MORE than three quarters of a century after a bomber plane crashed into an Andover bakery, a memorial is to be commissioned to commemorate the fatal collision.

Last weekend marked 76 years since a Flying Fortress clipped its wing on the roof of Burbidge’s Bakery, before careering off into nearby fields.

The crash was branded the worst of its kind across the district during the wartime years. All six crew members aboard the plane died, while two residents on the ground were treated for minor injuries.

And now, almost eight decades after the incident, a memorial plaque and accompanying monument is going to be put up at the site of the crash.

Abbots Ann resident Peter Curtis has spent the best part of the last 20 years researching the crash, and the 86-year-old was in fact one of the first to explore the crash scene.

“I was coming home on the school bus at nine years of age and it crashed in front of us moments before the school bus was due to stop,” he told the Advertiser. “It bounced off of Burbidge’s, left it’s wing on Burbidge’s and then shot across the road into Ashfield Road.”

The plane landed across the road from the bakery, in fields which are now home to Portway Close, Ashfield Road and part of Portway School.

All six crew members were Americans, and much of Peter’s research, which was carried out alongside fellow Andover-based history enthusiast Doug Morley, centred around naming those men.

“That took a bit of doing. Searching through all the records, mainly online, and sifting through rolls of honour and things of that nature,” he said.

“I just felt that they deserved this recognition. Whatever anybody says they were somebody’s kin in America.

Another resident with a close interest in the crash is Steve Burbidge, whose great grandfather was running the family bakery back when the plane collided with it.

He says the incident has been a “family story for years” and one he had looked into himself over the years.

“I started to look into it and I got hold of someone at the American embassy,” said Steve, “but I just drew a blank. So I was quite chuffed when Peter got involved.”

So too was Peter chuffed about Steve’s involvement, as he offered to sponsor the soon-to-be-finished plaque and memorial, which will be put up at the family bakery.

Steve planned to meet the stonemason this week with a view to finalising the memorial, and he remains hopeful of having everything ready to be unveiled in around a month’s time. He also hopes the news of the plaque’s commissioning might help jog some memories and potentially track down some photos of the crash itself.

“Please scour family photos albums,” he appealed to Advertiser readers, “Somewhere in somebody’s loft there has to be a picture. At a car boot sale someone will have picked up a picture thinking nothing of it.”

Until then, if you have any memories of the crash or some long-lost photos hidden away, get in touch via elliott.binks@andoveradvertiser.co.uk