On 6th November 1928 this 26 Squadron aircraft took off from Catterick airfield at 10.15hrs for a flight that was set to be a thirty minute photographic flight over the Bellerby Ranges near Leyburn. The weather conditions over high ground on this date are said to have been poor the aircraft flew into this weather. When the aircraft failed to return to Catterick and nothing was heard of the two airmen a search was put into action at 14.30hrs that afternoon. An aircraft from Catterick was used to fly over the moorland in the area and despite misty conditions F/Lt Hollinghurst spotted the crashed aircraft from the air between Wensleydale and Swaledale on Grinton Moor, he returned to land at Catterick and informed others of the location but they could not find the wreckage from the ground so F/Lt Hollinghurst took to the air again and guided the ground search party to the location. At 13.10hrs the site was found on the ground by F/O Lambie and P/O H.L.Piper from Catterick and both airmen were found to have been killed in the crash, their bodies were removed from the site and taken down to the Bolton Arms in Redmire where an inquest was held on 8th November 1928.
Pilot - P/O Charles Lilburn Myers RAF, aged 20, of Lincoln. Buried Saint Mary Magdalene in the Bail Churchyard, Lincoln.
Air Gunner - AC2 Henry Chadwick RAF (359460), aged 21, of Preston. Killed. Burial location unknown.
Charles Myers was born in Toronto, Canada on 2nd March 1906 and was a son of Frederick and Alice (nee Lilburn) Myers. He had initially gone to school there. He moved to Lincoln and attended the Lincoln Municipal Technical School. Upon completing this he worked for Lindsey County Council Offices, initially in the Licensing Dept and then the Medical Dept. He then joined the RAF and was granted a short service commission in the RAF on 2nd September 1927 to the rank of P/O on probation, he was confirmed in the rank of P/O exactly a year later. While serving with No.8 Army Co-Op Flight on 16th July 1928 he force landed Bristol Fighter J8432 near Matlock, upon attempting to take off later in the day the aircraft struck a wall and crashed, the aircraft was badly damaged but he escaped serious injury. He was posted to 26 Squadron on 1st September 1928 having passed out of Sealand Flying School and had only fourteen hours flying time since joining 26 Squadron. His home at Lincoln was Bailgate. He was a keen cricketer and a member of the Lincoln Amateur Operatic Society. His body was returned home to Lincoln and his funeral service was held at St. Mary Magdalene's Church.
Henry Chadwick is the name given in the deaths index and inquest papers. He was born on 9th December 1906 at Preston, Lancashire and had at least four siblings (shown on the 1921 census). His parents lived at Gerrard Street, off Marsh Lane, Preston and his father worked as a fitter on the LMS Railway. Henry worked as a storekeeper in Preston as a young man. He joined the RAF on 1st April 1925. After undertaking initial training he joined 58 Squadron in October 1926, he later trained as an air gunner and was posted to the Air Gunnery School in March 1927, returning to 58 Squadron in six weeks later. On 11th October 1928 he was posted to 26 Squadron.
The moorland close to the crash site, mixed conditions; heather, grass and bog, a difficult combination for searching for aircraft remains. Derbyshire's Alan Hudson and I had spent some time in the area in August 2007 and found nothing. We had been tipped off as to the rough location by Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton who had located the site many years previousl. They had then hidden their finds well which by the time we visited the site they had been covered over in moss and long grass again. I was then able to persuade my wife Caroline to assist me in a return visit to the crash site in September 2007, on a very wet and windy day! After about an hour searching it would be her who found what is left of the aircraft's wreckage among reads. Further parts could well remain under the surface but, as ever, any search for anything that could remain underground was not carried out. We had located the site and an MoD licence would be required for further investigations of this nature.
The remaining wreckage and a rather wind-swept me for scale - these pieces are big pieces to be the only pieces still remaining at the site.