80th anniversary of Lancaster bomber crash on Worthing beach brings back vivid memories

Pilot Bev Pook wanted to mark the 80th anniversary of the wartime plane crash and we published a detailed report on his research into the event and the aftermath.

He researched the history behind the names of nine roads in Durrington and revealed the story of the Lancaster bomber crew and the mystery surrounding their plane's dramatic crash landing on the beach 80 on December 17, 1944.

Roy Paternoster wrote in to share the story of his 96-year-old mother, who found the article brought back vivid memories.

Roy said: "My mother Marjorie Jordan (her maiden name) and her friend Phyllis Long had been to the Plaza Cinema, as they did every weekend to see a film, which she believes was a musical.

"They left the cinema at 5.30pm and headed west along Rowlands Road. Just along from the cinema is a row of houses, of which one had converted a downstairs room into a restaurant / café. Once inside, they ordered beans on toast and a cup of tea, which cost the princely sum of one shilling, equivalent to six pence now.

"The food and tea had just been served to them when they heard this terrible noise, which was the plane flying low just above the houses.

"My mother still now remembers the dreadful noise and still shivers when she thinks about what happened that day. She vividly remembers the massive explosion when the plane crashed. Everything went black, all the glass blew in, she remember the beans on toast going across the floor covered in glass.

"My mother also remembers that they were told to stay where they were but ignored the advice and walked home, Phyllis to Chancton Close and my mother to Guildford Road.

"To this day my mother is still annoyed as they never got to eat the food they paid for."

Rob Flynn's late mother was 18 at the time and he, too, wanted to highlight the 80th anniversary of the crash, which he said was opposite Heene Terrace.

Rob added: "My mother was temporarily living in Heene Road and witnessed the crash as she was walking her dog.

"The story is quite touching, especially about the pilot Edward Essenhigh and his intended marriage, and subsequent visit to Worthing by his aunt a few years later, as reported in the Herald at the time.

"I moved to York some 21-plus years ago. I only realised, after doing some research after reiterating my mum's story in the summer to my daughter and grandson, who live in Worthing, that Pilot Essenhigh coincidentally lived in York."

Ernest Townsend was the town clerk at the time and it was him who spoke with the aunt some five years later - the first time the identiy of the pilot was known locally. His grandson also wrote in.

Nigel Townsend wrote in to say: "My grandad was town clerk and my dad, who is still alive at over 99 years old, remembers the plane flying over the Plaza. He said some of the ceiling fell down."

The Worthing Herald reveal the name of the pilot hero, under the headline 'The man who sacrificed his life nine days before he was due to be married', in its edition of Friday, August 12, 1949.

"A woman walked into the office of Mr Ernest G. Townsend, O.B.E., Worthing's Town Clerk, on Wednesday, and gave him information which for nearly five years the townspeople have wanted to know – the name of the pilot of a crippled bomber who sacrificed his life by deliberately crashing his plane on the beach to avoid buildings in the town.

"The pilot was Flying Officer Edward Gordon Essenhigh, of 54, Bishopthorpe-road, York. His aunt, Miss Ethel Maud Essenhigh, visited the Town Clerk to see if she could obtain any further details of her nephew's death, which occurred on December 17, 1944. She also revealed that five other members of the crew were killed in the crash."

The Lancaster had set off for Munich from RAF Fulbeck, Lincolnshire, loaded with incendiary bombs. The crew, from 49 Squadron, found they could not get the bomber to fly above 1,000ft and called for help.

The base told them to ditch the bombs in the sea at 5,000ft, otherwise the explosion would blow the aircraft's tail off.

Struggling to stay airborne, the crew found themselves over Worthing's busy town centre. They crashed on the beach just 100 yards south-east of Worthing Pier and the plane exploded.

The 49 Squadron Association considers that the sacrifice of the crew, in avoiding Worthing, no doubt considerably reduced their chances of landing safely in shallow water. They lost their lives but no one in Worthing was killed and only three people were slightly injured.

When the West Durrington estate was built in 1997, Worthing Borough Council approved a suggestion made by the mayor, Peter Green, to name some of the roads in memory of the Lancaster crew, a move that was welcomed and appreciated by relatives.

Only one crew member was found in the wreck, F/Sgt Gordon Callon, who was operating the rear turret. He is buried in Littlehampton.

The other Lancaster PB355 crew who were killed were the pilot F/O Edward Gordon Essenhigh, flight engineer Sgt Harry Varey, navigator Sgt Leonard Bertie Bourne, wireless operator F/S Frederick Bernard Rees, air gunner Sgt James Worrall Moore and bomb aimer F/O James Andrew Thomson.

There are nine roads in Durrington named in their honour – Squadron Drive, Fulbeck Way, Essenhigh Drive, Varey Road, Bourne Close, Callon Close, Thomson Close, Rees Close and Moore Close.