St. Matthias church on Burton Road, Lincoln, was built in 1890-1 as a chapel of ease to the Anglican St. Nicholas church in Newport. On 28th September 1940 the south side of the church, seen in this shot, including the vestry, was destroyed when a Hampden bomber from 83 Squadron based at RAF Scampton crashed onto it. The damage could have been far worse however, it wasn't until the following day that the area was cordoned off when it was realised that the aircraft still had a live bomb on board which fortunately hadn't exploded. The Hampden had flown home on one engine following a raid on U-boat bases at Lorient in France and was only 5 miles short of the base. The crew of four had baled out, but the pilot - Pilot Officer Dudley Snook (20) in trying to avoid civilian casualties by nursing the stricken aircraft beyond the city limits probably left it too late bailing out too low. His parachute failed to open in time and he landed less than 100 yards away from the crash. He is buried in the churchyard at Scampton. The church was patched up with corrugated iron until the damage was repaired after the war. Despite the damage the church continued to be used every week by the soldiers at the nearby barracks for their Sunday morning church parades. The church is now used for worship by members of The Antiochian Orthodox Church.

England at War