On 1st July 1941 the pilot of this Hurricane took off from Usworth to carry out a daytime aerobatic training flight as part of the course he was undertaking with No.55 Operational Training Unit, he became lost after flying into poor weather and eventually ran out of fuel. Having being unsuccessful in using his radio because the airwaves were congested at the time he force-landed at 17.30hrs near Egton Bridge. The landing was made with the undercarriage retracted and the aircraft was slightly damaged. The pilot was uninjured. The following is taken from a letter from the pilot to his mother, dated 5th July 1941, it mention of the Egton Bridge incident..
"Well mum I have smashed another aircraft. I was sent up to 25,000 feet to practice aerobatics and I got lost as it was awful foggy. It was foggy from (?) ft down to the ground and I had a hell of a time trying to get down on the ground. Well I did finally and landed in a farmers back yard. I had to land with the wheels up according to regulations and of course travelling at 90 M.P.H and hitting the ground on your belly, makes quite a mess of the ground, but I only broke the propellor and nothing else. They told me that I made a successful forced landing and they praised me upon but they couldn’t understand why I got lost, but a dam Englishman [tongue in cheek according to previous correspondance] doesn’t understand a lot of things. I got shakened up a little bit but I was unhurt which is all I care for."
Pilot - Sgt Harry Lewis Gill RCAF (R/64935), aged c18, of South Devon, New Brunswick, Canada. Uninjured.
Hurricane W9150 was built to contract 85730/40/23a by Gloster Aircraft Co.Ltd. at the Hucclecote factory and was awaiting collection in December 1940. After acceptance it was issued to 87 Squadron at Charmy Down in the same month before being transferred to 96 Squadron based at Cranage in early 1941. It was later transfererd to 55 O.T.U. at Usworth on an unknown date. Following the damage at Egton Bridge Cat.B/FA damage was recorded, from there it was dismantled and removed by road to The Hawker Aircraft Co.Ltd. at one of their repair depots. On completion of repair it was flown to an M.U. store where it remained for three years until being struck off charge on 27th October 1944.
I do not know exactly where this aircraft came to ground but it is almost certainly in the area contained on this photograph.
A fair amount of information regarding the pilot has been collected, mainly through the efforts of his niece, Ms Barbara Gill, who has shared her research with me. Without which this page would not be as complete and I thank her for this. Harry Gill was born in South Devon, New Brunswick, Canada on 9th May 1922, he was the son of Herbert Spencer and Mabel (nee Leverington) Gill of 731 Union Street, South Devon. He lived there prior to his enlistment into the RCAF. After finishing school he worked in a number of jobs including being a service station attendant as well as a labourer in a Beverage bottling factory. He enlisted into the RCAF in Moncton, New Brunswick on 22nd August 1940 initially stating he wished to train as a wireless operator / air gunner. During 1940 he begun initial training but passed the initial piloting assessment so remustered as a pilot and undertook pilot training. He trained at 1 I.T.S. and 11 E.F.T.S. before graduating from 2 S.F.T.S. in April 1941 being awarded his pilot Wings. With his basic training complete he was posted overseas. He arrived in UK on 24th April 1941 where he continued his training at 55 O.T.U. beginning 26th May 1941, based at Usworth, near Sunderland. Here he suffered his first flying mishap; whilst coming into land at Usworth on 24th June 1941 the undercarriage of the aircraft struck a mound of soil on the edge of the airfield, this tore off the undercarriage and the propeller caught the ground and was damaged. He eventaully climbed out uninjured but the aircraft, Hurricane V6984, was slightly damaged. Following the Egton Bridge incident on 1st July 1941 he had a total of 126 hours flying to his name, with 38 hours being on the Hurricane type. He completed his course at 55 O.T.U. on 7th July 1941 and the report filed on completion by the Commanding Officer briefly mentioned that "he has broken two aircraft while on this unit".
He was posted to 124 Squadron on paper but this appears to have actually been to 607 Squadron as he transferred to them the following day. They were based at Nairn, Scotland, a further letter home on 12th July 1941 stated that he was about to be posted to Caithness with the unit. 607 Squadron was posted south back to England in August 1941 to Martlesham Heath until October 1941 and then to Manston, Kent until March 1942. While undertaking a non-operational flight during the afternoon of 9th November 1941 flying Magister P2504 he became lost and crashed while force landing near St.Peters, Margate after running low on fuel as it was getting dark. He escaped injury. For service with 607 Squadron he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, the award being effective as per London Gazette dated 17th March 1942. His citation for which reads.. "Since joining the squadron in July 1941, this airman has carried out several offensive fighter patrols over enemy territory both by day and by night. Targets attacked included power stations, large concentration distilleries and factories. On one occasion Flight Sergeant Gill sighted two of our aircraft which had been forced down onto the sea and remained over them until driven off by a formation of enemy fighters. On 12th February 1942 this airman participated in operations against a German battleship and their escorts and pressed home his attack with great determination in the face of fierce enemy opposition. He damaged at least one enemy motor vessel and one enemy aircraft. This airman has always displayed initiative and keenness and has proved himself to be an inspiration to his fellow pilots."
In March 1942 the unit received the orders that they were to move to India and by the end of May were in position at Alipore, Bengal, India. During the coming months the squadron moved to various bases in India. Sadly Warrant Officer Harry Gill lost his life whilst serving with 607 Squadron in Asia on 17th January 1943 when Hurricane BN327 was shot down by Japanese aircraft close to the Burma border. He was still only twenty years old. He was initially buried locally to where he died but a post-war wargraves investigation team exhumed his body, probably to identify him and he is now buried at Maynamati Cemetery, Bangladesh. Gill Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada is named in his honour.
I would like to thank the pilot's niece, Ms Barbara Gill for contacting me and for the information she has been able to provide regarding her uncle. Her book "Soul Gifts" contains more of her uncle's letters.