Night of 28th to 29th June 1944
HANDLEY-PAGE HALIFAX III MP-B
Serial : MZ736
76 Squadron - Royal Air Force
Sacy le Grand (Oise)
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En français 
On 28th June 1944 at 10:26 pm, the Halifax III MZ736 of 76 Squadron took off from the base of Holme-on-Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, England. The target of the mission was to bomb the railway facilities in Blainville (Meurthe-et- Moselle).
Repeatedly attacked by German night fighters, it exploded over the village of Sacy-le-Grand (Oise). Some of the crew had time to evacuate the aircraft before it exploded and they were able to bale out over the region.
A lot of debris of the Halifax fell in different places of the village, causing several fires, but without causing casualties among the population.
The largest pieces of the bomber crashed on the property of Dr Cache, rue de l'Abbé Corson at Sacy-le-Grand.
Another part fell into what is now rue du Dr. Cache in front a porch.
In the remains of the aircraft, two dead bodies were found by the locals and the German soldiers at the scene.
Four airmen were taken prisoner as soon as they reached the ground and a fifth occupant escaped, having been picked up by a local farmer.
P/O I. R. McWEIR: Pilot of the Halifax, he was taken prisoner and interned in Stalag Luft 1 at Barth (South Camp, barrack 10, Room 6) on the Baltic Sea.
Sgt. George T. HOWIE: Was taken prisoner and interned in Stalag IV B at Muhlberg (Elbe).
Sgt. George T. HOWIE
F/S R.L. LIDBURY: Was taken prisoner and interned in Stalag Luft7 at Bankau bei Kreuzburg (Upper Silesia, today in Poland).
W/O O. S. WILSON: Was taken prisoner and interned in the same camp as Lidbury.
Sgt. A.W. OFFER: After evacuating the aircraft by parachute, Sgt. A. W. Offer followed the route from Sacy-le-Grand to Catenoy to escape the German soldiers. Rescued by Mr Sadet, a farmer at Catenoy, he was hidden in this family until the Liberation and maintained a long correspondence with his rescuers for a long time after the war.
Sgt. A. W. OFFER
F/O Kenneth J. BUNN: Was killed during the crash of a part of the aircraft, he is buried in the municipal cemetery of Creil.
Sgt. Jack Ph. GREGORY: Was killed during the crash of a part of the aircraft. He is also buried in the municipal cemetery of Creil.
The bodies of the two airmen still remained for some time in view of the inhabitants of Sacy-le-Grand before they were transferred to Creil. As a mark of respect, a resident of the village, Mrs. Blanche Simonet laid a bouquet of flowers at the feet of the unfortunate airmen. The German soldiers who were guarding the bodies threw the bouquet away and indicated their strong displeasure to Mrs. Simonet.
Some parts of the Halifax were collected and kept by the inhabitants of the village, such as this escape hatch which was over the cockpit.
