On the night of 1st October 1943 the pilot of this aircraft took off from Catfoss airfield at 23.13hrs to undertake his first solo night-flight in a Beaufighter with No.2 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit; probably a night circuit flying exercise. This common exercise would involved taking off, flying a circuit of the airfield, landing and then applying power and taking off again with the procedure continuing for a number of times allowing the pilot to gain experience flying solo at night in a Beaufighter. Such first-time solo night flights were usually made immediately after an instructor had flown a few circuits of the airfield with the trainee before leaving the aircraft but in this case the trainee pilot appears not to have been given dual night-flying instruction by an instructor. A minute after leaving the ground and while making a low right hand circuit of Catfoss airfield the Beaufighter struck the ground very close to Leven with the starboard wing tip, crashed and exploded. Sadly the pilot was killed in this incident.
Pilot - P/O Albert McKenzie Ruthven RCAF (J/23615), aged 23. Of Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (C/C/6).
Albert Ruthven was born on 15th March 1920 in Alliston, Ontario, Canada and was the son of Franklin Albert and Kathleen (nee Dorriefield) Ruthven. After leaving high school he began working as a commercial artist. He enlisted for RCAF service on 6th November 1941 in Windsor, Ontario and after basic pilot training he was awarded his pilot's wings on 5th February 1943. During a period of leave he then married Birdie May Glassford in Chatham, Ontario on 6th February 1943 and his commission was granted on 12th February 1943. He left Canada for service overseas at the end of May 1943 and arrived in the UK a few days later. Having then trained at 20 (P)AFU from 29th June 1943 he was posted to 2 (C)OTU on 31st August 1943.
His younger brother Sgt James Roy Addison Ruthven RCAF (R/169893) was killed flying with 431 Squadron on 29th December 1943 when Halifax LK659 was lost on an operational flight to Berlin. He and the rest of his crew are all buried in Berlin War Cemetery. Another brother Lorne Ellison Ruthven RCAF (R/272548) served as a member of ground crew and survived the War.
Air historians Albert Pritchard, Eric Barton and Ken Reast with East Yorkshire aviation expert Rodney Robinson located small fragments on the surface at the crash site in January 2003 with permission from the landowner, confirming the crash location. Eric retained two fragments following his visit.