A MEMORIAL was unveiled in Blaenau Gwent yesterday in remembrance of a "forgotten" wartime RAF bomber crash which killed one of its crew.

The plaque on a piece of four foot high quarried stone is inscribed with the details of the Whitley bomber which crash landed at nearby Pen Bryn Oer Farm on November 13 1940.

The plaque inscription reads: "On the night of November 13th 1940, RAF Whitley bomber ZA VT4232 of 10 Squadron returning from attack on German U-boat pens in Western France, came down at Pen Bryn Oer Farm having mistaken Bryn Bach pond for open sea. Although all five crew survived the impact, Sgt Pilot Peter Dickens Goldsmith would later die at Rhymney Cottage Hospital."

All the crew were badly hurt in the crash apart from the wireless operator, Sgt George Christie. As ammunition exploded in the burning aircraft, he dragged the others clear of the wreckage.

After an introduction from Anthony Hughes of Aneurin Leisure who run Parc Bryn Bach, Eifion Lloyd Davies of Blaenau Gwent Heritage Forum conducted the ceremony, then local historian Wayne Morris gave a talk on the incident.

Mr Morris said the memorial was needed because although many of the military aircraft crashes across South Wales were well-documented, this had been "relatively forgotten". He said much of the land had been altered by landfilling and the creation of the park which meant it was harder to track the exact site of the crash.

The Whitley bomber had taken off from RAF Leeming on 12 November 1940 to attack the submarine base in Lorient, southern France. When returning, the aircraft had become lost and had struck Rhymney Hill. The crew had believed they were near the sea off the coast of France when in fact they had seen Bryn Bach pond.

Mr Hawthorne of Pen Bryn Oer Farm gave them shelter there and took them to Rhymney Cottage Hospital where Sgt Dickens Goldsmith later died.

Mr Morris paid tribute to Blaenau Gwent Heritage Forum and Aneurin Leisure without whom, he said the memorial project “would not have happened”.

Following the unveiling Wayne Morris gave an information board on the crash to Anthony Hughes which will be installed in the visitor centre at Parc Bryn Bach.

Cadets and a standard bearer from 2167 (Tredegar) Squadron ATC also attended the ceremony.