Airco DH.9 D5621 in the Catterick area.
On 13th August 1918 this No.49 Training Depot Station aeroplane was being flown at 500 feet above the ground in the Catterick area when the engine began failing. The pilot attempted a turn but because the speed had decreased the aeroplane stalled and it spun into the ground and caught fire. The pilot was possibly making a turn to return to Catterick aerodrome but the crash location is not known. The pilot died the following evening of injuries sustained.
Pilot - 2Lt Ronald Stewart Murray RAF, aged 21. Died 14th August 1918. Buried Catterick Cemetery, Yorkshire (E.17).
Ronald Murray was the son of John Stewart and Annie May Murray but his date of birth is missing from service records that were available when this webpage was made. His father was born in Perth, Scotland but emigrated to Canada. He lived with his family in Toronto where he worked for Willys Overland Company. He enlisted for Royal Flying Corps service in Canada and underwent initial training in North America. He appears to have arrived in the UK after the RAF was formed on 1st April 1918. He was then posted to No.52 Training Squadron on 8th May 1918 which then became part of No.49 T.D.S. a short time later.
