After the end of World War 2 – when Czechoslovakia had been liberated – flights were arranged to repatriate Czech citizens from Britain .
One of these flights took off from Blackbushe Airfield near Camberley on October 5th 1945 .
It had a crew of 5 and there were 17 passengers plus one stowaway – all Czechoslovakians returning home .
The stowaway was Edita Sedlakova who was the young wife ( 19 years old ) of the Flight Engineer Zdenek ( Jan ) Sedlak.
The pilot, 25 years old P/O Jaroslav Kudláček, had 1,421 flying hours to his credit. His experience as a pilot on four-engined aircraft was 512 hours day and night, most of which was on Liberators. During his attachment with Transport Command his experience was 44 hours.
This was due to be his last flight as a pilot.
He had just returned from a very brief visit to his wife and newborn son at Wolverhampton Hospital, and the following day would be the fourth birthday of their 1st son.
7 minutes after the plane took off it crashed in flames at Elvetham - Hampshire - just 2 miles away from the airport .
All 23 on board were killed . Nine were women and five were very young children .
13 of these victims were buried together in this communal grave in Brookwood Cemetery with the Memorial listing their names.
On the Left side of the Memorial there is a Dedication to these tragic people written in Czech . On the Right the Dedication is repeated in English .
The black granite plaque on the ground in front of the memorial is a remembrance of Edita Sedlakova .
At first it was not realised that she had been on board and so she was buried here in the Civil Cemetery while her husband Zdenek was buried 100 metres away in the Military Cemetery .
From Wikipedia : " In a field nearby a group of children was helping a farmer to pick potatoes. One girl, who was 12 at the time, recalled seeing KG867 fly over with its port wing down and both starboard engines "running very fast" before passing out of sight and crashing.
The farmer told the children each to take a large potato and go home. She recalled that for days afterwards "Nobody was allowed to go anywhere near the crash. There were many lorries and people at the site for almost a week investigating the wreckage."
George Greenwood recalled that RAF Blackbushe was "stunned into silence".
....................................................................................................................................
From " The Price of Peace " by Colin Cummings .......
05 Oct 1945 Liberator VI KG867
311 Sqn 2 miles south-west of Blackbushe
During take-off, a petrol pipe feeding the port inner engine ruptured and fuel ignited in the engine nacelle. It seems probable that the pilot operated the wrong fire extinguisher but at this critical stage of flight, he as unable to control the aircraft and, although it became airborne, it crashed out of control and was gutted by fire. With one exception, the passengers were all Czech civilians being flown home to Prague, having agreed to repatriation at the war's end. The exception was the wife of the flight engineer; a 19 year old English woman, who is recorded in some records as an LACW in the WAAF. It is probable that Mrs Sedlack's given name was Edith but that the Czechs referred to her as Editha. She was not included in the aircraft's passenger manifest and had been 'smuggled' aboard by the crew. Checks after the accident revealed that the aircraft had been very poorly maintained with little attention to the daily maintenance and servicing requirements.
Flight Crew
Pilot Officer Jaroslav Kudlacek 25 Pilot
Warrant Officer Antonin Broz 31 Co-Pilot
Pilot Officer Kavel Rybnicek 26 Navigator
Flight Sergeant Zdenak Sedlack 33 Flight Engineer
Flying Officer Bohumil Vaverka 30 Wireless Operator
Civilians Casualties :
Ruzena Lichtensteinova 25
Marina Paulinyova 46
Michal Richter 40
Antonie Safronkova 33
Eva Safronkova 6
Edita Sedlakova 19
Ladislav Soblevasky 1
Margita Soblevasky 30
Marenka Soblevaska 1
Ota Trinks 37
Irma Trinksova 28
Greta Zaludova 27
Helena Zaludova 2
Ladislav and Marenka were 18 Month Old twins . Margita was their mother.
5 of the Civilians are not buried at Brookwood .
They are :
Marta Obrazová 37
Jiři Rosenblum 2
Anna Rosenblumová
Otto Schwarz 45
Helena Wodaková 24
______________________________ RIP_____________________________________
wb
One of these flights took off from Blackbushe Airfield near Camberley on October 5th 1945 .
It had a crew of 5 and there were 17 passengers plus one stowaway – all Czechoslovakians returning home .
The stowaway was Edita Sedlakova who was the young wife ( 19 years old ) of the Flight Engineer Zdenek ( Jan ) Sedlak.
The pilot, 25 years old P/O Jaroslav Kudláček, had 1,421 flying hours to his credit. His experience as a pilot on four-engined aircraft was 512 hours day and night, most of which was on Liberators. During his attachment with Transport Command his experience was 44 hours.
This was due to be his last flight as a pilot.
He had just returned from a very brief visit to his wife and newborn son at Wolverhampton Hospital, and the following day would be the fourth birthday of their 1st son.
7 minutes after the plane took off it crashed in flames at Elvetham - Hampshire - just 2 miles away from the airport .
All 23 on board were killed . Nine were women and five were very young children .
13 of these victims were buried together in this communal grave in Brookwood Cemetery with the Memorial listing their names.
On the Left side of the Memorial there is a Dedication to these tragic people written in Czech . On the Right the Dedication is repeated in English .
The black granite plaque on the ground in front of the memorial is a remembrance of Edita Sedlakova .
At first it was not realised that she had been on board and so she was buried here in the Civil Cemetery while her husband Zdenek was buried 100 metres away in the Military Cemetery .
From Wikipedia : " In a field nearby a group of children was helping a farmer to pick potatoes. One girl, who was 12 at the time, recalled seeing KG867 fly over with its port wing down and both starboard engines "running very fast" before passing out of sight and crashing.
The farmer told the children each to take a large potato and go home. She recalled that for days afterwards "Nobody was allowed to go anywhere near the crash. There were many lorries and people at the site for almost a week investigating the wreckage."
George Greenwood recalled that RAF Blackbushe was "stunned into silence".
....................................................................................................................................
From " The Price of Peace " by Colin Cummings .......
05 Oct 1945 Liberator VI KG867
311 Sqn 2 miles south-west of Blackbushe
During take-off, a petrol pipe feeding the port inner engine ruptured and fuel ignited in the engine nacelle. It seems probable that the pilot operated the wrong fire extinguisher but at this critical stage of flight, he as unable to control the aircraft and, although it became airborne, it crashed out of control and was gutted by fire. With one exception, the passengers were all Czech civilians being flown home to Prague, having agreed to repatriation at the war's end. The exception was the wife of the flight engineer; a 19 year old English woman, who is recorded in some records as an LACW in the WAAF. It is probable that Mrs Sedlack's given name was Edith but that the Czechs referred to her as Editha. She was not included in the aircraft's passenger manifest and had been 'smuggled' aboard by the crew. Checks after the accident revealed that the aircraft had been very poorly maintained with little attention to the daily maintenance and servicing requirements.
Flight Crew
Pilot Officer Jaroslav Kudlacek 25 Pilot
Warrant Officer Antonin Broz 31 Co-Pilot
Pilot Officer Kavel Rybnicek 26 Navigator
Flight Sergeant Zdenak Sedlack 33 Flight Engineer
Flying Officer Bohumil Vaverka 30 Wireless Operator
Civilians Casualties :
Ruzena Lichtensteinova 25
Marina Paulinyova 46
Michal Richter 40
Antonie Safronkova 33
Eva Safronkova 6
Edita Sedlakova 19
Ladislav Soblevasky 1
Margita Soblevasky 30
Marenka Soblevaska 1
Ota Trinks 37
Irma Trinksova 28
Greta Zaludova 27
Helena Zaludova 2
Ladislav and Marenka were 18 Month Old twins . Margita was their mother.
5 of the Civilians are not buried at Brookwood .
They are :
Marta Obrazová 37
Jiři Rosenblum 2
Anna Rosenblumová
Otto Schwarz 45
Helena Wodaková 24
______________________________ RIP_____________________________________
wb
After the end of World War 2 – when Czechoslovakia had been liberated – flights were arranged to repatriate Czech citizens from Britain .
One of these flights took off from Blackbushe Airfield near Camberley on October 5th 1945 .
It had a crew of 5 and there were 17 passengers plus one stowaway – all Czechoslovakians returning home .
The stowaway was Edita Sedlakova who was the young wife ( 19 years old ) of the Flight Engineer Zdenek ( Jan ) Sedlak.
The pilot, 25 years old P/O Jaroslav Kudláček, had 1,421 flying hours to his credit. His experience as a pilot on four-engined aircraft was 512 hours day and night, most of which was on Liberators. During his attachment with Transport Command his experience was 44 hours.
This was due to be his last flight as a pilot.
He had just returned from a very brief visit to his wife and newborn son at Wolverhampton Hospital, and the following day would be the fourth birthday of their 1st son.
7 minutes after the plane took off it crashed in flames at Elvetham - Hampshire - just 2 miles away from the airport .
All 23 on board were killed . Nine were women and five were very young children .
13 of these victims were buried together in this communal grave in Brookwood Cemetery with the Memorial listing their names.
On the Left side of the Memorial there is a Dedication to these tragic people written in Czech . On the Right the Dedication is repeated in English .
The black granite plaque on the ground in front of the memorial is a remembrance of Edita Sedlakova .
At first it was not realised that she had been on board and so she was buried here in the Civil Cemetery while her husband Zdenek was buried 100 metres away in the Military Cemetery .
From Wikipedia : " In a field nearby a group of children was helping a farmer to pick potatoes. One girl, who was 12 at the time, recalled seeing KG867 fly over with its port wing down and both starboard engines "running very fast" before passing out of sight and crashing.
The farmer told the children each to take a large potato and go home. She recalled that for days afterwards "Nobody was allowed to go anywhere near the crash. There were many lorries and people at the site for almost a week investigating the wreckage."
George Greenwood recalled that RAF Blackbushe was "stunned into silence".
....................................................................................................................................
From " The Price of Peace " by Colin Cummings .......
05 Oct 1945 Liberator VI KG867
311 Sqn 2 miles south-west of Blackbushe
During take-off, a petrol pipe feeding the port inner engine ruptured and fuel ignited in the engine nacelle. It seems probable that the pilot operated the wrong fire extinguisher but at this critical stage of flight, he as unable to control the aircraft and, although it became airborne, it crashed out of control and was gutted by fire. With one exception, the passengers were all Czech civilians being flown home to Prague, having agreed to repatriation at the war's end. The exception was the wife of the flight engineer; a 19 year old English woman, who is recorded in some records as an LACW in the WAAF. It is probable that Mrs Sedlack's given name was Edith but that the Czechs referred to her as Editha. She was not included in the aircraft's passenger manifest and had been 'smuggled' aboard by the crew. Checks after the accident revealed that the aircraft had been very poorly maintained with little attention to the daily maintenance and servicing requirements.
Flight Crew
Pilot Officer Jaroslav Kudlacek 25 Pilot
Warrant Officer Antonin Broz 31 Co-Pilot
Pilot Officer Kavel Rybnicek 26 Navigator
Flight Sergeant Zdenak Sedlack 33 Flight Engineer
Flying Officer Bohumil Vaverka 30 Wireless Operator
Civilians Casualties :
Ruzena Lichtensteinova 25
Marina Paulinyova 46
Michal Richter 40
Antonie Safronkova 33
Eva Safronkova 6
Edita Sedlakova 19
Ladislav Soblevasky 1
Margita Soblevasky 30
Marenka Soblevaska 1
Ota Trinks 37
Irma Trinksova 28
Greta Zaludova 27
Helena Zaludova 2
Ladislav and Marenka were 18 Month Old twins . Margita was their mother.
5 of the Civilians are not buried at Brookwood .
They are :
Marta Obrazová 37
Jiři Rosenblum 2
Anna Rosenblumová
Otto Schwarz 45
Helena Wodaková 24
______________________________ RIP_____________________________________
wb
One of these flights took off from Blackbushe Airfield near Camberley on October 5th 1945 .
It had a crew of 5 and there were 17 passengers plus one stowaway – all Czechoslovakians returning home .
The stowaway was Edita Sedlakova who was the young wife ( 19 years old ) of the Flight Engineer Zdenek ( Jan ) Sedlak.
The pilot, 25 years old P/O Jaroslav Kudláček, had 1,421 flying hours to his credit. His experience as a pilot on four-engined aircraft was 512 hours day and night, most of which was on Liberators. During his attachment with Transport Command his experience was 44 hours.
This was due to be his last flight as a pilot.
He had just returned from a very brief visit to his wife and newborn son at Wolverhampton Hospital, and the following day would be the fourth birthday of their 1st son.
7 minutes after the plane took off it crashed in flames at Elvetham - Hampshire - just 2 miles away from the airport .
All 23 on board were killed . Nine were women and five were very young children .
13 of these victims were buried together in this communal grave in Brookwood Cemetery with the Memorial listing their names.
On the Left side of the Memorial there is a Dedication to these tragic people written in Czech . On the Right the Dedication is repeated in English .
The black granite plaque on the ground in front of the memorial is a remembrance of Edita Sedlakova .
At first it was not realised that she had been on board and so she was buried here in the Civil Cemetery while her husband Zdenek was buried 100 metres away in the Military Cemetery .
From Wikipedia : " In a field nearby a group of children was helping a farmer to pick potatoes. One girl, who was 12 at the time, recalled seeing KG867 fly over with its port wing down and both starboard engines "running very fast" before passing out of sight and crashing.
The farmer told the children each to take a large potato and go home. She recalled that for days afterwards "Nobody was allowed to go anywhere near the crash. There were many lorries and people at the site for almost a week investigating the wreckage."
George Greenwood recalled that RAF Blackbushe was "stunned into silence".
....................................................................................................................................
From " The Price of Peace " by Colin Cummings .......
05 Oct 1945 Liberator VI KG867
311 Sqn 2 miles south-west of Blackbushe
During take-off, a petrol pipe feeding the port inner engine ruptured and fuel ignited in the engine nacelle. It seems probable that the pilot operated the wrong fire extinguisher but at this critical stage of flight, he as unable to control the aircraft and, although it became airborne, it crashed out of control and was gutted by fire. With one exception, the passengers were all Czech civilians being flown home to Prague, having agreed to repatriation at the war's end. The exception was the wife of the flight engineer; a 19 year old English woman, who is recorded in some records as an LACW in the WAAF. It is probable that Mrs Sedlack's given name was Edith but that the Czechs referred to her as Editha. She was not included in the aircraft's passenger manifest and had been 'smuggled' aboard by the crew. Checks after the accident revealed that the aircraft had been very poorly maintained with little attention to the daily maintenance and servicing requirements.
Flight Crew
Pilot Officer Jaroslav Kudlacek 25 Pilot
Warrant Officer Antonin Broz 31 Co-Pilot
Pilot Officer Kavel Rybnicek 26 Navigator
Flight Sergeant Zdenak Sedlack 33 Flight Engineer
Flying Officer Bohumil Vaverka 30 Wireless Operator
Civilians Casualties :
Ruzena Lichtensteinova 25
Marina Paulinyova 46
Michal Richter 40
Antonie Safronkova 33
Eva Safronkova 6
Edita Sedlakova 19
Ladislav Soblevasky 1
Margita Soblevasky 30
Marenka Soblevaska 1
Ota Trinks 37
Irma Trinksova 28
Greta Zaludova 27
Helena Zaludova 2
Ladislav and Marenka were 18 Month Old twins . Margita was their mother.
5 of the Civilians are not buried at Brookwood .
They are :
Marta Obrazová 37
Jiři Rosenblum 2
Anna Rosenblumová
Otto Schwarz 45
Helena Wodaková 24
______________________________ RIP_____________________________________
wb
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