Gateway School 1935-1938.
Son of Albert and Florence Marriott.
Sergeant Marriott was one of the crew of Lancaster LM208 that took off from RAF Spilsby at 18:38 hours on the 15th October 1944. Poor weather had led to the cancellation of the main operation that night, but Lancaster LM208 was sent to drop mines in Danish waters of the Kattegat code name “Silverthorn”. This was ironically called “Gardening”. At around 21:00 hours the aircraft was attacked by a German night-fighter, and caught fire. The crew managed to make the mines safe, which were jettisoned by parachute and fell near the village of Laastrup without exploding. The action of the crew saved many lives on the ground. The aircraft then crashed in flames, killing the crew of seven.They are buried in Laastrup Churchyard, Central Jutland, Denmark, and are commemorated on a memorial in the church.
Crew members:-
- Pilot – Flt/Lt. George Henry Montgomery, RAFVR, aged 29
- Flt/Engr. – Flt/Sgt. James Findlay, RAFVR, aged 22
- Navigator – F/O Lynden Arnold McIntyre, RCAF, aged 29
- Bomb aimer – F/O Willian Andrson Whitehead, RCAF, aged 29
- Wireless Op. – Sgt James Roy Marriott, RAFVR, aged 20
- M/U Gunner – Sgt Albert Frederick Hall, RAFVR, aged 21
- Rear Gunner – Sgt James Dunacn Cumming, RAFVR, aged 21
The people of Laastrup greatly appreciated the sacrifice that these men had made in de- fusing the mines which would have fallen on the village rather than saving themselves by baling out. The men were given a respectful committal by the Germans and the villagers marked the spot of the crash with this boulder engraved with the silhouette of a Lancaster bomber and the date 15th October 1944. The memorial to the Montgomery crew in Låstrup Church, 2001. top L-R: Montgomery, McIntyre, Whitehead 2nd row L-R, Marriott. Cumming copyright Jens Frandsen Viborg Stifts Folkeblad Carved into this boulder is the shape of a four engined bomber and the date 15 October 1944. It marks where the aircraft fell. (Cruickshank)
