Please allow time for this page to fully download, due to the number of photographs it may take afew moments.
At 18.51 hrs on the 14th of January 1945 this aircraft, a London Aircraft Production Group built Halifax, took off from Tholthorpe, Yorkshire for a night cross-country navigation exercise with a crew of seven, mainly French-Canadians. The training flight was carried out and the crew were returning to their home airfield in the Vale of York. Low cloud was reported in the general area around the base and as the aircraft neared Thirsk the crew were almost certainly flying in cloud and were disorientated. As the aircraft neared the Sutton Bank, flying roughly east, the aircraft descended through the cloud above Southwoods Hall. The crew would not have seen the high ground they were descended into until it was not possible to avoid it. At 21.45 hrs (or 21.15 hrs, sources vary) the aircraft struck this high ground, about half a mile north of White Mare Crag. It was only feet from the top of the rising ground from the Vale of York below to the Hambleton Hills above, and at the top of a small cliff section of this ground. After the impact the aircraft catapulted itself onto the snow covered fields above, with the tail section braking off almost immediately and much of the aircraft then disintergating as it came to a halt in the field above, some distance from its initial point of impact to the west of Dialstone Farm. Six of the crew were killed in these seconds, the airmen in the front part of the aircraft stood no chance of survival and were almost certainly lost their lives instantly. Part of the wreckage caught fire.
Mr Joseph Sharp, the 24 year old son of the owner of Dialstone Farm, Mr John Sharp, had heard the resulting crash. He was tending to animals in the farm buildings and was the first to arrive at the crash site some distance away. By this stage fires had broken out and bullets were heard to be exploding. He heard the shouts of a survivor who was in danger of being burnt by these fires, he made his way to him and climbed up to where this survivor was trapped in the remains of the mid-upper turret. He was larger man and was trapped by a metal bar across his knees and told Joseph Sharp to un-zip his flying boots and to try and lift him out, reaching down into the remaining fuselage this was not possible, the metal bar along with his broken legs prevented him being easily removed. The farm's owner John Sharp and his daughter Mabel arrived at the site a short time later, Joseph had had to go for help and met them on his way back to the farm. The fire which was slowly making its way up the fuselage was getting closer to the turret by this stage, the younger Joseph went inside the remains of the aircraft and underneath the air gunner, his father climbed up to where his son had previously been. Mabel began throwing snow onto the fire to try and stop it spreading, given all she had were her hands to do this, this had little effect. John and Joseph managed to extract the airman as the fire was literally reaching them, they dragged him further from the flames onto a further peice of the aircraft where he was clearing in some pain. He was put onto the snow and wrapped in parachute which was found. The other airmen were located, they had stood no chance of survival given their frontal location on the aircraft, there was nothing that could be done for them.
Meanwhile, people at Southwoods Hall down the hillside had also seen the fire on the hill top and had contacted the police, inturn one assumes they had contacted the RAF and other services who had all began to drive to the top of Sutton Bank and to Dialstone Farm.
A horse and sled had been brought up to the crash site and the survivor was put onto this sled and carefully taken back to Dailstone Farm, this took some time due to the airmans injuries and the pain he was in. Soon afterwards they arrived back at the far, the authorities arrived. Joseph Sharp returned to the crash site again and helped recover the bodies of the airmen. It was at this stage that it was realised there was a body short and shortly afterwards the tail section of the aircraft was located, the gunner was in his turret but had also been killed in the crash, he along with his crew mates were taken to Dialstone Farm and eventually to be buried along side one another at Harrogate's Stonefall Cemetery.
The survivor was taken to the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton where he spent some time, he was later sent to another smaller cottage hospital in the town where he also spent some time. He later returned to Canada where it is known that he visited some of the families of the airmen killed in the crash. His family also wrote to the Sharps to express their thanks for saving his life. Other documentary sources state this air gunner suffered severe burns in the crash, this however was not the case, as far as is known he suffered two broken legs and a broken arm, one also assumes however he had other injuries of a more minor severity.
The recovery of the aircraft took some time, nothing was done until the snow had melted and a guard was placed at the site, it was recounted that these guards were very reluctant to stand in a snow covered field on top of the Hambleton Hills in the middle of Winter. One guard was found sheltering at the farm and was given food in the house by Mrs Sharp. The aircraft was eventually recovered from the field, the only part of the aircraft not to have gone down the hillside was a main wheel, the rest of the aircraft was scattered across the fields on the hill top. In the decades following the crash the area has been ploughed and cultivated and much of anything which would have remained on site was almost certainly ploughed in.
It would be some time later when the Sharp family discovered that they had been recommended for awards for their efforts
on the that night. For their efforts, Mr John Sharp and his son Mr Joseph Sharp were both awarded the British Empire Medal, Miss Mabel
Sharp was awarded a Commendation for Bravery, all gazetted on the 26th June 1945. They were invited to Buckingham Palace to recieve their Awards but did not wish to attend.
A letter from King George VI dated 31st May 1946 probably suggests the date when the medals were posted to them at home.
The last paragraph in the Men's citation reads ""... by their courage, resource and
tenacity of purpose, saved the life of the injured airman"". The only known gallantry awards given to any civilians in the
North Yorkshire Moors area in the whole of the War.
The crew of the Halifax were :
Pilot - F/O John W R Walsh RCAF, aged 20, of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Kenneth M Hillis, RCAF, aged 30, of Brockville, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire. Husband
of Audrey Rowena Hillis, of Brockville.
Navigator - Sous Lt Joseph R R Gingras RCAF, aged 21, of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Bomb Aimer - Sous Lt Robert J Dubeau RCAF, aged 23, of Penetang, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - WO2 Jean J M Simard RCAF, aged 23, of Ottawa, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Rear Gunner - F/Sgt Joseph L A Chauvin RCAF, aged 21, of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery,
Yorkshire.
Mid Upper Gunner - F/Sgt Octave R Custeau RCAF, of Three Rivers, Quebec. Survived but with serious injuries; multiple fractures.
It was recalled to me by Mr Sharp that in the years after the War the Simard family did come to the site where
their son had been killed, having spoke to the Sharp family they were shown the site of the crash. This
is the only family of the airmen known to have visited the site.
Joseph Sharp left home in 1952, a year later his father gave up the farm to another daughter and son-in-law who took over farming it.
The farm was later sold twice and is now in the ownership of the Redhead family to whom I must thank for their help in my initial
research into this incident.
Headstones of the crew killed in this incident (without aircrew photographs).
Sous Lt Robert Dubeau RCAF and his headstone at Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, he was born on the 29th of May 1922.
Prior to enlisting Robert Dubeau played baseball for his town team in Penetanguishine, Ontario. My thanks to Mrs L Sullivan
for the photograph of Robert Dubeau and for other details she has been able to give.
Joseph Chauvin, photo presumably taken during his training and his headstone also at Harrogate's Stonefall Cemetery. My thanks to Gilles Chauvin for sending me the photograph of his Uncle.
The aircraft came down in a fields shown on this photograph small remains are still to be found in the field.
Mr Joseph Sharp.
I express my thanks to Mr Joseph Sharp, his wife, daughter and and son-in-law for their hospitality and for allowing me
to learn the full story of what happened that night. Without being able to meet Mr Sharp the speculation and rumours which existed about the
events of this night would not have been corrected. It was a pleasure to spend a rewarding afternoon with the family in April 2006.
The citation for the Awards is to be found on the London Gazette website, although there are minor mistakes on this document the main content is correct.
Mr John Sharp's British Empire Medal was stolen from the farm some years ago now, if the medal is located his family would very much like it returning.
The aircraft was built to contract ACFT/2595/C4/C by London Passenger Transport Board at Leavesden and delivered directly to 425 Sqdn
at Tholthorpe in October 1944. It was written off with Cat. E2/FA Burnt damage in the above incident. A brief entry on Tholthorpe's ORB
states: "14.01.45. 425 Sqdn. Aircraft on training flight crashed at 21.45 hours at Dialstone Farm, Hambleton. 6 killed, 1 injured."