UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE MEMORIAL
Landican, Wirral, England
plaque
Gazing out from my balcony door I look across a field where part of the wreckage of a US Liberator B24 crashed in October 1944. The plane was lost control of in mid-air. The reasons for this, to this day, are unknown. 24 American Forces personnel died as a result of the crash. It was the largest disaster of its kind to happen on Merseyside. A memorial stone with plague marking the crash lies on the Durly Estate a few roads away, by the River Fender, a lost cousin of the River Dee and River Mersey, unbeknown to most Wirral/Liverpool residents. The building in which I live is named after this river.
memorial stone
The commotion was seen by many Wirral witnesses, along Landican Lane, in nearby Oxton and Prenton. The craft was out of control and broke up in mid-air. Fires broke out and energy services were rallied to the scene. This was a night never to be forgotten by those Wirral residents that saw it, and the most dramatic incident that would ever take place alongside the stretch of the River Fender. A truly tragic event.
liberator B-24
The first time that I came across the memorial, I had no idea what it was. I approached and was taken aback about how little was ever broadcast about this unique World War II incident. I felt sadness that it lay within such a neglected corner. And so to mark its presence, I wished to post this blog, particularly for US friends that I have befriended online. I often think about these 24 young men, their hopes and aims for life as they sat on that transfer flight., and how this all came to an end in a field in Landican.
God Rest their souls.
Alan Ewing 2019
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