B.E.12a A579 at or near Catterick aerodrome.
On 20th February 1918 this No.46 Training Squadron aeroplane was being flown on a training exercise in the Catterick area when the pilot failed to recover from a spin. A crash resulted and the pilot sustained injuries. These injuries were probably very serious and I will refer to them later.
Pilot - AM1 Rodney Stubbs RFC (56888). Injured.
Rodney Stubbs was born on 28th November 1893 in Hampshire. What happened in his life is unclear but he certainly appears to have had a rough time, possibly partly down to himself rather than bad luck. He had claimed to and probably did served as an officer in the Surrey Regiment but had had to relinquish his commission. In August 1916 he was sentenced to nine months in prison for obtaining money from clergy by false pretences in that he claimed to be the nephew of the late Bishop of Truro. Once out of prison he joined the RNAS but transferred to the Royal Flying Corps though failed to turn up so was officially named as a deserter. In October 1917 he finally begun training flying training. He was posted to No.68 Training Squadron at Bramham Moor on 26th December 1917 but the date he was posted to No.46 Training Squadron is missing from his service records. He claimed that he had sustained the most appalling injuries due to aeroplane crahses in the First World War, stating his left leg and right toes were burned off, his right eye was lost and his jaw fractures in crashes (ie. not one single crash). His left leg and the toes on his right foot were certainly amputated as the result of something that also saw him sustain other injuries. He lost his right eye at some stage probably at the same time as his leg injuries. He may also have suffered a gunshot wound to the same right cheek. In April 1921, August 1922, January 1923 and March 1924 he was back in court for obtaining money by false pretences, he claimed in court that the crash in which he sustained his injuries occurred in Yorkshire in December 1918 and that he fell from 3000 feet. Each court appearance saw him back in prison. He then either went down a different path or he did not get caught until 1931 when he was back in court for fraud. He died in Brighton in 1932.