Band of brothers remembered for heroic sacrifice decades later

The service, which was organized by the Friends of West Smethwick Park, commemorated a plane crash 80 years ago on July 31, 1944, in which the two airmen died after trying to crash their failed plane.

Flight Sergeants Allan Charlie Cox and Gordon Preston heroically tried to avoid children playing on the cricket pitch while trying to land safely in the park after their aircraft went into difficulty, but the resulting crash killed them on both pilots on board.

The crash at the nearby tennis courts was doubly tragic for Flight Sergeant Cox’s family as he died just meters from his Ernest Road home, his mother watching the plane overhead from her kitchen window.

The commemorative event on Sunday 28 July began with a parade from the West Smethwick Park Pavilion, with RAF personnel and veterans bearing standards to the memorial site, where a memorial service was held, tributes were paid and standards lowered into sign of respect.

The Mayor of Sandwell, Councilor Syeda Khatun MBE, was in attendance along with the Leader of Sandwell Council, Councilor Kerrie Carmichael and several other Cabinet Members and District Councillors, as well as members of the public and fellow Armed Forces Veterans.

Nobby Clarke was one of the organizers of the event and said it was important to continue to remember the sacrifices and history of that time.

He said: “It’s all about history and I’m a veteran so you always remember your brothers in arms and sisters in arms and today what these two have done should be recognized and the younger generation would they need to know what they did.

“It was fantastic to be able to hold this event today and it brings the history of Smethwick and the Black Country into focus and it’s a great thing that we can still talk about history that has been silenced for years but has now been left out. .

“These guys sacrificed for the country and today was all about remembering that band of brothers.”

Mayor of Sandwell, Councilor Syeda Khatun MBE, said: “Although many years have passed since this tragic accident, it is important to remember the sacrifice these people made.

“Not only did their actions save the lives of those children playing in the park, but they helped secure the rights and freedoms we all enjoy today.”