On this day in 1940 Aircraftman 1st Class W.K.Lambert was killed in a flying accident. He is remembered in the village of Bosham, West Sussex.

At the start of the year our good friends L and C were exploring the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church in the West Sussex village of Bosham.  They came across the Commonwealth War Grave of an RAF serviceman who died on 3 May 1940 and, knowing my interest in such matters, L sent me a photo.

The grave was that of Aircraftsman 1st Class William Kirby Lambert, a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, who was killed when his Blenheim Mk 4 L9297 stalled and crashed on take-off from RAF Andover following an engine failure.  William Lambert and 2 other members of the crew, Pilot Officer R. J. Carter and Sergeant J. M. Longley, were killed in the crash and the only member of the crew to survive, Aircraftman C. A. Wadman, died later of his injuries. 

William Lambert and his fellow crew members were serving with the RAF’s No.2 School of Army Cooperation based at RAF Andover when the accident happened.

It is interesting to note that aircrew members of the time could hold the rank of Aircraftman; as the war progressed aircrew would be made up of those of the rank of Sergeant or above. 

The Bristol Blenheim Mk 4 was a versatile light bomber powered by two 905hp Bristol Mercury Mk 15 radial piston engines which gave the aircraft a top speed of 266mph.  It was widely used in training and combat during the early years of World War Two, but in early 1943 it had been replaced in front line use by more modern aircraft and was thereafter used solely for training.

William Kirby Lambert is also remembered on Bosham’s war memorial which stands overlooking Bosham Creek, an offshoot of Chichester Harbour.*  Sadly, although Lambert was aged 34, rather old for aircrew, the Commonwealth War Grave Commission does not record any next of kin and there is no family inscription on his grave.

*http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Sussex/Bosham.html