24/08/2026
The Lancaster R5683 Memorial is now complete.
More than 80 years after Lancaster R5683 of 106 Squadron crashed near Benington Sea End, Lincolnshire in the early hours of 26 July 1942, the final groundworks around the memorial have now been finished.
The memorial stands close to the nearest accessible point to where the aircraft came down near Boston, Lincolnshire on the Butterwick Low mudflats, only minutes after taking off from RAF Coningsby for an operation against Duisburg.
All seven members of the crew were killed.
The memorials founder is a serving member of the RAF and has also recently completed a decade long search tracing the closest surviving family representatives of all seven members of the crew.
That means families in Britain, Canada and Australia now know that their relative is remembered close to the place where he lost his life.
The crew of Lancaster R5683
Pilot: Flight Sergeant Geoffrey Appleyard DFM
Navigator: Flight Sergeant Montague Joe Darvill DFM
Bomb Aimer: Pilot Officer Ray Branton Smith
Flight Engineer: Sergeant Robert Lovie Beaddie
Wireless Operator: Sergeant James William Grimwade
Mid-Upper Gunner: Sergeant Leonard Walter Young
Rear Gunner: Sergeant James Douglas Davie
The memorial was unveiled in 2025 with the support of the crew's relatives, RAF Coningsby personnel, the 106 Squadron Association, Saul Farms Ltd and many others who helped make it possible.
With the final work now complete, there is a permanent place in the Lincolnshire landscape where these seven young men can be remembered.
They came from England, Scotland, Wales, Canada and Australia. War brought them together at RAF Coningsby, and their final flight ended here near Benington Sea End.
More than eight decades later, their families have been reunited with their story.
Seven men. Seven families. One memorial.
Lest we forget.
Lancaster R5683 Memorial R5683
