DEVON Air Ambulance has been chosen as the beneficiary charity in memory of the airmen who lost their lives after the RAF Liberator crash on Dartmoor as a memorial is placed at the site next month.

On April 8, the families of the crew of the RAF bomber will dedicate a memorial to the seven airmen at the site where it crashed on Dartmoor. Liberator FK242 from 224 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command, crashed at Plaster Down on October 30, 1942.

Returning from the Bay of Biscay, the bomber struck a barrage balloon cable over Plymouth and was badly damaged. Diverted to make an emergency landing at Harrowbeer, the airfield by Yelverton, the aircraft was unable to get down safely and crashed two miles away.

Six of the crew died and the sole survivor, Dennis Pass, returned to Devon in 1983 to place a personal memorial to his comrades. The old plaque, which has severely weathered, is now illegible.

The new memorial will comprise a cast bronze plaque set into a post of Dartmoor granite. It will be put in place by the conservation team of Dartmoor National Park Authority at the end of March. The position of the memorial will be by the car park at the southern end of Plaster Down.

The crew of Liberator FK242 were flying officer Gavin Sellar, aged 21, of the RAF volunteer reserves (RAFVR), first pilot and captain; sergeant Harry Dawe, 27, RAFVR, co-pilot; flying officer Victor Crowther, 24, Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), navigator; sergeant William Fraser, 24, RAFVR, flight engineer; pilot officer William Martin, 26, RAFVR, radio operator/gunner; pilot officer William Cruickshanks, 23, RAFVR, radio operator/gunner and sergeant Dennis Pass, 20, RAFVR, rear gunner.

Having survived the crash on Dartmoor, Dennis Pass recovered from his injuries and returned to operational flying. Amazingly, he was to survive another crash in a Liberator, which happened in Burma two years later. He died peacefully in hospital at Grimsby in 2015 at the age of 92.

Robert Jones, who has organised the project, said: ‘It will be a permanent memorial to the crew of the Liberator that crashed in 1942. We have arranged for it to be placed near to where the crash happened. The story has received a lot of publicity far and wide and that’s attracted many “friends”. I feel sure they would like to contribute, but as the cost of the new memorial has been guaranteed, it seems a good idea to invite people to donate to a charity in memory of the airmen. We decided the most appropriate was Devon Air Ambulance.’

Devon Air Ambulance fundraising director Caroline Creer said: ‘This new memorial plaque is a wonderful tribute to the young men of the RAF Liberator who lost their lives in 1942.

‘For friends of the families and visitors to the area to be able to leave a donation to Devon Air Ambulance is very fitting. These young men were flying over Dartmoor, just doing their job, much like our helicopters each time they are called out to an emergency.

‘Our aircrews cross this stunning, wild terrain to reach each patient as quickly as possible and we are very grateful to have been chosen.’

The dedication will be held at 11am on Saturday, April 8 and will be open to everyone. The service will be conducted by a minister of St Andrew’s Church, Whitchurch.

The memorial, draped in the Union Flag, will be unveiled by a relative of one of the crew before wreaths are laid by wing commander Derek Straw RAF (rtd), a former navigator with 224 Squadron, and wing commander Lisa D’Olivera RNZAF, who is the New Zealand air advisor in London. Relatives of the crew attending will include two nephews of William Martin, a niece of William Cruickshanks and a grandson of Dennis Pass.

‘Friends’ are encouraged to donate to Devon Air Ambulance by visiting www.just giving.com/fundraising/Robert-JONES65