On the 6th of November 1928 this aircraft took off from RAF Catterick at 10.15hrs for what was set to be a thirty minute photographic flight over the Bellerby Ranges. The weather conditions over high ground on this date are said to have been poor the aircraft would fly into this poor weather. When the aircraft failed to return and nothing was heard of the two airmen a search was put into action and 30 hours later the remains of the aircraft were located on Grinton Moor, an area of high ground between Swaledale and Wensleydale. Both airmen were found to have been killed in the crash, which was thought had occured after the airmen became lost and had flown into the ground at speed. The main part of the aircraft is rumoured to have gone into the ground with only the tail section being visable. It is not yet known whether the wreckage still remains under the surface, but if it does then it is well covered by a large bog. Cobscar Rake is often mis-quoted as the crash location, this being a ridge about a mile to the south.
Pilot - P/O Charles Lilburn Myers RAF, aged 20, of Lincoln. Killed.
Observer - AC Harry Chadwick RAF, aged 21. Killed.
P/O Myers had joined the RAF in September 1927, he passed out of Sealand Flying School only four weeks prior to his death and had only 14 hours flying time since then. Before joining the RAF he was employed by Lincoln County Council as a clerk. He was a keen cricketer and a member of the Lincoln Amateur Operatic Society. It is assumed that his body was returned home to Lincoln for burial.
Nothing more is known of AC Chadwick.
This is one crash site I have been keen to locate for some years, being one of the first fatal military crashes in the Yorkshire Dales area locating and recording the site was high up on my list. Being almost eighty years since the crash it is probably going to go out of living memory shortly and the loss of the two service personnel needs recording and detailing before this happens. I have an initial plan on placing a memorial plaque close to the crash site on the eightieth anniversary but this is still in its very early stages. Thus, locating the crash site was needed to be able to do this.
The moorland close to the crash site, mixed conditions; heather, grass and bog, a difficult combination for searching for aircraft
remains.
Derbyshire's Alan Hudson and myself had spent some time in the area in August 2007 and found nothing. We had been tipped off as to its
rough location by fellow aviation researchers Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Dick Barton who had located the site many years previously,
they had then hidden their finds well which by the time we visited the site they had been covered over in moss and long grass again.
I was then able to persuade my wife Caroline to assist me in a return visit to the crash site in September 2007, on a very wet and windy day !
After about an hour
searching it would be her who found what is left of the aircraft's wreckage among reads. Further parts could well remain under the surface
but, as ever, any search for anything that could remain underground was not carried out. We had located the site and an MoD
licence is required
for further investigations of this nature. Thanks go to Caroline for coming and then finding the remains!! Also to
Alan Hudson, Ken, Albert and Dick.
The remaining wreckage and myself for scale - these peices are big peices to be the only peices still remaining at the site.
