On 14th December 1942 this 219 Squadron aircraft was one of three that had been scrambled from Scorton airfield at 20.30hrs to intercept a number of Luftwaffe aircraft heading for the North-East of England. Soon after taking off the pilot off this aircraft sent a radio message to base to say that he could not control the aircraft, nothing further was heard. After taking off the aircraft had headed roughly west with very little sideways control to the aircraft other than powering down on one engine and powering up on the other to effect a turn. During the War the keep of Richmond Castle was used as a "fire-watch" lookout post and in it on this night were two local men, they would have to dive for cover as the aircraft narrowly missed striking the tower, it then crashed into the tops of some trees and came to earth into a small field on Bolton Crofts, north of the town. The aircraft caught fire on impact. First on the scene was a twenty two year old ATS ambulance driver, Ms Margaret Johnson. She was driving along
Green Howards Road, the road above the crash site and she had witnessed the crash. She ran down to the burning aircraft and attempted to rescue the pilot, and suffered burns herself before being beaten back by the flames, smoke and exploding ammunition. Two others also attempted to rescue the airman from the rear seat of the aircraft, however Reserve Constable Francis Laurence Mayman and Cpl Charles Hawley were also beaten back by the fire. It is probable that both airmen had been killed in the crash however but their would-be rescuers would not be aware of that. All three rescuers were later commended for their actions. Soon on the scene were a number of other locals who had heard the aircraft and witnessed the fire, the fire brigade also arrived and put the fire out. One of these locals, Mr Ray Thornton, proved to be a valuable find while I was researching this incident. The remains of the aircraft were later taken away although the RAF accident record card states that the two engines were considered for repair and may have been re-used. The crash investigation also found the burnt remains of a tail-plane weather cover at the crash site and one was also missing from Scorton airfield. It seemed probable that the cause of the crash was due to this weather cover being left in place prior to taking off. Having little tail-plane control there was would have been nothing the pilot could do to prevent the crash occurring and as it was he probably did his best to avoid a crash in the town itself.
Pilot - F/Lt William James Hunt RAFVR (83726), aged 31, of Histon. Buried Histon Cemetery, Cambridgeshire.
Navigator / Wireless Operator - F/Sgt Harold Gysel RAFVR (1150235), aged 34, of Handsworth, Birmingham. Buried Catterick Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Harold Gysel was buried at Catterick Cemetery, Yorkshire. He and his family were probably of Belgian or Dutch extraction.
William Hunt was a very experienced pilot with over 1300 hours flying to his name, while his time in flying the Beaufighter at night was only 36 hours this was not a sign of his inexperience. He gained his Wings in August 1936 and
received a commission on 13th August 1940 to P/O on probation (with seniority 7th August 1940). He rose to F/O (war subs) on 13th August 1941 (with seniority 7th August 1941) and then to F/Lt on 13th August 1942 (with seniority 7th August 1942).
In 2007 a memorial was erected alongside Quakers Lane on the gate post to a nursing home which is situated in front of the crash site. The aircraft had narrowly avoided hitting the property and had crashed through trees at the back of it.
In November 2008 air historians Eric Barton, Albert Pritchard, Ken Reast and myself located small remains of the aircraft in the field behind the nursing home. The most telling find that
was easily linked to the Beaufighter was part of a 20mm cannon shell case. Ken had made extensive enquiries in the area in the weeks prior to
our two visits and it is thanks to him that witnesses to the incident were found. Thanks also goes to the land owner for allowing our visit and
to Mr Ray Thornton, aged 83 at the time of our visit, who was one of the first on the scene of the burning aircraft. Without seeking his memories
and exact location in the field it is probably doubtful that this site would ever have been tracked down by us. It now transpires that the site
has probably been dug in the 1980s and all the larger pieces which may have existed then have been removed. It would also transpire from our
enquiries that there are many locals who recall the incident but the location of it has varied slightly in all their accounts but all within the
same small field. This suggests that the wreckage was somewhat scattered across the field. In 2009 Ray Thornton met Margaret "Peggy" Johnson (now Kitchen) who he pulled clear of the burning aircraft. Ray died in October 2011.
Beaufighter V8452 was built to contract B.30264/39 by the Bristol Aeroplane Co.Ltd. at Old Mixon and was awaiting collection in August 1942. It was taken on charge by 219 Squadron at Acklington in September 1942 and moved to Scorton with them on 21st October 1942. As a result of this accident on 14th December 1942 Cat.E2/FA Burnt damage was the assessment and it was written off.
