Hillson Praga G-AELK at Aldwark Bridge.
On 9th April 1937 this civilian aircraft crashed during an attempted forced landing near Aldwark Bridge following engine failure. It was being flown on a demonstration flight to the York Aero Club (probably York and Leeming Flying Club) at the time of the accident when it suffered engine problems. The aircraft overturned on crashing around 200 yards beyond Aldwark vilage and in a field ajoining the Aldwark to Flawith road. The passenger on board was killed.
Elsewhere on the internet this aircraft is recorded to have crashed near Chorley, Lancashire on 7th June 1937 but with the same people on board. Remarkable considering one of them had died two months earlier. In way of confirming the crash occurred in Yorkshire, the passenger's death was registered in the Bulmer District of Yorkshire which is the right district for Aldwark. It is marginally possible it was repaired quickly and flew again though unlikely it was flown by the same pilot who had sustained serious injuries just two months earlier.
Pilot - Mr John Stubbs, of Bootham, York. Seriously injured.
Passenger - Mrs Ivy Lilian Hughes, aged 33, of "Askerne", York Road, Haxby, York. Buried Haxby and Wigginton Cemetery, York.
Hillson Praga G-AELK was one of twenty four built by F.Hills and Sons Ltd. It was first registered on the UK civilian register on 17th September 1936 to F. Hills and Sons Ltd, of Trafford Park, Manchester (but based at Barton aerodrome) having been delivered by road two days earlier to Barton. F Hills and Sons Ltd appear to have initially registered a number of the Hillson Praga aircraft. G-AELK was sold to, but never registered to, Ralph Jaggar, James Kenworthy and George Waugh, of Shipley but they continued to use Barton aerodrome as their base. The aircraft appears to have been on it's way to or was part way through a demonstration flight for use by the York and Leeming Flying Club at the time of the crash at Aldwark. It is listed as being permanently withdrawn from use in June 1937.
There were two John Stubbs' that held Royal Aero Club licences in 1937. Purely because of his age, the crash location of G-AELK and his flying club membership I guess he was the one who was born on 22nd February 1903 at Hawes, Yorkshire. He was working as an electrical engineer when he passed his Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate (Cert.No.14473) on 9th October 1936 at the York and Leeming Flying Club. While living in York John Stubbs owned HM14 Pou-Du-Ciel G-AECE (a Flying Flea) from 13th February 1936 (when it was first registered) and December 1937 (when the registration was cancelled as destroyed or permanently withdrawn from use). He based the aircraft at York and G-AECE might have been built by him as many were home-built aircraft.