Ken Crowther
Ken Crowther


Ken Crowther was born in Leeds and came to RAF Keevil and was a second pilot on Stirling bombers. He was well known in Bratton as he was courting a Bratton girl called Dot Humphries. They married in July ’44 and lived initially in Stradbrook and later in Court Orchard. It was obvious that Ken was an amputee and I recall sitting with him in the early 50’s on the dam of Luccombe Mill when villagers had permission to use the lake for recreation. He was complaining that his foot hurt, not the one he still had, but the one that was missing!

Two months after his marriage, on Sunday Morning 17th September 1944, 21 year old Ken was towing a Horsa Glider with his Stirling to Operation Market Garden. They were over Paulton when the tail of the Horsa broke away from the main fuselage which fell rapidly to the ground. The Stirling circled for some time to get an accurate fix on this tragic location. Returning to Keevil the crew jumped into a Jeep to drive to Paulton. They were met by a scene of total carnage with bits of the Horsa and body parts scattered everywhere. The war continued and the next day Ken was flying the same Stirling over The Netherland’s when it was hit by flak and crashed. It was this event that caused the loss of Ken’s foot. He was in pain from this injury for the rest of his life. At the sight of the terrible accident at Paulton a memorial has been created in memory of the 23 who died. The memorial is in an area known as Double Hill.




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The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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