This incident features briefly in the pilot's service file. On 20th July 1916 this RNAS Redcar Flying School aeroplane was force landed somewhere and the pilot sustained cuts to his face and suffered shock. It was probably in the general Redcar area but the location is unknown.
Pilot - FSL Bert Sterling Wemp RNAS.
Bert Wemp was born on 3rd July 1889 at Tweed, Ontario, Canada and educated in Toronto. He began working in the offices of newspapers before WW1 and worked his way up to reporter, city editor and chief of The Telegram and the Toronto star. When the First World War broke out he volunteered as a pilot as gained his Royal Aviator's Certificate (Cert.No.1714) on 31st August 1915 at the Curtiss School, Toronto, Canada. He enlisted into the RNAS on 1st September 1915. While at RNAS Killingolme on 19th October 1915 he crashed Curtiss 8394 into The Humber escaping injury. He initially served at RNAS Redcar between 15th February 1916 and 5th March 1916 but was then posted to Eastchurch then Yarmouth. While based near Great Yarmouth he was one of a number of pilots to attempt to attack a German Naval squadron that attacked Lowestoft and Yarmouth on 25th April 1916, he flew B.E.2c 8612. He returned to RNAS Redcar on 10th June 1916. On 20th July 1916 he was flying Caudron G.III 8941 was injured force landing in the general Redcar area though the location is unknown. On 15th August 1916 he collided with housing landing at RNAS Redcar. On 3rd January 1917 he crashed Caudron G.III 8820 at Redcar. He appears to have remained at RNAS Redcar until July 1917 and was a flying instructor there. He was then allowed to return to Canada for a period of leave. On his return he was posted to France and later served as commander of 218 Squadron RNAS but was hospitalized in mid-1918 / early-1919. For his WW1 service was the first Canadian to win the Distinguished Flying Cross in the RAF, Gazetted on 3rd June 1918, though no citation has been located. He was also awarded the Chevalier, Order of Leopold (Belgium), Gazetted on 8th February 1919 and later returned home to Canada. He relinquished his commission on the grounds of ill health on 18th July 1919. On return to Toronto he continued his work as a journalist. In 1930 he ran for and was elected as Mayor of Toronto and was in office when the R.100 airship crossed the Atlantic. After a year in office he returned to the Toronto Telegram as city editor. In WW2 he worked as a war correspondent and on 1st July 1946 he was awarded the OBE (Civil). He died on 5th February 1976.
Caudron G.III 8941 was ordered to contract C.P.145456/15 from the British Caudron Co.Ltd. at Hendon. It was delivered to the RNAS at Hendon on 7th April 1916, tested there on 26th April 1916 and accepted on 2nd May 1916. It was then dismantled and taken by rail to RNAS Redcar where it arrived two days later, then joined the RNAS Flying School. It was erected and test flown on 5th July 1916. The aircraft must have been badly damaged in the forced landing on 20th July 1916 because it was assessed and deleted on 28th July 1916.