On the north side of the parking lot.

The memorial consists of an information board containing 6 papers printed with the details and history of the crash and a model of the crashed plane on its front and a trapezoidal white block plinth on the right-hand side with 2 papers containing the commemoration message and the names of the four crew members who died in the crash. The memorial was set up and maintained by local resident Colin  Clayton, in memory of the officers and crew of the B24J Liberator Bomber 42-95191, which crashed landed on 20 June 1944 into heavy sea's close inshore at Greatstone, almost opposite the Jolly Fisherman. The memorial was dedicated in August 2010.

The Liberator Bomber was part of a force of B24 2nd Division bombing a NOBALL (VI) launching sites in the Pas-de-Calais area. The 42-95191 was flown by Lt Charles Stevens with his crew and took a direct hit from an 88mm shell which blew away most of the nose section in front of the pilot's compartment.

Both the Navigator, Lt Harold R Meng, and the Bombardier, Lt William F Weck, were killed instantly, Meng's body being blown out of the aircraft by the explosion.

Two engines were functioning as the B24 left the target area, and a third failed over the channel. The remaining engine began to lose power as the B24 neared the Kent coast. The pilot brought the aircraft in for a crash landing.

Unfortunately, S/Sgt Thomas E Fulbright and S/Sgt Bernard E Peak (Gunners) both elected to bale out before the forced landing, delayed opening their parachutes, and were killed instantly when they fell onto the sands.

A young RAF doctor, Sqn Ldr D D Morrell (see below), saw the bomber crash and attempted to wade out to it, but was driven back by the force of the waves and the strong current. A Mr. J  Frost of the local Civil Defence unit took control of the situation.

An Army amphibious 'DUKW' was commandeered to ferry Sqn Ldr Morrell to the aircraft and the other surviving crew was taken ashore. An officer was trapped in his seat by his legs and the rising tide, already up to his shoulders, threatened to drown him. Sqn Ldr Morrell repeatedly dived underwater to free him, succeeding in the nick of time.

Before he was taken ashore Sqn Ldr Morrell gave him morphia because of the appalling injuries to his legs. Sqn Ldr Morrell was later awarded the OBE for his 'outstanding courage and initiative'.

The aircraft could be seen on the sand at very low tides for some years, but has now disappeared buried under the sand.

There were 11 crew members on board the B24J on 20 June 1944. The time of the crash, according to the MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) was 2100 hours. The DBST then in use meant that it did not dark until 2230 hours.

The seven survivors were:

1st Lt Charles W Stevens  Pilot           

2nd Lt William J Holm Co-pilot

2nd Lt Guy E Tweed Pilotage Navigator       

T/Sgt Seth W  House Radio Operator

T/Sgt Leon J Boersma Jr Engineer           

S/Sgt William O Trebing Gunner

S/Sgt Richard E Black Gunner

Source of information: theromneymarsh.net

Source of images: theromneymarsh.net, hmvf.co.uk, ukbeachdays.co.uk

On the plinth:

Killed on the 20^th June whilst flying

with the United States army air forces 491

bomb group from Medfield, Suffolk flying

in a B-24J Liberator bomber 42-95191