On 6th August 1942 three gliders were being towed behind Halifax W7720 of the A.F.E.E. over the Dishforth area, the unit was based at Sherburn in Elmet but the flight may have made a landing at, or being flown to Dishforth. At 12.45hrs while over the area south of Boroughbridge the cockpit hood of one of the gliders broke away leaving the pilot's face in the open. The pilot cast his glider off from tug Halifax immediately and during what appeared to be a forced landing the glider struck trees on approach to the field he had selected and crashed in Allerton Park area. Sadly the pilot died as a result of the crash. The investigation found that the pilot often flew without goggles and combined without the aircraft hood his visibility would have been limited. It also found that he may also have been struck on the head before the crash, possibly by the hood. It is possible that the unit were towing out of Dishforth and the glider may have been attepting to reach the airfield when it crashed.
Pilot - Sgt Eric Gordon Travis RAFVR (1312385), aged 30. Of London. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
The pilot's gravestone at Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire. A likely birth registration for him was in 1911 in Lambeth, London and it would appear that he married in Wandsworth, London in 1930.
Hotspur BT546 was built to contract SB11960 dated October 1940 by Harris Lebus at Tottenham, London and was delivered for erection in August 1941. It was then issued to Airborne Forces Establishment (AFE) at Ringway (No.70 Group Army Co-Op Command) some time after the unit formed on 1st September 1941. On 15th February 1942 the AFE was redesignated the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE), and still at Ringway but on 17th June 1942 the AFEE moved to Sherburn-in-Elmet and came within No.21 (Training) Group. It was destroyed with Cat.E2/FA damage in the incident detailed above on 6th August 1942.