On the 19th September 1942 the crew of this aircraft were on Ops to Saarbrucken, they took off from Melbourne, Yorkshire at 19.27hrs and it is believed that they released their bombs over the target and made for home. The pilot was not experienced in flying this type of aircraft. On returning to Yorkshire they overshot their base by some distance and became lost. They eventually struck a tree standing on high ground. Here available sources vary greatly, one states this was near Thruscross village, to the west of Harrogate. Another source suggests this was nearer Grassington - some miles away. This tree strike did not make the aircraft crash immediately but it caused damage to the port aileron which prevented the aircraft being flown straight, it would only fly to starboard. Left with little option but to climb the pilot attempted to get the aircraft as high as possible in a starboard turn before ordering his crew to bale out. After climbing to about 700 feet above the high ground below all bailed out but one died when his parachute failed to open. The aircraft is believed to have continued in this turn for a while before crashing at 02.45hrs in the region of a mile or so west of West End (Thruscross) village and was totally destroyed. The resulting RAF clear up pretty much wiped the site clean with it being so close to an access road.
Thruscross (or West End) village made way and was knocked down for what became Thruscross reservoir in 1965.
Sadly weeks after this incident a number of this crew would be killed on Ops on 30th November 1942. Research into all those involved is still ongoing.
Killed was:
Nav - Sgt Hugh C McDougall RAFVR (1550615), aged 29, of Stevenston, buried Hawkhill Cemetery, Stevenston (sec A, grave 99).
Survived were:
Pilot - Sgt Edward J Willmott RAFVR (1380070), of Binfield, Berkshire. (Aged 21 at death on 30th Nov 1942).
FEng - Sgt Derick A D Soggee RAF (571587), of Jhansi, India. (Aged 22 at death on 30th Nov 1942).
BA - Sgt Alfred Brewer RAFVR (1165987). No further details but killed on 30th Nov 1942.
W Op/AG - F/Sgt W Preston RAF
MUG - Sgt S Benditski RCAF
RG - Sgt H W Leigh RAF
The location of this crash site took some pinpointing. In July 2007 I searched an of moorland suggested as the crash location in "An Unexpected Foe", a book by Peter Clark but found nothing aircraft related at "Harding Wife Shaw" which he suggests. I did find part of an anti-aircraft shell, not an unexpected find as the whole area was used by the military and the AA guns of Leeds probably used the area as a fall-out area. Will Lund and myself again made a return to the area in March 2007 and we searched another area of moorland but drew more anti-aircraft shells and what we took to be some form of military range target and lots of spent .303 cases from the wartime period.
In May 2007 fellow researcher chanced on a meeting with a gentleman who happened to recall visiting this site in the 1960s, he was able to give its
location to Graham who confirmed its accuracy later in the month. I then visited later the same month. A large gap in a wall is still to be found at
the crash site in the footings were found some small peices of Halifax skinning. A large water filled crater was found nearby again with some small aircraft
fragments around it. Given its close proximity to what was the road to Thruscross nothing else remains on the surface. A number of spent .303 cases dated 1942 were
also found in the edge of the crater which could well have been fired by the guard placed on the site with little else to do but take in some shooting practice.
My thanks to Mr Graham Sharpe for his help in locating this site.
The crash site.
Probably the largest remains at the crash site.
A small peice of perspex found at the crash site.
