On the 30th of August 1941 this aircraft was damaged at Thornaby, it landed at too great a speed to be able to stop on the airfield.
It overshot the runway and shot into a ditch at the edge of the airfield at 09.00hrs. It had taken off from Thorney Island at 06.25hrs for the transit flight.
Cat E2/FA damage reported. Through correspondance with the pilots son, Mr Michael Poole, his father log book states that the crash was
"due to inefficient brakes on short runway. No one injured."
The aircraft was built to contract 552915/36 by Bristol at Filton and after acceptance at MU was delivered to 22 Sqdn in April 1941.
Pilot - Sgt E W Poole, ok.
Rest of Crew - Unknown, ok.
2 passengers - Unknwon, ok.
Edwin Poole reportedly survived a crash a few days previous to this one when his aircraft was forced to ditch off Essex,
one of his fellow airmen drowned before being rescued, he and two others were picked up and taken ashore in small dinghy.
He was not flying as 1st pilot. Whilst Ross McNeill records this in his Coastal Command Losses 1939-41 book, there is no
mention of it in Sgt Poole logbook. He served with 22 Sqdn at Thorney Island from July 19th until October 28th 1941.
Whilst training with No. 1 TTU at Abbotsinch, Scotland his aircraft crashed into the sea on 21st March 1941.
My thanks to Mr Mike Poole for contacting me and for the information he has been able to provide about his father.
Edwin William Poole was born in Oxford on 4th January 1920, he attended the City of Oxford High School for Boys, on leaving school
he took up an apprenticeship at Lucy’s switchgear in Oxford. While an apprentice he joined the RAF volunteer Reserve and was
called up on 1st September 1939. After many months of training he was posted to 22 Squadron at North Coates June 28th 1941 which
served a Beaufort torpedo bomber squadron. In January 1942 he went to a ferry training unit at Honeybourne in preparation for
the Squadrons move to Ceylon where he finally arrived at Ratmalana on May 5th 1942. In July 1944 he was posted to the SEAC Comm Flight
and flew the "top brass" in India as an air taxi. His last flight was flying a York from Butterworth to Ratmalana on 27th November 1945.
After the War he returned to Lucy’s and worked as a toolmaker while still a member of the RAFVR, in 1952 he was recalled as a pilot
later transfered to air traffic control when retired in 1970. He eventually passed away in 1979.