On 15th September 1951 the "Battle of Britain" air display was being carried out at Thornaby airfield and during this display a Harvard of No.6 Flying Training School was making an inverted fly past. When the pilot was returning the aircraft to flying the normal way up he lost control and it struck the ground. The aircraft was badly damaged and he was sadly killed.
Harvard FX428 was purchased by the British Air Commisssion without contract from The North American Aircraft Corporation and was delivered by sea to the UK arriving in July 1944. It was issued to 9 (P)AFU at Errol in late 1944 and moved onto 5 (P)AFU at Ternhill at a later date. This unit disbanded on 21st June 1945. The aircraft is known to have served with 7 FTS at Peterbrough and 22 FTS/SFTS at Calveley during the late 1940's. It has spent some time in storage but in the late 40's/early 50's it also served with 18 RFS, 11 RFS before finally moving to 6 FTS at Ternhill. The aircraft sustained Cat.E2/FA damage as a result of the accident at Thornaby on 15th September 1951.
Pilot - Sgt George William Kelley RAF (1386489), aged 28. Buried Thornaby Cemetery, Yorkshire (H/I/2).
Sgt George Kelley's gravestone in Thornaby Cemetery, he was born on 4th May 1923.