Roy was the Pilot of an Avro Lancaster MkIII bomber, serial number LM464 (coded SR-E), of Number 101 Squadron.

The aircraft took off from Ludford Magna in Lincolnshire at 19:20hrs on the 18th Mar 1944 with orders to attack Frankfurt in Germany. The aircraft was loaded with a 4000lb High-Capacity bomb and a mixture of incendiary munitions and, as was usual for the Squadron, carried an eighth crewman who acted as a special operator to function the radio and radar jamming equipment.

The aircraft made it back to the UK and was heard to be transmitting on R/T calling “Darky” which should have alerted airfields in its vicinity that it was in distress or lost and needed to land.

The Lancaster crashed at around 01:55hrs to the North-North-East of Horham on the Norfolk side of the Norfolk-Suffolk border killing all eight on board. Early investigation suggested that mismanagement of the aircraft’s fuel cocks may have led to loss of engine power and the Lancaster subsequently stalled.

Roy was the Son of John William and Elsie Dixon (nee Nicklin), of Brimington, Derbyshire. He was born on the 29th Apr 1923, his birth registered in Chesterfield. Before he enlisted, he was a Clerk in the purchasing department of an Iron and Coal Company. He lived at 40 Hill View Road, Chesterfield with his parents.

He was also previously a member of Number 1318 (Staveley) Squadron, Air Training Corps. Roy’s DFM was awarded for his actions on a raid to Augsburg on the 25th Feb 1944. His aircraft, serial number ME590 (coded SR-C), was damaged by flak and attacked by an ME 110 Night-Fighter. With its hydraulics unserviceable, Roy brought the stricken bomber home and made a successful belly landing back at base.

[See also: Crosby, Bertram Thompson, William Haswell Vernon, Roger Dunkerley Huntley, Sydney Leonard Marshall, Noris Sydney Lawn, Percy Reginald Bryan, Robert Harry L. Aenne.

Derbyshire Times, Friday 24 March 1944, British Newspaper Archive https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/