Avro Cadet G-ABVV and Slingsby Gull BGA349 at Bowforth Farm, Welburn.
On 30th May 1939 Avro Cadet G-ABVV was giving an air-tow to a Slingsby Gull gilder, BGA349. On take off from
Welburn Hall (Shaw's Airstrip) the tug pilot got his aircraft out of position, this resulted in the glider rising too
high and the tail of the tug aircraft lifted with it. The end result was it caused both aircraft become incontrolable
and they both dived into the ground soon after. Both pilots were killed.
Tug Aircraft Pilot - Mr Montagu Scott McMurdo, aged 42, of Welburn, Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire. Buried Kirkdale Minster, Yorkshire.
Glider Pilot - Mr Angus Ostler Pick, aged 31, of Leeming Bar, Yorkshire. Burial location unknown.
Montagu McMurdo's gravestone in Kirkdale Churchyard, North Yorkshire. Major John E D Shaw was not the pilot of the
aircraft at the time it crashed, as is reported elsewhere on the internet. Major Shaw died on 21st April 1955. He
lived at Welburn Hall prior to his death and was a keen supporter of civilian flying in Yorkshire and deserves credit
on this website for this. His gravestone in the same private section of Kirkdale Cemetery set aside for the Shaw family.
Mr McMurdo was Major Shaw's private pilot and had flown for him for a number of years. Mr McMurdo gained Aviators'
Certificate (number 9430) in October 1930 in London.
Angus Pick was a reasonably experienced glider pilot who held at least one glider endurance record.
Avro Cadet G-ABVV was built by A.V.Roe at Newton Heath as Serial No.589 and registered to Major
John E Durrant Shaw on 5th April 1932. It's Certificate of Airworthiness was issued on 28th May 1932.
It sustained Cat.W/FA damage in the incident detailed above but its registration was only cancelled in the
1946 post WW2 census on 1st December 1946. This aircraft was also not the only Cadet registered in
civilian hands (as reported elsewhere), and infact all were operated by civilian operators,
mostly by flying schools training RAF pilots. G-ABYC was registered to Charles E. Gardner
and was used to win the Yorkshire Trophy Race at Sherburn on 16th July 1933 and later the
Sherburn Short Handicap on 29th August 1934. G-ABVV was powered by a seven cylinder Genet Major engine.
On 10th July 1937 it was being flown from Frankfurt to Wasserkuppe in Germany with Mr McMurdo as pilot
and Mr Fred Slingsby as passsenger. A large sail plane meeting was taking place near Hamburg with the
sailplanes from this mountain, the highest in the Rohn Mountains in Central Germany. A number of
Slingsby's machines being used by the British team in these international championships. One presumes
the Cadet was either taken by road or rail to Germany or had been flown across the channel in the
weeks prior to this date. On 10th July "thick weather forced them to make a hurried landing in a
field at Fulda" (so Flight magazine stated at the time). The aircraft sustained serious damage
but the occupants were uninjured. Where the aircraft was repaired is not yet known.
The Gull was built by Slingsby at Kirkbymoorside as Serial No. 302 and registered in June 1938.