Beaufort W6472 near North Cowton.
On 21st March 1942 the crew in this 42 Squadron aircraft were undertaking an operational flight over the North Sea, they left their Shetland forward base of Sumburgh and carried out their intended operation over the North Sea. Having taken 1 3/4 hours to reach the target area the crew turned for home. The aircraft flew into some very poor weather conditions with low cloud, rain severe icing conditions effecting flying. The crew appear to have climbed to get clear of the icing formation and then flown much further south to find an airfield where the weather would have made a landing possible. The aircraft also suffered a problem with the radio so were uncontactable. Despite thick fog over the area they do appear to have located Middleton St.George airfield and were circling the general Middleton St.George and Croft area. Some 7 hours 10 minutes after taking off the fuel level would have been very low. The aircraft passed over Croft airfield at low height and was thought to have ran out of fuel soon after, it was though that the pilot was attempting to force land the aircraft in a field near North Cowton, not far from Croft airfield, but struck a tree and crashed. The time of the crash varies from 00.45hrs to 01.15hrs. Two of the crew were sadly killed. One reference located regarding this accident suggests that the aircraft may have clipped the roof of a farm building nearby before crashing and also "Tuffit Hall Farm" is also the farm quoted elsewhere, which is near North Cowton.
A third airman was rumoured to have died but no official records have been found that state this. Ben Ward's research and website "www.aw288.net" shows a photograph with all four of these airmen listed below. This was a busy week for the small village of North Cowton as seven days previously a Whitley had crashed near the village.
On the night of this accident 42 Squadron were on detachment to Sumburgh from Leuchars, at least four aircraft were detailed to torpedo naval vessels off Norway but at least three of these Beauforts were unable locate their targets so headed home with their torpedos on board. Three returned together in loose formation but all three began to ice up as they approached Sumburgh. W6472 must have become seperated from the others.
Pilot - P/O Malcolm Stuart Davidson RAFVR (65981), aged 22, of Nairobi. Kenya. Buried Darlington West Cemetery, Durham.
Observer - Sgt Ralph Lemmon RAFVR (1290237), aged 21, of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire. Buried Darlington West Cemetery, Durham.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Samuel George Winfield RAFVR (915550).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt George Tsitselis RAFVR (946761).
The gravestones of two of the crew sadly killed in this accident and buried at Darlington's West Cemetery. Malcolm Davison received a commission on 2nd April 1941 to the rank of P/O on probation.
Sgt Winfield was the son of Father W. Winfield, of Plymouth. He survived the war and married in 1945.
Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton located small fragments at the crash site in May 1999 with permission from the landowner, this confirmed the site location. Eric retained the items shown in the photograph above.
Beaufort W6472 was built to contract 552915/36 by The Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. at Filton and was awaiting collection in December 1940. After a short period of MU storage and preparation for operational flying it was taken on charge by 42 Squadron at Wick in early 1941. It served with 42 Squadron over the coming months and moved with the squadron to Leuchars on 1st March 1941. After assessment following the crash near North Cowton on 21st March 1942 Cat.E/FA damage was recorded and the aircraft was written off.
Sgt Tsitselis was from Cardiff. He died on 7th May 1943 flying with 59 Squadron in Liberator FL971. The aircraft was escorting a convoy but was ordered to divert to land at Aldergrove because of poor weather, the aircraft failed to arrive and was presumed lost at sea. All seven on board are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. Sgt Tsitselis was twenty six years old.
