Wellington RP555 near Topcliffe airfield.
On 13th January 1948 this No.1 Air Navigation School aircraft took off from Topcliffe in the mid-afternoon so the pilot could train on instrument flying. Also on board was a
second pilot who was acting as an instructor, a radio operator and a passenger. The purpose of the latter was so that he could carry out radar tests during the flight. The aircraft
took off in the gusty conditions with the pilot having to use both hands to maintain lateral control, the aircraft climbed normally to 400 feet but after which the nose rose sharply.
The pilot pushed the control column forward to try and make the aircraft return to level but this had no effect, full power was applied but the aircraft continued to climb at this
rate until it was at about 1000 feet. The speed of it had now dropped to 80 knots so the pilot ordered the crew to bale out before it stalled. Only the second pilot was able to
get out before the nose sank and the aircraft entered a dive from which it could not be recovered from. The survivor sustained slight injuries after being dragged by his parachute
when on the ground after it caught in the strong wind. The other three had no chance to get out before it crashed and were sadly killed in the crash at 15.00hrs. The resulting
investigation found that the aircraft had been stored outside in a strong wind without any control locks been installed. The strong wind had, over time, effected the elevator
control cable and it was thought that it had become disconnected. Whilst it appeared to operate normally when the control column was moved it had no effect on the elevators.
Pilot - P2 (W/O) William Frederick Barber RAF (1614255), aged 25. Buried Market Harborough Cemetery, Leicestershire.
Signaller - Sig2b (W/O) Kenneth John Feary RAF (1813068), aged 23. Buried Highgate Cemetery, London.
Passenger - AC1 Peter Arthur Lindus RAF (3088756), aged 19. Of St Lukes, Surrey. Cremated Croyden.
Instructor Pilot - P2 Frederick Osmond Bosomworth RAF, slightly injured.
William Barber was the son of William and Gladys Evelyn (nee Dexter) Barber and was born on 7th December 1922 at Market Harborough. He had served in the RAF for six years.
His funeral was held at Little Bowden Church, Leicestershire.
Kenneth Feary (pictured far right) was born on 21st January 1924 in the Pancras district of London and was the son of John William and Emily Adelaide (nee Adams) Feary.
Peter Lindus was born on 5th April 1928 at Croyden, London and was the son of Arthur A and Christina A (nee Viney) Lindus.
Frederick Bosomworth was born on 4th March 1915 at Lincoln and was the son of Frederick Charles and Emily (nee Owston) Bosomworth. He married Mary Lund in March 1940 at Knaresborough. Mr
Bosomworth later became President of the RAFA, Harrogate Branch. He died in the Harrogate area in 1982. I thank his granddaughter for contacting me in 2024.
The location of the crash is still visible and is shown by the bare patch in this photograph.
The two photographs above show a piece unique to the Wellington / Warwick design and is a geodetic joining plate, the inspection stamp "VABL" shows the aircraft to have been made in the Blackpool factory thus confirming that this was a Wellington crash site amongst the many Halifax's which came down in within a few fields. The photograph below shows another part found and is currently unidentified though is clearly some form of ball joint. I visited the crash site in September 2008 with Ken Reast, Albert Pritchard and Eric Barton. I would like to thank Ken for arranging this visit and to the landowner for his help.
I would also like to thank Mr John Campbell for contacting me regarding this incident, he was stationed at Topcliffe at the time and witnessed the crash from the top of the Sgt's Mess, having heard the engines screaming just prior to the crash occurring. Thanks also to him for the photograph of Ken Feary.