Avro 504k E3557 in the Tadcaster area.
On 14th October 1918 this No.38 Training Depot Station aeroplane was flying at 800 feet above the ground in the Tadcaster area when it stalled and spun into the ground at 16.30hrs. The crash probably occurred close to the aerodrome at Tadcaster where the unit was based. A emotive letter received by his wife from the commanding officer at Tadcaster aerodrome was printed in the Inyo Independant newspaper in November 1918 and stated..
"As to the direct cause of his death, it will probbaly be never known, as the pilot of the machine, Lieut Ellsmere, though not fatally injured has, from shock, lost all memory of the flight. The machine was first noticed, about 800 feet in the air, by the sudden stopping of the engine. It remained level until it lost flying speed and then went into a dive with the left wing down. This developed into a slow spin, which continued until it struck the ground. No attempt seemed to be made to gain control, though both men were of the sort who could be depended upon to do the right thinsg in an emergency. I examined the machine and fond that the controls were apparently in working order before the crash. Your husband was in the front seat. his death was mercifully instantaneous. We laid his to rest in a beautiful little English Cemetery at Tadcaster, Yorkshire with full military honors, both British and American troops participating. An airplane circled overhead during the ceremony, as a tribute to the last rites of a brave comrade. Three volleys of mustetry crashed out in final salute, and the paintive note of the bugle sounded "taps" for the final rest of a soldier who gave his life in the service of his country. Captain C K Jan Auker. USAAS. 309th Aero Squadron."
Mechanic - Pvt Ludwig Larsen Linde USAAS (1071801), aged 34. Initially buried Tadcaster Cemetery, Yorkshire. Current burial location unknown.
Pilot - 2Lt George Joseph Ellsmere RAF. Injured.
Ludwig Linde was born in Denmark on 21st August 1884 and emigrated to the USA in 1908 settling in Inyo County, California with his family. He became known as John L Linde possibly dropping the German-sounding Ludwig. The family started a garage business which was destroyed in a fire in 1916 so they moved to Lone Pine. He enlisted for US military service on 11th December 1917. He was married to Lillian C Linde.
George Ellsmere was born on 17th April 1895 at Craighurst in the Simcoe area of Ontario, Canada and was the son Joseph Thomas and Ruth Angeline (nee Rix) Ellsmere. His grandfather was an Irish imigrant. As a young man he was employed a policeman at Stratford, Ontario. He enlisted for military service in Canada. He arrived in the UK on 15th August 1918 and was posted to No.38 TDS on 31st August 1918. The injuries he sustained on 14th October 1918 saw him initially treated at Fulford Military Hospital before being transferred to the Granville Canadian Hospital (possibly the one at Buxton). He appears to have been hospitalised in the UK until relinquishing his commission on the grounds of ill health and being repatriated in May 1919. He was transferred to the Unemployed List on 20th May 1919. He subsequently married and had son; F/O Ross Orval Ellsmere RCAF (J/24075) was killed serving with 97 Squadron on 4th May 1944. George Ellsmere died in January 1951.