Local History

Research documents collected by family

On 15 December, 1944, 16 men were killed after two Allied B-17 bombers collided over Greenham Woods while flying through cloud and fog.

The event was not reported at the time and only came to light after relatives of the US soldiers killed in the crash began investigating their family history.

Debbie Henderson told BBC Berkshire how she started researching the events which led to the death of her uncle Wayne F Laubert. He was a US serviceman who was killed in the crash over Greenham Common.

A Purple Heart certificate

She said: "it was my brother, Mike, who yearned to know about his uncle way back in 2002 that began this journey. 

"My Aunt Gerry had kept his Purple Heart medal and many letters over 50 years - giving us specific facts to start web searching. We found crash reports, his file, his life as a boy, young man, and then his time, and place in the war was now coming together."

Debbie got in touch with Paul Hilton from Newbury after he answered her request for information about the crash on a Greenham Common Base website.

Before long they had traced the pilot and co-pilot of one of the bombers which collided over Greenham Common.

The two decided to contact a local newspaper in 2003 to run a story about the crash asking anyone with memories of the incident to come forward. This led to contact with an eye-witness to the tragedy, Patrick Painting, and with documentary-maker Sean Caveille.

Debbie sent through an obituary of her uncle, which described how a thousand people turned out for his funeral in Vienna, Missouri.

A letter from Wayne Laubert's mother

Sgt Wayne F Laubert was born on February 1, 1923, the son of Mr and Mrs Fred Laubert of Vienna, and died in a plane crash in the service of his country, December 15, 1944.

A member of the 8th Air Force, B-17 Bomber Squadron, Sgt Laubert had completed 32 combat missions.  Tragically, he had only three more to make before being relieved of combat duty.

Among his awards received in service were the Bronze Medal, Good Conduct Ribbon, European Theatre Ribbon, two Silver Stars and eight Oak Leaf Clusters.

To find out more about the Greenham Common crash and the documentary created about the incident, click here.