Wellington Mk1 L4230 15 OTU RAF Harwell 12th December 1940 Great Rhos New Radnor

A second trip out with Tricia Quinlan to Great Rhos near New Radnor to locate the crash site of Wellington Mk1 L4230
Wellington L4230 of 15 O.T.U took off from R.A.F. Harwell on the 12th of December 1940 on a routine training flight to Aberaeron on the Welsh coast, flying into the cold air over the mountains the bomber began to pick up ice this got so bad the pilot, Sgt Earl, struggled to maintain height then to make matters much worse the starboard engine sputtered and stopped.

With great skill the young pilot pulled off a wheels up landing on the flat plateau on Great Rhos, the bomber slid to a stop and all 6 crew stepped out unharmed. After finding their way down to New Radnor the crew partook of local hospitality in the village pub.

On the mountain today little can be found at the site, a shallow flat area in the heather is a hint, in the longer bits of grass some remains came to light not much but enough to identify the site. On my last unsuccessful visit to this site with Gary Watts we did find two large parts over 500 ft away on the far side of the mountain.

Crew=
Sgt Earl
Sqn Ldr G.Learner
Sgt J.Doull
Sgt T.Morley
Sgt Martin
Sgt Mullin


This site is one of the many in the great book 'Final Descent ' by the late Terence R Hill sadly I never got to meet him in person but his work is fantastic and worth finding a copy.

Wellington Z1327 IV 460 Squadron, Farnley Tyas, Huddersfield,17/02/1942

My last site from my trip to Huddersfield is in the small hamlet of Farnley Tyas this site marks the crash of Wellington Z1327 IV 460 Squadron on the 17/02/1942 the bomber took off from RAF Breighton ,East Riding of Yorkshire with a crew of six and headed south on a night cross country route with a final turn at RAF Pershore , Worcestershire heading north again the plane drifted off route by 37 miles , trying to get a fix the pilot dropped lower through the cloud sadly the plane had ventured over hilly ground near Farnley Tyas unseen to the crew a small farmhouse on rising ground lay directly ahead , impacting the roof the bomber slewed on to its side and hit the sloping ground behind the house exploding and burning with the tragic loss of all the crew .

After a wet and very muddy walk i found the cottage hit by the bomber on the wall at the rear of the house a memorial plaque placed there in 2015 by locals wanting to mark the sad loss after a rebuild the cottage was for years named 'Phoenix cottage ' but new owners renamed it 'Wellington cottage ' nearby some remains were found in a dig by Kirklees Young Archaeologists Club (YAC) in 2014

Crew =
Pilot Sgt J.H.Ware RAAF .
Sgt R.L.Tresidder RAAF
Sgt W.L.Ashplant
Sgt C.C.Davies
Sgt F.Dutton
Sgt C.R.Dickeson

Mosquito DZ698 6.7.1944 Central avenue, Fartown Huddersfield 13 OTU RAF Finmere

On a trip north to pick up a new car i visited 2 sites in and around Huddersfield the first is in the quiet road of Central avenue, Fartown Huddersfield where on the 6.7.1944 Mosquito DZ698 crashed into a house on the corner of West close and Central avenue with the tragic loss of the pilot and 3 civilians on the ground .
DZ698 took off from R.A.F Finmere, Oxfordshire on a single engine handling exercise but deviating from his route the young pilot headed to Fartown where his parents lived in Blackhouse Road, arriving over the area the plane was seen to perform several low passes but on the final pass with no height or speed to recover the planes wing dipped , the Mosquito flipped onto its back and crashed into number 61 totally destroying the house .

The pilots parents witnessed the crash from nearby .

On the street today nothing gives away the terrible events of that day only the new built bungalow on the end of the terrace gives a hint of this sad accident .
Lost =
Pilot F/Lt E.R.James Blezard ,RAFVR
Civilians lost=
Mrs Flora May Dorothy Leighton (40)
her son Rodney Bracken Leighton (5) both of 51 Central Avenue and Mrs Henrietta Victoria Udell of number 61 West close