Avro 504 D6370 at Tadcaster aerodrome.
At 06.30hrs on 8th September 1918 a mechanic was crossing Tadcaster aerodrome when Avro 504 D6370 of No.38 Training Depot Station was moving across the same area of the site and in the process of taking off. Unfortunately the aeroplane struck the mechanic and he died after being hit by the rotating propeller.
Mechanic - AM3 Albert Page Carson RAF (260923), aged 44. Buried Tatsfield (St.Mary) Churchyard, Surrey.
Pilot - Flight Sgt Sydney Hayter RAF. Uninjured.
Albert Carson was born in March 1874 at Paddington, Middlesex and was the son of James Page and Florina (nee Ponsford) Carson. He married Elizabeth Wordsworth in 1898 in Paddington, Middlesex. Little else about his military service is known before he was posted to Tadcaster. His age on his death certificate is shown as 44 years, CWGC quote 45 but cannot be correct if his date of birth is correct.
Sydney Hayter was born on 20th November 1893 in the Farnham area. He worked as a chauffeur / mechanic until September 1914 at Godalming, Surrey. He may then have served in the Dorset Yeomanry as there is a medal card for someone of the same name serving in the regiment. He appears to have enlisted for RFC service around February 1918 but transferred to the RAF when it formed in April 1918. He was posted to No.68 Training Squadron on 22nd June 1918 which folded and No.38 Training Depot Station formed from it. Following the accident on 8th September 1918 at Tadcaster he continued flying training and was posted to Marske to attend No.2 Fighting School on 4th November 1918. He almost certainly left the RAF in 1919.