Lancaster LL956 CF-Q (Queenie)

Lancaster LL956 Mk I CF-Q (Queenie) Memorial Service

Background

On October 14, 1944, Lancaster LL956 took off at 06:28 from the Kelstern Station on a sortie to Duisburg, Germany.  F/O Lloyd Hannah was confronted with an engine fire on the takeoff roll beyond the abort speed.  He had six minutes to gain sufficient altitude for the crew to bale out and then the aircraft crashed at 06:34 into a farmer's field near the Village of Little Grimsby.  Hannah managed to keep the aircraft under control to allow the crew to bail out and to steer the aircraft away from the Village.  Lloyd Bennett was able to bail out along with the other crew members but he was killed when his parachute failed to deploy.  For more information about this loss, please visit the Aircrew Remembered Archive Report for LL956.

Of the eight air crew on board the aircraft, two air crew members were killed:

• F/O Lloyd Hannah, Pilot, RCAF

• F/Sgt Lloyd Bennett, Bomb Aimer, RCAF.  

Memorial Service Details

The annual "Q for Queenie" Memorial Service will be held on Monday, October 12, 2026 at the Little Grimsby Church, Little Grimsby, Lincolnshire.  The service will commence at 11:00 a.m.  All are welcome.