S.E.5a D8432 at Doncaster aerodrome.
On 17th October 1918 this No.47 Training Depot Station aeroplane was put into a dive over Doncaster aerodrome as part of a training flight. at 14.30hrs the pilot pulled out of the dive then made a steep turn which caused the aeroplane to stall. It then dived toward the ground, struck a building and caught fire. The pilot was killed in the crash.
Pilot - 2Lt Philip Roy Firth RAF, aged 19. Buried Lawnswood Cemetery, Leeds, Yorkshire (Wall Z.623).
Philip Firth was born on 28th September 1899 in the Dewsbury area of West Yorkshire. As a child he attended Rugby School. He doesn't appear to have served with an army unit unit enlisting for RFC service and training at Halton in October 1917. He received a commission in the Royal Flying Corps in February 1918 and was posted to No.41 Training Squadron. The RFC folded and became part of the newly formed RAF on 1st April 1918. No.41 Training Squadron eventually became No.47 TDS.