On the 13th of November 1943 the crew of this Warwick had been on an Air-Sea Rescue flight with another Thornaby based Warwick, on a search off the Dutch coast. They were on their return leg and were flying back to base after failing to find what they were looking for. After crossing the English coastline, thought to be between Scarborough and Whitby, both aircraft flew into a thunderstorm near Whitby. This Warwick was struck by lightning which sent it diving for the ground, where upon it blew up on impact. The other aircraft was also struck by lightning, the pilot managed to pull that aircraft out of its dive and it returned to base. All six crew members in the crashed aircraft were sadly killed in impact, they would have stood no chance. This loss is only one of a very small number of fatal Warwick crashes in the entire war. The aircrew undertook a vital role and all ASR losses gave their lives trying to rescue others.

Warwick BV336 was built to contract CA/a/c/494 by Vickers Armstrongs Ltd at Weybridge and delivered into MU storage in February 1943 where it remained until issued to 280 Squadron at Thornaby on 20th October 1943 when the unit moved in from Thorney Island and converted from Ansons. It was destroyed in the incident detailed above with Cat.E2/FA Burnt damage being recorded.

The aircraft's squadron code is also given as "MF-P", but only one is correct...

Pilot - S/Ldr Edgar Andrew Good RCAF (C/18640), aged 29, of North Adelaide, South Australia. Buried St Martin's Church, Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Son of Nickolai Andreyev and Nina Andreyevna. Step-son of Joseph Good and husband of Elaine Good of North Adelaide, South Australia.

Nav - F/O Willis W Coons RCAF (J/17250), aged 21, of Collins Bay, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery.

W Op / Air Gunner - F/O Dennis M Stewart RAFVR (115344), aged 29, of Branksome Park, Bournemouth, Hampshire. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery. Husband of Olive Mercia Stewart.

W Op / Air Gunner - F/Sgt or WO2 William V Crockett RCAF (R/98771), aged 21, of Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery.

W Op / Air Gunner - F/Sgt or WO2 Douglas A Payton RCAF (R/105266), aged 23, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery.

Air Gunner - Warr Off Henry G Richardson RAFVR (1377980), aged 33, of Tunbridge Wells, buried Tunbridge Wells Cemetery, Kent. Husband of Flora Lilian Richardson.

The four airmen's headsones at Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.

Dennis Stewart was commissioned to P/O on probation (emergency) on 30th December 1941 and rose to F/O on probation (war subs.) on 1st October 1942.

Sdqn Ldr Good's gravestone at Houghton Hall, Norfolk. The life of the pilot Edgar Good needs researching. A photographer Nikolai Platonovich Andreev (1882 - 1947) and an artist Nikolai Andreyevich Andreyev (1889-1938) were both Russians of some note. As it stands at the moment I assume he was a son of one of them. If he was, why did a Russian go to Australia (probably escaping the regime), then somehow found his way to Canada to sign up in the RCAF, then end up in the UK and finally be laid to rest in the grounds of a stately home in Norfolk - the home of the first British Prime Minister. The other members of his crew had the same nationality but were buried as usual in the wargraves plot at Harrogate.

At the crash site today not alot remains. Three craters are left in the ground, two for the engines and one in the centre for the main fuselage, caused by the near vertical impact of the crash. John and myself located the site in October 2003, we did find afew peices of the aircraft which included alot of small peices of perspex, some bakelite and alloy. One large peice of the geodetic structure was also found confirming the aircrafts type. The moor was very wet at this time of year so a return trip next summer maybe worthwhile.

This peice is 2 inches long by 3/4 inch wide and has the writing "B.1218" on the edge of it, and is believed to have been an insulating rod from the inside of an item of radio gear.