A memorial stone has recently been placed in Bridgetown Wood, by the side of the bridlepath, which runs between Bridgetown and Howetown Farm. It commemorates the Stirling bomber, which crashed nearby, just after midnight on 27th January 1944. All 8 men onboard the plane were killed and the wreckage was scattered for up to 3.5 miles in an easterly direction.
The Stirling bomber (serial number EH933) was part of 1660 Heavy Conversion Unit. It was on a training exercise and had flown from RAF Swinderby in Lincolnshire. Seven of the men were members of the RAF Volunteer Reserve and the navigator was a member of the Auxiliary Air Force. The plane was undertaking a cross-country navigation exercise and was on the fourth part of its journey, which involved flying from Sidmouth to Ilfracombe. However it flew off course and then dived steeply and broke up in the air. The main part of the aircraft crashed at Bridgetown. The names of the men who died are recorded on the memorial:
- Sgt Ronald A Partridge
- Sgt Claude V Tomkinson
- Sgt Thomas H Jones
- Sgt Ben Ackroyd
- Sgt Alfred Thursby
- Sgt Herbert Hewitt
- Sgt John Kerry
- Sgt Richard Street
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