Brian Ainsbury

There is a second civilian burial recorded at the church, of a young boy who was also tragically killed by enemy action during World War II. A V1 'doodlebug' attack on Christmas Eve 1944, hit and destroyed two houses and damaged several others about a third of the way up the right hand side of Woodstock Drive in Worsley. This was not very far from the site of 'The Cottage', where the McCrea family had been killed four years earlier. Number 20 Woodstock Drive was the home of Brian Walter Ainsbury, who died on 24 December 1944, aged 5 according to official records. He was buried in the churchyard on 28 December 1944, where his age was recorded as 4½ years, a more accurate record. Brian was the son of Joseph Hearnshaw and Hilda (née Shaw) Ainsbury. The Ainsburys had two other children: David A., born in the second quarter of 1942 and Carole B., born in the first quarter of 1948. Joseph and Hilda were married locally in the third quarter of 1937. 

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The below RAF aerial photograph of Worsley taken in August 1945 shows the damage caused on Woodstock Drive by the V1 Rocket attack 8 months earlier.

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                                                                         Photograph courtesy of Historic England

  More information on the V1 attack on the 24th December 1944 can be found here

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Researched and written by Paul R Speakman