Gladiator K6139 near Brayton.
At around 08.45hrs on 29th June 1938 this 72 Squadron aircraft was one of four of 'C-Flight' that took off from Church Fenton airfield to undertake a training exercise that appears to have been to include formation flying, aerobatics and also a gun camera flying exercise. Around ten minutes later the aircraft were flying in formation in the area just south of Selby and were flying at between 1,500 and 2,000 feet when two of the Gloster Gladiators collided with their wing tips. Control of Gladiator K6139 was lost and this aircraft crashed onto the side of what was then the main East Coast main railway line south of Brayton, Selby. The pilot of the second Gladiator, K6138, managed remain in control and successfully landed back at Church Fenton airfield.
Pilot - F/Lt William Forster Pharazyn RAF, aged 35, of New Zealand. Buried Hascombe Churchyard, Surrey.
Air historians Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton carried out research locally in 2003 and, after speaking to a number of local people, believed they located small remains of the aircraft in a field next to the railway line with permission from the landowner. Trying to piece together their information with original source information and a photograph of the wreckage that shows most of the site to be within the railway line fencing it appears that the site was just north of Henwick Hall signal box. Here it is confusing, Albert, Ken and Eric located small fragments in a field and witnesses which suggested it was on the western side of the railway. Between the railway and the field is Henwick Hall Lane and a newspaper photograph of the crash site (shown above) clearly shows the track next to a field (i.e. with no road there). I would speculate that the photograph shows the site and looks towards the south (where buildings appear to be in the background), the wreckage was removed from the line and dumped in a field next to Henwick Hall Lane prior to collection and this was where it was seen by witnesses and where fragments were left that Ken, Albert and Eric located. The photograph shown above is of small fragments retained by Eric following his visit to the site in 2003, while I have no reason to doubt they located the site the largest of the items shown above may not be from this aeroplane but was purely in the same field.
William Pharazyn was born in Feilding, New Zealand and was the son of Godfrey Norris and Ella Cecelia (nee Johnston) Pharazyn. The family had been merchants though his parents owned a sheep farm. As a young man William attended Eton College, England and then studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. After Cambridge he returned to New Zealand where he worked for a company in Wellington.
In 1928 travelled back to the UK to train as a pilot and to join the RAF. He was granted a commission to the rank of P/O on probation on 14th October 1929 in the Special Reserve of Air Force Officers. He also trained as a pilot gaining a Royal Aero Club flying cerificate (Cert.No.8844) in November 1929 at the National Flying Services company. He initially served with 501 Squadron at Filton (possibly just before his brother was also posted to the same squadron). He was then granted a Short Service Commission in the RAFO (Special Reserve) as P/O on probation on 28th July 1930 and was posted to the Central Flying School at Wittering the same date. He was then posted to 17 Squadron 11th October 1930 and was confirmed in the rank of P/O on 28th July 1931. On 12th October 1931 he was posted to 24 Squadron and was promoted to F/O on 28th January 1932. He received a posting to the Home Aircraft Depot at Henlow on 9th August 1933. In 1935 he successfully completed a specialist "E" Course at Henlow which entitled him to add the letter "PSA" after his name. He was granted a permanent commission on 25th September 1935 in the rank of F/O and rose to F/Lt on 28th January 1936. In 1936 he appears to have been offered a role at the Air Ministry to specialise in aerial tactics with an advanced course at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in June 1936 also being undertaken. He was posted to 72 Squadron on 18th December 1937. While at 72 Squadron he was awarded first prize in the Gordon Shehard Memorial Prize in 1937 for writing an essay on reconnaissance.
He married Stella Peters in Summer 1930 in London, she was the daughter of Sir Lindsley Byron and Lady Peters and together the couple had two children. His funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church at Godalming, Surrey on 2nd July 1938.
One of his brothers, Peter Walter Johnston Pharazyn, died on 27th July 1932 while flying with 501 Squadron when Westland Wapiti K1369 crashed near Bekesbourne, Kent. It was suggested he was flying low over the house of someone he knew when the crash occurred. Another brother, Pte David Robert Pharazyn, was died on 17th August 1942 having been taken PoW in North Africa. He was being transprted from Libya to Italy on the SS Nino Bixio was torpedoed. Having no known grave he is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial.
Gladiator K6139 had sustained damage on 11th March 1937 when the engine cut and the then pilot force landed it in a field at Ford’s Farm, Upton Grey, near Basingstoke. The aircraft overturned on landing but the pilot, P/O Lawrence Frederick Henstock, survived. After repair the aircraft was returned to 72 Squadron.
The pilot of the other Gladiator, K6138, was P/O Robert James Walker RAF (39915), managed to keep control and was able to fly back to Church Fenton where a successful landing was made. He served with 72 Squadron during the first part of the Battle of Britain before being posted to 7 O.T.U. to instruct. He was awarded the DSO in 1945 and retired as G/Cpt in 1965.