In the early hours of the cold winter morning of Tuesday 16th November 1943, a Wellington Mk 1c twin engined bomber of 28 OTU (Operational Training Unit) Royal Air Force, crashed with the sad loss of all aircrew onto Anglezarke Moor north of Bolton, in the area now designated the West Pennine Moors.

The Wellington, serial Z8799, had originally taken off at around 22:50hrs on the late evening of Monday 15th November 1943, from its base at RAF Wymeswold, Leicestershire, with its full compliment of six crew members for a routine night training / navigation exercise. (Code named a Bullseye Exercise).

For reasons unknown the aircraft went into a steep uncontrollable dive, resulting according to the Court of Inquiry in structural failure of the airframe and its subsequent terrible impact onto remote moorland.

None of the six aircrew survived the impact, they were the 1st pilot, Flight Sergeant Joseph Banks Timperon, aged 24 years, from Ardrossan, Australia, 2nd pilot Sgt Eric Raymond Barnes, aged 22 from Nottingham, Navigator, Sgt Joseph Banks Hayton aged 34 from Whitehaven, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Sgt Robert Sidney Jackson, Wireless Operator / Air Gunner Sgt George Earnest Murray from South Sheilds and Rear Gunner Sgt Matthew Mouncey aged 19 from Leeds. (the team is grateful to Stuart Clewlow of Euxton Chorley for the additional research details on the aircrew, their ages and home towns.

In June 1955, members of The Rotary Club of Horwich (a nearby town nestling in the foothills of the moors) had a Memorial erected a short distance away from the actual crash site, on a hillside overlooking the beautiful moorland stream and valley known as Lead Mines Valley.

The Memorial itself consists of a former gritstone gatepost, surrounded by stone steps forming a base plinth. Confusingly the Memorials plaque bearing all the names of the aircrew killed, lists the date of the crash as November 12th 1943 rather than the actual date which was November 16th 1943. For a number of years afterwards we understand the local Air Cadets held a wreath laying service the 2nd Sunday after each Remembrance Sunday.

In 1993, a local man, Eric Unsworth, a member of the nearby Chorley Ramblers Group, and also of the Long Distance Walkers Association, had the notion to hold a small service at the Bomber Memorial to honour the six airmen on Remembrance Sunday 1993. The following year a few more people joined in the Remembrance Sunday ‘informal’ Service at the Memorial, and as each year passed its popularity amongst a small band of local hill users increased.

Eric Unsworth ended up researching the tragic crash and contacting surviving relatives of the pilot Joe Timperon in Australia. Through his researches he obtained a copy of a letter written by the mother of Flt. Sgt. Joe Timperon after she had learnt of his death, and it was this letter that was read out at the service today to all the assembled crowd paying their respects by Team members Diane Blakeley and Gill Leigh.

Eric’s contacts resulted in we believe the attendance one year of a representative of the Royal Australian Air Force, as the pilot Flight Sergeant Joseph Banks Timperon was a member of the Royal Australian Air Force. The other five crew members were all members of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. (again with thanks to Stuart Clewlow for this updated information.)

At the Bomber Memorial Service, the National Anthem is played and it was thought fitting that the Australian National Anthem should also be played, but Eric’s problem was where to obtain a recording. Here the Royal Australian Air Force stepped in, recorded their National Anthem and posted a copy to Eric! To this day both the National Anthem and the Australian National Anthem are played at the Remembrance Sunday Bomber Memorial Service.

In 2000, we in Bolton Mountain Rescue Team started attending the Remembrance Sunday Service, and have done so ever since, joining other regulars which have included in the past attendees from such organisations as Chorley Ramblers, Bolton Ramblers, Wigan Ramblers, Bolton Holiday Fellowship Walking Group, Bolton Clarion Cycling Club, the Long Distance Walking Association and other walking groups and individuals.

In 2006 Eric Unsworth who with help from his colleagues in Chorley Ramblers had almost single headedly organised and presided over each Remembrance Sundays Service, decided to hand over the running of the service due to his health and increasing age, to other members of Chorley Ramblers, and nowadays Bolton MRT provides help and assistance to Chorley Ramblers in maintaining this service.  Eric has now sadly passed away, so it is fitting that the service continues in his honour.

This year with the wind and rain (which thankfully subsided during the service) numbers were down from recent previous years at around 120 x people present at the hilltop Remembrance Sunday Service at the Bomber Memorial.  This year we took our pop up gazebo to provide shelter from the rain for the people present but more importantly, the sound system! The wind did pose a threat so Team Members were strategically positioned to provide extra ballast and structural rigidity.

Included in this figure were 11 x Full Team Callout list Bolton MRT members, 1 x Trainee Team member, Bolton MRT Support Group member Iain Clarkson, former team members Andy Ryding (there in his capacity as a United Utilities Ranger) and Naomi Horan with her 7 month old son Rhys.

As ever, events followed those at the London Cenotaph Service, linking those on the moors with proceedings via a radio, broadcasting the start of the two minutes silence.

Chris Jones, a friend of Team Member Nick Berry, kindly supplied a sound system and attended the service, which greatly helped with allowing all present to hear the proceedings, including the live link to the BBC Radio 4 programme.

This year once again saw the displaying of the Australian national flag at the service, with thanks to former Bolton MRT team member Peter Heeley who especially purchased it for use at the 2009 years service alongside the Union Jack. (Due to the wind, the flags were attached to the Memorial this year, rather than adorning the base of the Memorial)

This year, as with previous years, saw Chorley Ramblers presiding over the Service, with Brian Allman officiating.

The two minute silence was followed by the hymn “Abide with Me”, the Lords Prayer, the dedication and wreath laying, poems, the hymn “The Lord Is My Shepherd” and the two National Anthems ringing out over the moorland slopes.

Brian Allman then read out the Dedication, “They Shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

For the 11th year in succession we laid a wreath at the Memorial with the Remembrance Card reading “From Bolton Mountain Rescue Team, dedicated to all UK and Allied Aircrew who have come to grief on Britain’s moorlands and mountains.  With thoughts for the crew of Wellington Z8799″.

Wreaths were also laid by Chorley Ramblers, Bolton CHA Rambling Club and West Lancashire Long Distance Walkers Association.

Many of those attending were then invited to leave their poppies and crosses on the Memorial.

Amongst the number of people present at this year’s service, from the very young to the more senior, were walkers from Chorley Ramblers, Bolton CHA Rambling Club, Wigan Ramblers, the West Lancashire Long Distance Walkers Association.

We believe this Remembrance Sunday hilltop service is very unique, as nobody can recall a hilltop Memorial to a crashed aircraft and its crew where such a service takes place on the actual day of Remembrance Sunday every year and has done so with continuity since 1993.

That every year a great many people, amongst them hill walkers, ramblers, fell runners, road cyclists and mountain bikers, continue to attend this service to honour the memory of the six crew of Wellington Z8799 and those fallen or wounded in the service of this country in conflicts and wars since 1914 is worth highlighting. “We will remember them.”

The Bolton Mountain Rescue Team wishes to express its thanks to Chorley Ramblers for their help to organise and officiate at this very special service, and keeping the memory of the crew of Z8799 alive.

Next year’s service will take place on Remembrance Sunday 13th November commencing at 10.45hrs at the Bomber Memorial in Lead Mines Valley, Anglezarke, West Pennine Moors. (Hymn and prayer sheets are provided by the Bolton MRT for all who attend, which also includes an account of the crash)

As a footnote, a great many military aircrew have come to grief or injury upon what is now termed the West Pennine Moors, some paying the ultimate sacrifice. Small pieces of wreckage still remain at many of the moorland crash sites reminding all of the price of freedom. Military aircraft that have crashed upon the local moorlands, include in 1928 an RAF Atlas Biplane on the lower slopes of Winter Hill, a Fairchild Argus of the USAAF in 1942 on Winter Hill Summit, Wellington Z8799 in 1943, an RAF Airspeed Oxford on Winter Hill in 1943, a Boeing B17 bomber in 1944 on Crowthorne moor with four fatalities, two Hurricane fighters of the RAF in 1945 near Scout Road, (both pilots killed) a Mustang III of 316sgn RAF on Darwen Moor in 1945, (Polish pilot killed), in 1953 two Gloster Meteor jet fighters of 610sgn RAuxAF crashed on Crowthorne moor killing both pilots, and the last crash involving a military aircraft on our moors in 1965 when a Chipmunk T10 trainer of the Manchester University Air Squadron (RAF) crashed on Smithills Moor, fortunately the two crew survived despite the trainer aircraft ending up upside down. There have also been a large number of civilian aircraft crashes on the moors, the worst being a Bristol 172 Wayfarer that crashed onto Winter Hill in February 1958 resulting in the death of 35 passengers, the latest being the crash of a Robinson R44 helicopter in February 2000, with three persons on board killed when it crashed onto Brinscall Moor, the Bolton MRT playing a major role in the search and rescue operation.)