Whitley Z9297 at Croft airfield.
On the night of 30th November 1941 the crew of this 78 Squadron aircraft were about to take off from Croft airfield to begin an operational flight, the crew were taxiing around the airfield when the aircraft struck a pile of drain pipes and the tailplane sustained damage.
Pilot - Sgt C Simmonds.
Second Pilot - Sgt Wade.
Observer - P/O J Middlemass.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt William Heggie Wilson Ramsey RAFVR (1059401).
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - Sgt Taylor.
William Ramsey received a commission in July 1942 and was awarded the DFC for service with 78 Squadron, Gazetted on 20th April 1943.
Sgt Wade survived the crash / baling out of 78 Squadron Whitley Z9276 on 27th December 1941 over the Foxholes area of Yorkshire.
Sgt Simmonds doesn't appear to have flown many operational flights with 78 Squadron, it's possible he was posted elsewhere early in 1942 when 78 Squadron began conversion to fly the Halifax type had he not left the squadron earlier due to injury. He and Ramsey are named in AIR81/11220 at the National Archives as having sustained injuries on 28th December 1941 when this Whitley, Whitley Z9297, crashed near Weston Super Mare. P/O Middlemass was also on board and escaped injury.
Whitley Z9297 was built to contract 106962/40 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 28th October 1941. It was taken on charge the following month by 77 Squadron at Leeming but immediately transferred to 78 Squadron at Croft. There is no record of the incident at Croft on 30th November 1941 in the published history of the aircraft but Cat.A/FA damage would seem the likely assessment. It was almost certainly repaired on site and immediately transferred to the OADU at Portreath once repaired. On 28th December 1941, whilst positioning for a ferry flight to Gibraltar, control was lost and the aircraft crashed near Weston Super Mare. Cat.E2/FA damage was recorded on the paperwork.