George Valentine Frank Killick was born in Chatham on 10 July 1914, less than three weeks before the start of the First World War. He was the second of three sons of Henry, a rivetter at HM Dockyard Chatham, and his wife Louisa, who died in 1936. Henry later remarried.
After leaving school, George worked as a fitter at the Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company.
Aged 29, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve shortly before Christmas 1943, training as an air gunner. By April 1944 he had nearly completed his course, but was killed on his very first flight before he could pass out as a qualified rear gunner.
Attached to No. 1 Lancaster Finishing School at RAF Hemswell, George boarded an Avro Lancaster Mk I, serial R5672, for what was described as an air experience or familiarisation flight – informally known as a “jolly.” These flights were sometimes offered to ground personnel or trainees as an introduction to operational aircraft. At the controls was Wing Commander Eric Campling, the unit’s Commanding Officer, a highly experienced and decorated pilot.
At about 1700 hours on 8 April 1944, the aircraft was seen to enter a steep dive from around 1,000 feet before crashing near Caistor, Lincolnshire. The impact and subsequent destruction were so severe that the cause of the accident could not be determined. All nine people on board were killed. Among them were five other ground personnel from Hemswell and 2nd Officer Tania Whittall of the Air Transport Auxiliary – one of the very few women to lose her life in a Lancaster during the war. In contrast to many operational losses overseas, each of the victims was returned home and buried in their local community.
George was laid to rest in Palmerston Cemetery, Chatham, alongside his mother Louisa, who had died eight years earlier.
The tragedy was soon compounded. George’s father, Henry John Killick, collapsed and died while walking along Westmount Avenue, Chatham, carrying a young child in his arms as he returned from his son’s funeral. His death was attributed to natural causes and no inquest was held. He was buried with his wife and son, uniting the family in a single grave. Both father and son had made wills, and probate was granted later that year. The beneficiary in each case was Ruth Killick, George’s stepmother and Henry’s widow.
Aircraftsman 2nd Class George Frank Valentine Killick lies buried in the Chatham (Palmerston Road) Cemetery
