This Miles Hawk was flying over the western side on the North Yorkshire Moors during the evening of Tuesday, 5th June 1934, three people were on board the aircraft. It had taken off from Surrey earlier in the day and was making its way northwards (probably to Newcastle). Dense fog was hanging over the Bilsdale district and it was drizzling with rain when the aircraft entered the area. It was thought that the pilot became lost, the aircraft was seen circling before making off in the direction of Chop Gate, it then flew into the hillside near Holme Farm, owned by Mr Harry Todd. Mr Todd was ploughing one his fields when he saw the aircraft come out of the mist and fly straight at him, so the press report states, he had to duck to avoid being hit by the aircraft's undercarriage. The aircraft crashed nearby and Mr Todd went to assist the three on board who were found still strapped to their seats, lucky to be alive by all accounts. He freed them and took them to his farm where his wife looked after them. Dr McGill from Stokesley was called and the injured were taken by Great Ayton Motor Ambulance to North Ormesby hospital where they were later described as "comfortable". The aircraft's fuel tank was found 100 yards away from the rest of the plane. Needless to say, the aircraft was written off in the crash having sustained serious damage.
G-ACSX was owned by and registered to Harlow Mill Ltd based at Hatfield. The operator of the aircraft was Harlow Flying Field Limited and their registered office was at Hatfield but the aircraft was actually based at North Weald. They had purchased the aircraft on 17th May 1934, its C. of A. was issued the following day.
Pilot - Mr Henry/Harry E Mayes RAF, of The Kings Head, North Weald, Epping, Essex. Suffered from shock and a dislocated shoulder/broken collarbone.
Passenger - Miss L Debham, of Garibaldi Terrace, Ocean Road, South Shields. Suffered from shock, cuts and bruising.
Passenger - Mr H F Morton, of North Shields. Amazingly escaped uninjured. (Some press reports named him as Mr H S Morton).
The aircraft crashed in one of the fields shown in the photograph above.
Henry Mayes was granted a short service commission in the RAF on 15th March 1929 to the rank of P/O on probation (for five years). He was posted to 5 FTS at Sealand on 2nd April 1929 and later confirmed in the rank of P/O on 27th August 1930. He was promoted to the rank of F/O on 15th September 1930 having been posted to 56 Squadron at North Weald on 9th September 1930. He was later elected to the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom in February 1931. On 15th March 1934 he transferred to The Reserve. He would then drop to the C-Class grade but then rise to A-Class grade again in March 1937. He finally reliquished his commission of F/Lt in the Reserve on 15th March 1938. Nothing more about his life his known.
The Harlow Flying Fields Limited was registered as a company in May 1934 and he was one of three registered directors. Outside of flying he was also an ice hockey international who played for the Grosvenor House Canadians team in 1934.
One of the passengers could have been a Henry Morton. A F/Lt Henry Morton DFM RAF (47899), of Fulwell, County Durham died on 6th January 1944 serving with 228 Squadron. He has no known grave and is commemerated on the Runnymede Memorial. He was thirty years old. CWGC list his wife as being from Fulwell. Fulwell is not far from North Shields and he would have been around twenty years old if he indeed was involved in this accident at Bilsdale.