Sgt Frank Samuel Martin was born in Kent in 1916 and lived
there with 4 siblings and parents in 1921. His parents and one sister were
recorded as living at the same address in 1939.
For reasons that are not clear he developed an association with Denham
in Buckinghamshire where he was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard in 1944. He
joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and underwent training as a bomb
aimer in the second World War.
Like the rest of the crew who were also in aircrew training,
he took off in Wellington bomber LN293 on 25 August 1944 from RAF Chipping
Warden in Northamptonshire. The mission
for this aircraft was to participate in a diversionary bombing raid as the
allies progressed from the D-Day Normandy landings to the east and south. After collecting at a point in the North Sea
off the Netherlands, the mission turned for this aircraft to a night navigation
training exercise to Luton, Southampton and Bristol before returning to base,
at all times maintaining radio silence except when crossing the coast back to
England, which occurred at 20 minutes past midnight.
At some point close to Hanham, the aircraft became
uncontrollable and the captain gave the order for the crew to bail out. No mayday radio transmission was received by
ground stations. Sgt Martin bailed out,
but his parachute became fouled on the aircraft and he landed in a tree in
Hencliff Wood without it. His body was
found by Hanham resident Malcolm Williams, then a schoolboy. The remains of his
parachute were recovered some 1½ miles northeast from where is body was
found. As such Sgt Martin was the
nearest operational fatality to Hanham in World War 2.
Another crew member bailed out of the stricken aircraft, and
he landed fatally in Keynsham with his parachute unopened. The remaining four crew members died when the
aircraft crashed in a near vertical dive on Uplands Farm land, south of
Keynsham.
The RAF Investigation into the crash was unable to determine
a cause as the aircraft was so badly damaged on impact at the crash and
subsequent fire.
Sgt Martin and the crew are believed to have been
undertaking aircrew training in New Brunswick, Canada prior to this
mission. His wife and infant daughter
had arrived in Liverpool on a ship from New York on the day that his aircraft
took off on this fatal mission. It is
believed he has grandchildren living today in Canada.
The history of this memorial goes back to 2010 when the
Bristol Evening Post reported the efforts taken by Malcolm Williams, John
Cummins and Roy Crew to establish a lasting memorial to Sgt Martin.
Note by author:
The memorial can be found on the footpath (South
Gloucestershire Council reference PHA/2/30) leading from Common Road into Hencliff
Wood by Harvey’s Shopfitters (which donated the cross) towards the River Avon
about 180 yards on the left walking down.
What3words location ///pace.depend.kick
© Hanham Local History Society
