Avro Lancaster ED823 Memorial Traditional Cache
Avro Lancaster ED823 Memorial
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A quick roadside cache and dash situated opposite the memorial area. Space for a couple of cars close by.
Please replace as found.
In the early hours of Saturday 10th April 1943 Lancaster ED823 belonging to 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit (H.C.U.) took off from RAF Winthorpe, near Newark. At 01:25 the aircraft crashed in Halam shortly after take-off, just eight miles from the airfield.
1661 H.C.U. at RAF Winthorpe was a unit set up to train aircrews to fly heavy bombers such as the Manchester and Lancaster. The six week course was designed to "convert" the crews from flying lighter aircraft to larger, heavier ones. The final part of the aircrews' training course was night navigational exercises, such as the flight ED823 was making when it crashed.
All seven crew members were sadly killed in the crash.
The crash site is about 1/2 mile from the centre of the village of Halam. It is on the west facing slope of a gentle hill; in 1943 the field was pasture, now in 2011 it is part of a Golf Course.
The Halam Lancaster Memorial displays the badges of the airforces of Great Britain, Australia and Canada in honour of the three different airforces from which the crew was drawn.
More about the crew and the crash report can be found here (visit link)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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