Unidentified R.E.8 probably in the Catterick area.
On 15th July 1918 the engine of this No.49 Training Depot Station aeroplane failed in the air. The pilot attempted a forced landing at 18.00hrs but the selected field was standing corn, the wheels caught in the crop and it came to rest upside down. The pilot was slightly injured. Where this incident occurred or the aeroplane's serial number is not stated on the casualty card but the unit was based at Catterick and may have occurred in the vacinity of the aerodrome.
Pilot - Lt Noel William Greives Wilkinson RAF. Injured.
Noel Wilkinson was born on 30th January 1896 and was a student at Liverpool there when he enlisted for army service in 1914. He served in France with the Manchester Regiment and at some stage acted as a machine gun instructor. He later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. He was posted to No.46 Training Squadron at Catterick on 28th February 1918 and this unit eventually folded and became part of No.49 TDS. His service file does not state he was serving as a flying instructor at Catterick but given the period he was there it is a possibility. The injuries he sustained in July 1918 must have been minor and no hospitalisation is recorded on his service file. He remained with No.49 TDS until 10th March 1919 when he was posted to No.52 TDS. He was later transferred to the Unemployed List on 2nd June 1919. He died in Liverpool in 1971.