In the early morning of the 28th of February 1942 two Spitfires took off from their forward operating base at Thornaby for a convoy patrol off Whitby. There was low cloud across much of the Yorkshire coast and it was a very cold morning. On the return leg of the flight this aircraft suffered engine failure so the pilot force-landed the aircraft without injury to himself on snow covered ground on the North Yorkshire Moors above Helmsley. The aircraft sustained Cat AC damage. The location of this landing is given as "one mile North West of Helmsley, on an army camp". As it stands the location of where this occured is currently unknown because currently there was no known permenant army camp in this location. The pilot was rescued some hours later un-harmed. In his autobiography he gives further information about this incident. He crashed close to the top of a steep bank and some distance from a road, he could see a road some way in the distance which is probably the Helmsley to Sutton Bank road. This also adds confusion as there are no deep slopes or steep drops a mile north-west of Helmsley. The area suggested by this would be in a field the Beckdale area but he mentions the incident occuring on moorland. There is a suggestion from local people that an aircraft - said to be a Halifax, made a landing on the old Rievaulx cricket Pitch at Harriet Air, which was at the top of Rievaulx Bank. I have yet to find documentary evidence for thie Halifax landing. The location would fit with that of the Spitfires however but the mention of the Army Camp here adds confusion. The description given in his book does not fit for being so close to farm land, it suggests it was on moorland which this area of Rievaulx Bank is not.
My own family lived in this area in 1942 and although the army were stationed in the woods of Duncombe Park and had a tank repair unit at Carlton Park, I have no information of there being a camp near Rievaulx. The Halifax incident needs proving one way or the other. The Spitfire was removed from the site and repaired and returned to service.
Spitfire W3656 was built to contract B19713/39 by Vickers Supermarine Ltd at Eastleigh and delivered to the RAF in August 1941 and after acceptance issued to 92 Squadron at Digby in October 1941. It was later transferred to 122 Squadron at Scorton on 12th February 1942. After the incident above and inspection Cat.A(c)/FA damage was recorded. The location of its repair is not known, it may have been repaired in works but was possibly returned to Scorton for repair as the aircraft was issued to 167 Squadron who were stationed at Scorton from 6th April 1942. It's history is a little more vague beyond this point, the aircraft moved on to 165 Squadron then 118 Squadron and it's final operational unit was 64 Squadron. The aircraft was transferred to 1653 HCU at Chedburgh for fighter affiliation duties then to 1668 HCU at Bottesford for similar duties before returning to 1653 HCU, now at North Luffenham. It's final unit was 1688 Flight at Feltwell from where it became instructional airframe 5842M on 6th March 1946. The aircraft may have carried the name "Caledonian Society" for part of its service life.
Pilot - P/O William T E Rolls DFM RAF (116492), uninjured.
William Rolls had his autobiography entitled "Spitfire Attack" published in the 1980s and re-published in June 2005; it detailed his RAF career. William Rolls served in the Battle of Britain with 72 Squadron and was awarded his DFM for service with that squadron, Gazetted in November 1940. The Citation reads..
"This airman, after very short experience of operational flying, has taken his place with the best war pilots in the squadron. In each of his first two engagements he shot down two enemy aircraft, and has in all destroyed at least six".
Soon after his DFM was presented and after a short period of leave he was posted to instructional duties with 58 OTU at Grangemouth and later to 61 OTU before a return to operational flying with 122 Squadron at Scorton on 23rd October 1941. He had known the other pilot of 122 Squadron who had crash landed his Spitfire near Rosedale, soon after this incident another of his pilot friends was killed in a crash on the Eston Hills. Later in 1941 the squadron was posted down to Hornchurch where he served for a time before being posted to Malta with 126 Squadron. On 4th December 1942 he was awarded the DFC with 126 Squadron. He was later posted back to the UK after a period of sickness in Malta. He finished the War with a posting to the Bombing Analysis Unit. William Rolls died in July 1988.
He was commissioned to P/O on probation (emergency) (745542) on 6th January 1942, and rose to F/O on probation on 4th December 1942. He was also awarded the DFC on this same date for service with 126 Squadron. he rose to F/Lt on 6th January 1944 and survived the War. On 1st January 1946 he was "commended for valuable service in the air" with many hundred other airmen.