On 19th September 1942 the crew of this 10 Squadron aircraft were tasked with an operational flight to attack Saarbrucken and took off from Pocklington, Yorkshire at 19.27hrs, Five of 10 Squadron's aircraft used Pocklington to begin their flights from on this night instead of their home base of nearby Melbourne. This crew released their bombs over the target and made for home without incident. It is of note that the pilot was not experienced in flying this type of aircraft. On returning to Yorkshire they overshot their base by some distance and became lost, the aircraft eventually struck a tree standing on high ground. Here available sources vary greatly, one states this was near Thruscross village, to the west of Harrogate. Another source suggests this was nearer Grassington - some miles away. This tree strike did not make the aircraft crash immediately but it caused damage to the port aileron which prevented the aircraft being flown straight, it would only fly to starboard. Left with little option but to climb the pilot attempted to get the aircraft as high as possible in a starboard turn before ordering his crew to bale out. After climbing to about 700 feet above the high ground below all baled out, however one of the crew sadly died when his parachute failed to open in time and he landed on high ground. Other members of the crew landed in the Grassington area. The aircraft is believed to have continued in this turn for a while before crashing at 02.45hrs a mile or so west of West End (Thruscross) village and was totally destroyed. The resulting RAF clear up pretty much wiped the site clean with it being so close to an access road. The area was also on the edge of a military practice range and military personnel would have been on the scene very quickly. Thruscross (or West End as it was properly known) made way for and was knocked down in 1965 for what became Thruscross Reservoir.
Halifax R9383 was built to contract 692649/37 by Handley Page Ltd. at Radlett. It allotted to 8 MU On 8th December 1941. The aircraft was received by 8 MU on 11th December 1941 where it was prepared for operational use before being taken on charge by 102 Squadron at Dalton on 25th December 1941. On 15th April 1942 it left some form of work to be carried out at 45 M.U.. The aircraft was then taken on charge by 10 Squadron at Melbourne on 24th August 1942. It was used operationally by them on 14th September 1942 for the first time. As a result of the crash on 20th September 1942 Cat.E2/FB damage was recorded and the aircraft was struck off charge on 24th September 1942.
Killed was:
Navigator - Sgt Hugh Currie McDougall RAFVR (1550615), aged 29. Buried Hawkhill Cemetery, Stevenston, Ayrshire.
Survived were:
Pilot - Sgt Edward John Willmott RAFVR (1380070).
Flight Engineer - Sgt Derick Arthur Dudley Soggee RAF (571587).
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Alfred Brewer RAFVR (1165987).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Sgt W Preston RAF.
Mid Upper Gunner - Sgt Samuel Benditsky RCAF (R/108306).
Rear Gunner - Sgt Henry Walsh Leigh RAFVR (1121300).
Hugh McDougall was born in Glasgow and was the son of Hugh Currie and Jeanie Crawford (nee Alston) Hamilton.
Sgt Willmott arrived at 10 Squadron from 76 Squadron on 29th July 1942. On 30th November 1942 F/Sgt Willmott was pilot of Halifax W7871 and on board were Sgt's Soggee and Brewer and five others. The aircraft had just taken off from Melbourne for a training flight when the aircraft turned onto it's back soon after taking off. The aircraft crashed near Laytham Grange and sadly all eight on board were killed. The cause was thought to have been due to the rudder overbalance problem which accounted for many early Halifax losses. Willmott was twenty one years old, Soggee was twenty two, Brewers age is not recorded on the CWGC register.
Derick Soggee (shown back row, third left with arms folded) in India in a photograph found at "www.oocities.org/athens/rhodes/2207/jillgrey.htm" and a photograph of his gravestone at Barmby Moor Churchyard, Yorkshire.
Samuel Benditisky returned to Canada in 1943 and re-counted to cadets (as reported in a newspaper) that after baling out of Halifax R9383 he landed in a bog and lost both his flying boots. He spent thirteen hours wandering around until finding help. He and brothers Nathan and Rubin Benditsky all served in the RCAF during WW2. After the war Sam and Nathan returned to the family business Star Pleating Inc. He may have been one Samuel Benditsky who passed away on 25th February 2008.
The location of this crash site of Halifax R9383 took some pinpointing, in July 2007 I searched an area of moorland suggested as the crash location in "An Unexpected Foe", a book by Peter Clark but found nothing aircraft related at "Harding Wife Shaw" which he suggests. I did find part of an anti-aircraft shell, not an unexpected find as the whole area was used by the military and the Anti Aircraft guns of Leeds probably used the area as a fall-out area. I then made a return to the area in March 2007 and searched another area of moorland but drew more anti-aircraft shells and what we took to be some form of military range target and lots of spent .303 bullet cases from the wartime period. In May 2007 historian Graham Sharpe chanced on a meeting with a gentleman who happened to recall visiting this site in the 1960s, he was able to give the correct location to Graham who confirmed the accuracy later in the month. I then visited the site later the same month. A large gap in a wall is still to be found at the crash site in the footings were found some small pieces of Halifax skinning. A large water filled crater was found nearby again with some small aircraft fragments around it. Given the close proximity to what was the road to Thruscross nothing else remains on the surface, it would have been an easy site to clear. A number of spent .303 cases dated 1942 were also found in the edge of the crater which could well have been fired by the guard placed on the site with little else to do but take in some shooting practice. My thanks to Mr Graham Sharpe for his help in locating this site.
The crash site, or at least the crater caused when remaining bombs were detonated.
Probably the largest of the remains still to be found at the crash site in Summer 2008.
A small piece of perspex found at the crash site.