In the early hours of 5 February 1945 a de Havilland Mosquito of 464 R.A.A.F Squadron based at Thorney Island was returning from a strafing mission in the Ruhr Valley. The pilot had been in radio contact but visibility was poor with low cloud cover. A few minutes later the plane crashed into the roof of the Parish Hall near Five Heads Road killing both crew members. There were no civilian casualties.
The pilot was Pilot Officer Edward Wicky DFC and the navigator Pilot Officer Oswald Mountford DFC. Both were Australian from New South Wales. They were a very experienced crew having completed over 50 missions and a few weeks before the accident had been awarded the DFC. They are buried in Brockwood Military Cemetery in Surrey.
Mr Peter Barse of Horndean has organised a Memorial Appeal to honour these brave men. Some £20,000 has been raised and the memorial should be unveiled in June when it is hoped relatives of the two men will be present. It will be made of Portland Stone, some 2½ feet high with an inscription below an etching of a Mosquito. It will be placed in a garden setting with benches close to the corner of Portsmouth Road and Five Heads Road.
Students at Horndean Technical College have recently erected a commemoration board.
John Symonds
