Atlas J8789 in the field between Lealholm and Houlsyke (photograph copyright to myself Mr Richard Allenby).
During the morning of Tuesday, 22nd August 1928 this aircraft was on a flight over the North Yorkshire Moors when it was landed in a field between Lealholm and Houlsyke, it overshot the field, struck a hedge and overturned in the ajoining field. The two crew were thrown out of the aircraft were not seriously injured. Slight damage to the aircraft was sustained and it was later taken away by lorry. Nothing more is currently known about the incident. A brief newspaper report in the Whitby Gazette gives the field as being between Lealholm and Houlsyke. The photograph album caption gives the location as "near Danby". A record of this incident in the modern era only came to light as far as I can tell in February 2012 when I given a family photograph album containing the photograph shown above. There was no record of this accident anywhere else at the time of creating this webpage.
Crew - Names unknown. Slight injuries.
It must have transferred to 26 Squadron at Catterick after this first accident as it is carrying the 26 Squadron markings in the photograph shown above.
The official history of Atlas J8789 I would question, on paper it was built to contract 750052/27 and delivered to 13 Squadron at Andover in August 1927. On 13th June 1928 it was force landed in a marsh in fog at Guyhirn, near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Cat.R/FA damage was recorded. If this is correct then it must have been repaired quickly as it was flying again by August 1938 but the incident on the Moors is not recorded in it's history at all. Cat R/FA damage was almost certainly the result of the crash on the Moors. In the records there is no mentioned of this incident and it simply states that on completion of the "Wisbech incident" repairs it was taken on charge by A&GS (Armament & Gunnery School) at Eastchurch in May 1929. It then had a short period with RAFC Cranwell but no dates for the transfer are stated, it later passed to 16 Squadron at Old Sarum in June 1932 but was immediately transferred to 3 FTS at Spitalgate where it served until being struck off charge in August 1934.