During the morning of 20th January 1952 this aircraft was one of at least two 19 Squadron flown on a larger training exercise that also involved a Lincoln bomber. Meteor WE868 took off from Church Fenton airfield at 08.20hrs. The exercise saw the two 19 Squadron aircraft fly simulated attacks on a Lincoln aircraft over the general area of the Vale of York. During the exercise the pilot of WE868 made an attack from one side of the Lincoln. At the same time the pilot of Meteor WE864 made an attack from the opposite side and unfortunately both Meteors collided over Aldwark at 08.51hrs. The wing tip of WE864 removed the tail of WE868. The pilot of WE868 attempted to eject but the parachute did not open. Both the aircraft and he fell near Plump House, Myton on Swale and he was killed. The pilot of WE864 ejected but landed with injuries between Aldwark and Flawith, those details are recorded on its own webpage. An investigation found that both pilots should have kept a better look out. Exactly why the pilot's parachute did not deploy properly was not totally understood. It was felt he may have been injured in the ejection and could not release the parachute, or it was released at too low height so did not deploy properly in the height available.
Pilot - Sgt Jack Richard Richmond RAF (579113), aged 25. Buried Pateley Bridge Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Jack Richmond was born on 19th September 1926. His family had lived in Pateley Bridge though he had attended Harrogate Grammar School as a boy. His parents later moved to Bilton Drive in Harrogate. He enlisted for RAF service around 1943, trained as a pilot in Southern Rhodesia and had served in Malta for a couple of years. He was a talented footballer.
