown comrades.

Andrew Brownlie was a 29 year old aircraft fitter from Glasgow. His great nephew was kind enough to provide the photos included with this article. Among the photos was the one at left with him in a distinctly tropical setting. Andrew was the only passenger on the aircraft who was not aircrew, in that he would not have flown combat missions while in North Africa. War Graves records show that his trade was that of Fitter II (E). His sister was 100 years old in 2009. Their parents were Thomas and Marion Brownlie.

Walter P Brooks was just 20 years old and the son of Mabel and Walter Horace Harry Brooks. Walter was born in Wandsworth, London in 1921. His father passed away in 1944 in Leeds where he was living in 1942. Walter's brother was kind enough to send the photo of him.

George Buchanan was the son of Helen and William Buchanan and was from Paisley in Scotland. His parents lived at 14 Howe St in the town. Like many of the dead from AL577 he was returned to his parents for burial. F/Sgt Buchanan was another of the pilots destined for the UK and the collection of new Liberators.

Carlton S Goodenough was a 28 year old navigator passenger on the aircraft. The son of Wright E. and Eva Stokes Goodenough from Bury, Quebec. Carlton was a teacher of seven years experience. He married his wife, Margaret Bagley in 1937 and a son, Thomas was born the following year. Carlton enlisted in July 1940, and had arrived in the UK in April 1941. F/Sgt Goodenough was interred in Belfast City Cemetary. His photo on this page was found on the McGill University memorial website on his individual page. His son Thomas passed away in 2005.

Leslie George Jordan was 20 years old and the son of John B. Jordan and Rose Jordan, of Portslade.  He is found residing with his parents at 235 Old Shoreham Road in Portslade on the 1939 register.  On that, he is listed as being a scholar but also being a member of 226 Battery, of the Royal Artillery.  Leslies's father was a veteran of the First World War 

George Frederick King, one of two Canadians on the aircraft came from Ontario. The 25 year old King, the son of Philip and Belinda King, had engaged in some flying before enlistment in April 1940, leaving his job in New Toronto with the Campbell Soup Co. He arrived in the United Kingdom in November 1940 after training in Canada. His first service posting was with 103 Squadron from March 1941 as an Observer, or navigator. He was later again posted to the Middle East and his service file indicates he joined 108 Squadron in August 1941. K F Vare the officer who had to take over 108 Squadron from the deceased W/Cdr Wells wrote to George's mother after his death: "Your son had been with the Squadron since 6th August, 1942, and had made twenty-nine raids against the enemy. His Flight Commander has always spoken well of his work. His zeal for operations were remarkable and we all, here, feel it very strongly that he has gone." Sgt King was buried on 21st March at Belfast City Cemetery, alongside his comrades.

The photo at left was provided by his niece and shows George standing at the right with a colleague named George Kusiar.

Herbert W T Sloman came from New South Wales, the only son of Mary Alice and George Sloman. He enlisted in September 1940 and embarked for Canada in January 1941 where he trained as a pilot with 7 Service Flying Training School. From there he shipped out to the United Kingdom arriving in June 1941. After further crew training in the UK he was posted to the Middle East in October 1941, joining 108 Squadron in November. He was buried on March 21st in Belfast.  Herbert had three sisters surviving him.

The crash site, shown in the 1942 photo at the start of this article, has been marked by memorials at the site since 1993. 
This panorama photo of the site from the lower slopes of Slievenaglogh shows Annaloughan Mountain in the right background and some high points to the right.

In 1993, local people from Louth including Noel Roddy raised the memorial plaque near the spot. The site is a short walk off a road and not easy to access due to the condition of ground etc. From the heights above the crash site one can on a very clear day see down the the east coast and see the peak of the Sugar Loaf Hill in Wicklow, south of Dublin city. The memorial plaque for AL577 with the crash location in the background, in the dip below the lumps on the hill.

A new memorial was raised at the site in the 2000's and funnily enough, used the names list from this site.  This memorial plate later had a die cast metal model of a Liberator in Coastal Command colours.  This memorial was located close to the location of a sizeable patch of ground that even in May 2022 was largely devoid of vegetation.  Close inspection of that patch of ground reveals hundreds of tiny green/blue strands of corroded copper wire, both single strand and braided types.  Various items of broken glass or perspex can also be seen glinting in the sun and screws and washers can still be found.  Adjacent to that patch of ground is a rock on which locals had painted a cross in the earliest form of memorial.

In March of 2022, to mark the 80th anniversary of the crash, Noel Roddy's son, Derek, with the aid of friends including Ciaran Gormley and Archie Murphy, raised a new memorial on the site using a number of parts from the aircraft, as well as a die cast model of a Liberator.  The memorial was overflown on the 16 March 2022 by the Irish Coast Guard helicopter based at Dublin airport, call sign Rescue 116.

The memorial sits roughly on the spot where the wreckage of the tailplane can be seen in the wartime photos.  The photos below were provided by Derek.  The memorial has been orientated such that the table and aircraft are pointing roughly along the final tragic path of Liberator AL577.  Noel Roddy understood that one engine was found

A patch of ground near the rocky outcrop is to this day almost devoid of vegetation.  It is shown beow with the main 2022 memorial in the background.

Even a cursory search of this patch will reveal many many strands of corroded electrical wiring, screws and mall pieces of aircraft structure.  The photo of some of the finds reveals small screws, pieces of glass or perspex. 

The mountains in this area would claim the destruction of two more aircraft during the war. An RAF Hudson crashed in September 1941 killing 3 men while a P-51 Mustang fighter of the US Army Air Forces crashed in September 1944 killing its pilot.

Compiled from various sources by Dennis Burke, Dublin, 2019: Including the Morey, Tolson, Anderson, Pattison, Brownlie and Brooks families. The service records of all Australian and Canadian aircrew members; the Irish Army Archive files in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin; the CWGC. And my friend, Heno, for the use of his photos.