At 21.25hrs on 19th August 1943 this No.18 Operational Training Unit aircraft was having its engines run up on a dispersal point at Finningley airfield when a wireless mechanic unfortunately walked into the rotating starboard propeller whilst undertaking work on the aircraft. He sadly died of the injuries he sustained soon after.
Wireless Mechanic - LAC Ronald Cox RAFVR (1542162), aged 35. Buried Newbold Churchyard, Derbyshire (A.Old, Row 32, Grave 3).
Aircraft crew - Names unknown.
Ronald Cox was born on 28th January 1908 at Bishop Auckland, Durham and was the son of Henry Thomas and Grace (nee Stokes) Cox. His father was killed on 7th June 1917 in Belgium and is commemorated on the Menin Gate. He married Louie Winifred Widdowson in 1937 at Chesterfield and they lived at Newbold, Chesterfield. He enlisted for RAF service on 19th August 1941. His wife was pregnant at the time of his death but would later give birth to a baby boy in November 1943 who unfortunately died during childbirth. His widow died in 2002.
This aircraft was found to have Cat.Ac damage during an inspection on 30th December 1943 but would seem unconnected to this incident as it only required a propeller change after the incident in August 1943.
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