On the 2nd June 1943 an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber, Z6639, crashed in the Cotswolds by Broadway Tower in Worcestershire.
The following extract is taken from 'RAF Bomber Command Losses' Vol.7 - W R. Chorley re the above loss.
At the time of this tragedy, Broadway Tower was being used as a Royal Observer Corps post and first on the scene were two corps members, Albert Lowe and Ernest Hollington. Braving the flames, the two men pulled all five airmen clear and though four were dead, a fifth man was still alive. Taken to the shelter of the nearby tower, he died soon afterwards. In June 1998, a special commemorative event, marking the 55th anniversary of the crash, took place at Broadway Tower, during which a plaque and a specially commissioned painting by the artist Michael Barnard was unveiled in the tower's restaurant.
Cause of Crash:
After completing an exercise of about three hours duration they had returned to the Honeybourne circuit to find the weather had deteriorated, with rain and very low cloud base. Due to other aircraft landing, Z6639 was given a "RED" by the airfield controller to go round again. On the second circuit, during the climb-out to turn, it crashed into the top of the hill, so near to Broadway Tower.