On 30th March 1940 the crew of this 220 Squadron aircraft were undertaking an air test with two passengers were being taken along for a ride. Whilst on approach to land at Thornaby a fire broke out in the port engine but this initial fire was put out before the aircraft was on the ground. At 14.20hrs the Hudson landed but struck a construction plant concrete mixer at the airfield's perimeter which stopped it suddenly, it caught fire again and was badly damaged. Police records list six on board the aircraft, with two being slightly injured. It was found that a rubber petrol pipe had come loose in the air causing fuel to be released which caught fire.
Hudson N7237 was built to contract 791587/38 by Lockheed at Burbank, California and shipped to the UK, assembled, tested and was issued to 27 MU on 26th June 1939. It was taken on charge by 220 Squadron on 29th September 1939. It sustained Cat.W/FA damage as a result of the accident on 30th March 1940 and was struck off charge on 6th April 1940.
Pilot - P/O Murray Charles Petrie RAF (40425), of Wellington, New Zealand. Slightly injured.
Pilot - P/O Ronald Owen Lawry RAF (43101), of Fendalton, Christchurch, New Zealand. Slightly injured.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - AC2 Aubrey John Kenneth Parratt RAF (627223).
Passenger (Fitter) - AC2 Sidney Hildreth RAF (632461).
Passenger (Chaplain / Padre) - S/Ldr Alfred Graham Charles Langford RAF (76551).
Passenger (Dental Officer) - F/O Frank Downing Baron LDS RAF (23251). Slightly injured.
Three of those named above; P/O Petrie (pictured) and Lawry were recorded as Missing on 24th April 1940 flying in Hudson N7286 on an escorting flight when the aircraft was shot down enemy aircraft and the crew are listed on the Runnymede Memorial.
Aubrey Parratt was still serving with 220 Squadron 13th October 1941 and was lost when Hudson AM636 failed to return from an operational flight. He is buried in Stavine Cemetery, Norway. He was still just twenty years old. He received a Mention in Despatches on 1st January 1942.
The Rev.A G C Langford who was granted a commission in the RAF for the duration of hostilities on 11th December 1939 and given the relative rank of S/Ldr. A Captain A G C Langford is listed as serving in the Navy in August 1940, it is possibly that they were one and the same person. Alfred Langford was born in Camberwell, London in 1907 and married in Marylebone in 1934.
Sidney Hildreth survived the crash of Hudson N7233 on 15th September 1940 near Thornaby.