On 5th September 1943 the crew on this 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit aircraft were undertaking a daylight training flight. Details of the events leading up to the accident are pretty sketchy but what is known is that they encountered poor visibility within fifty-five minutes of taking off from Rufforth airfield, near York. While flying over the North Yorkshire Moors the aircraft flew into the ground on Rudland Moor above Keysbeck, towards the lower end of Farndale, at 16.03hrs and broke up. Wreckage was spread over a large area and sadly all on board the aircraft were killed. Today the North Yorkshire Moors are more accessable by proper road than they were in the 1940s, the lack of hard roads at the time made the recovery of the aircraft difficult, today the nearest surfaced road is about a mile from the site but this is not believed to have been surfaced until some years after the War, the nearest made-road at the time was some distance away and the wreckage had to be dragged there; probably either to Gillamoor or towards the Blakey Ridge road out of Hutton le Hole. The bodies of seven of the eight killed were returned to their families and hometowns for burials across the UK with the eighth being buried in the regional RAF cemetery at Harrogate. The accident is mentioned in three operation record books for RAF units; Rufforth ORB states "Halifax DG402 crashed on Rudland Moor. All killed". Marston Moor ORB states "Halifax from Rufforth crashed at Kirkbymoorside. 8 killed." and 60 MU ORB states "Halifax DG402. Cat.E2. Salvaged from Middleham Moor, near Kirkbymoorside. Aircraft scattered over 3 1/2 miles, nearest loading point 1 1/2 miles." The quoted location of "Middleham Moor" is not yet determined because nothing of that name where it crashed.
Halifax DG402 was built to contract ACFT/637/C4/C by Rootes Securities Ltd at Speke, Liverpool. It was taken on charge by 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit at Rufforth as new on 27th March 1943. Following the accident on the North York Moors on 5th September 1943 the aircraft was completely destroyed. Cat.E2/FA(Burnt) damage was the damage assessment and it was struck off charge once the paperwork caught up on 13th September 1943. It had clocked up a total of 341 hours flying time by the time of this crash.
Instructor Pilot - F/O Jeffrey Stuart Thomas RAFVR (126001), aged 22. Buried Crick Churchyard, Northamptonshire.
Trainee Pilot - Sgt Arthur Cyril Dickinson RAFVR (1576380), aged 21. Buried Nottingham Road Cemetery, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
Navigator - Sgt Ronald William Woods RAFVR (1337005), aged 20. Buried Barkingside Cemetery, Ilford, Essex.
Air Bomber - F/Sgt Robert Mercer Todd RCAF (R/145403), aged 21. Buried Carluke, Wilton Cemetery, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Frank Johnson RAFVR (1219540), aged 22. Buried Preston New Hall Lane Cemetery, Lancashire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Albert Walter Salt RAFVR (1316986), aged 21. Buried Witney Tower Hill Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
Air Gunner - Sgt Edward James Hitchcox RAF(AAF) (843241), aged 32. Buried Sutton and Cheam Cemetery, Surrey.
Air Gunner - Sgt Wallace John Robert Blakeley RCAF (R/180851), aged 20. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Jeffrey Thomas and his gravestone at Crick, Northamptonshire. Jeffrey was born at Kersal, Manchester on 20th October 1920 and was the son of Harold Ernest Ray and Eva Kathleen Rebecca (nee Wallace) Thomas. On the 1921 Census the family were living at Salford. By the time the 1939 Register was compiled the family were living at Rugby, Warwickshire and he was a student. He was awarded a B.Sc. degree in Coal Utilisation from Birmingham University. He enlisted into the RAFVR on 30th July 1940 and after training he qualfied as a pilot in April 1941. He then underwent further training at 19 O.T.U. in Scotland from 10th May 1941 until posting to 76 Squadron on 23rd July 1941. He underwent two attachments to 78 Squadron later in the year returning to 76 Squadron both times. In November 1941 he was admitted to hospital for an unknown reason for some weeks and returned to 76 Squadron on being deemed fit for active service. He received a commission on 13th June 1942 to the rank of P/O on probation. He married Elizabeth Lough at Daventry Registry Office on 18th June 1942. She had a degree in Fine Art from King's College, University of Durham but qualified as a nurse in Birmingham in 1943. At the time of the accident she was living in York. On probate Jeffrey's address was given as being Newcastle upon Tyne. It is likely that he completed his Tour with 76 Squadron and on 21st August 1942 he was posted to 462 Squadron on its formation, flying in North Africa. He received a promotion to F/O on probation on 13th December 1942 and on 21st January 1943 was posted out from 462 Squadron almost certainly down a path to train as an instructor. 462 Squadron's Operation Record Book is shown on the Australian National Archives website but many of the 1942 pages are in so poor condition and in the wrong order so that understanding them is difficult. Jeffery Thomas flew at least seven operational flights with 462 Squadron that have been tracked down in the ORB in October and November 1942. 462 Squadron became so short of aircrew that the unit was forced to become non-operational around the time he would have been posted out of the unit. He was posted to 1663 HCU on 25th April 1943 and at the time of his death he had 443 hours experience on piloting Halifaxes. His wife was expecting a baby when he died and I would like to thank his daughter Joanna Bornat for contacting me in April 2012 and for kindly supplying the photograph of her father shown above and for the service records she allowed me to use in compiling this webpage.
Crick war memorial in the village churchyard.
In July 2014 I was contacted by Mr Chris Blows who is related to Ted Hitchcox and who kindly supplied the photograph of the trainee crew shown above. As of the last update to this webpage the following names are believed correct... Back row (left to right) Unknown, Todd, Hitchcox, Dickinson. Front Row (left to right) Unknown, Blakeley.
In 2009 I was lucky enough to be contacted by Ted Hitchcox's sister-in-law Mrs Barbara Hitchcox, she was kind enough to be able to provide some background information on Ted and the photograph shown above. Edward Hitchcox was born on 13th April 1912 at Bermondsey, London and was the son of Edward James and Lillian Maud (nee Plumridge) Hitchcox. Ted was one of five children and all five played their part in the War. He became a member of the Auxillery Air Force as far back as 1933 and he was a member of a Barrage Balloon unit in the London area before the War. He married Florence Elizabeth Hillier on 5th June 1937 at Benhilton, Sutton, Surrey.
The families of the crew exchanged letters and photographs of their sons after their deaths. A further photograph exists of him with another six men, possibly an earlier crew and the family believe that although a tall man he had been a tail gunner for a period and had flown on Lancasters, possibly operationally. At the age of thirty two he could well have flown in the earlier part of the war but his rank being Sergeant at his death would suggest that his operational flying was limited. Research is ongoing. He was the mid upper gunner in Halifax DG402 when it was crashed in Yorkshire.
Robert Todd and his grave at Carluke Cemetery, south-east of Glasgow, he is buried with his grandparents. He was born on 29th August 1916 in Greenock, Scotland and was the son of Peter Niven and Helen Elizabeth (nee Mercer) Todd who later all moved to Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada when he was eight years old. As a boy he attended schools in Windsor, Ontario until 1936 when he then started work as a clerk for the pharmaceutical company Parke Davis but between 1938 and 1942 he studied chemistry at the Detroit institute of Technolgy, Michigan, USA at night school (where Parke Davis' headquarters was). He enlisted for RCAF service on 16th March 1942 in Windsor, Ontario for aircrew and trained as an Air Bomber, he was awarded his Air Bomber's flying badge on 30th December 1942. With training in Canada complete he left for service overseas in January 1943 and arrived in the UK on 4th February 1943. He was later posted to train at 4 A.O.S. and 19 O.T.U. before being posted to 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit on 1st August 1943.
Sgt Dickinson's gravestone (my thanks to Mr Tony Glover for this photograph). Arthur Dickinson was possibly know by his middle name. He was born at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. His date of birth is not yet known. He was the son of Arthur Edward and Edith (nee Whyatt) Dickinson. When the 1939 Register was compiled he was almost certainly living at Mansfield with his parents but his name is currently redacted.
Wallace Blakeley was born on 19th July 1923 in Almonte, Ontario, Canada and was the son of William and Clara (nee Bennett) Blakeley. As a boy he attended schools in Almonte until 1939 when he begun working as a weaver for the Rosmond Woollen Mills in Almonte. He enlisted for RCAF service on 10th August 1942 in Ottawa stating that he wished to enlist for flying duties and specifically an air gunner. After completing his gunnery training in Canada he was awarded his Air Gunner's half-wings, he was then posted overseas and arrived in the UK in May 1943. He then continued his training at 19 OTU later that month before posting to 1663 HCU on 1st August 1943. I thank his nephew Mr Robert Blakeley for kindly contacting me in April 2016 and supplying additional information about Wallace.
Albert Salt was born on 12th November 1921 at Chesterfield and was the son of Samuel Swain and Ivy Margaret Marion (nee Bridgman) Salt. His father was from the Chesterfield area while his mother was from Witney, Oxfordshire. His father's brother Albert was killed in WW1 (on 21st May 1918) and it seems likely that Samuel named his son after his brother. His father Samuel died, aged 29, when he was a few weeks old and at that time the family were living at Shipley Street, Brampton, Chesterfield. When the 1921 Census was made earlier in the year his mother and older sister were living with with her widowed father at Witney, possibly suggesting Samuel was already too ill to work and care for his family. Albert's mother later remarried. When the 1939 Register was compiled Albert was living with his sister Vera, his mother and step-father at Witney and was working as a butcher's assistant.
Ronald Woods was the son of William John and Violet Mary (nee Boyce) Woods. His date of birth is not yet known. His parents married in St.George's, Hanover Square, London in the 1st Quarter of 1922. Ronald was born in the Mile End district of London in the 4th Quarter of 1922, his sister Iris V Woods was also born at Mile End in 1924. Their father William died in the 1st Quarter of 1926 in the St.George's district, Hanover Square; he was 29 years old. Ronald's mother married Frederick Richard Ward in 1938 at East Ham. A possibly Ronald Woods is on the 1939 Register with a date of birth of 12th December 1922 and who was an art student and living at Chelmsford, Essex. More information required.
Frank Johnson was the son of Solomon and Annie (nee Cross, then Swarbrick) Johnson. Both his parents had been married previously and both their spouses had died. Frank was born in Summer 1921 at Preston, Lancashire and had a younger brother Cyril. He also had several half-siblings. When the 1939 Register was compiled he was almost certainly living with his parents at Charnock Street, Preston but his name is one of two currently redacted.
I first located the crash site on Rudland Moor in September 2002 having had a couple of failed attempts at trying to find it due to wildly inaccurate map references published at the Yorkshire Air Museum. I revisited the site with John Skinn in March 2003 and carried out a wider search to determine the extent of existing wreckage and record the location. I again returned to the site on the 60th anniversary of the crash to pay my respects. The photograph above shows what I believe to be part of a line of five holes in the peat made by the rotating propellers and engines as the aircraft crashed. I again returned to the site in October 2011 to take better photographs and see what extent recent controlled heather burning over part of the crash site had revealed. Below is part of the wreckage trail.
Above shows probably the most complete piece found to date, an air intake from the port outer engine. The markings on it are shown below.
Below is an example of a Rootes manufacturing inspection stamp (the "R2" mark at the top left) and Halifax part number (with the "57" prefix) proving the site.
