Tiger Moth G-AOAE near Tadcaster.

On Saturday, 21st January 1959 this aircraft took off from an unknown airstrip with the pilot intending on checking the weather and cloud base conditions. It had probably taken off from either Yeadon or Sherburn in Elmet. Owing to the low cloud the home airstrip became obscured in low cloud. After around forty five minutes flying time the pilot descended through a gap in the clouds, he located a football field and attempted to force land on the field at Tadcaster Ings. On the approach to land the aircraft headed toward some power lines and the pilot took evasive action to avoid flying into them. In doing so the aircraft stalled and struck the ground. It received what appears to have been substantially damage. Purely conjecture on my part but one of the owners of the aircraft had links to Joshua Tetley brewery at Tadcaster and it may have been in the area for this reason.

Pilot - Name unknown.

This aircraft had initially been an RAF aircraft and carried the serial N6737. It remained an RAF aircraft until 1955 when it was sold to the civilian market and first registered as G-AOAE on 15th March 1955 to Douglas Bianchi, of Ashford, Middlesex. On 7th February 1958 the ownership changed to three men under the Yorkshire Territorial Flying Group. James Arthur Henry Bray, of Adel, Leeds; Peter John Simmonds, of Leeds and Richard James Tetley, of Moortown, Leeds. On 3rd March 1959 it was sold to Michael Rockliff, of Bradford but was listed as being permanently withdrawn from use on 18th February 1963. It appears to have been stored at Yeadon until 1962, then taken to Sherburn in Elmet, then had it's fuselage stored at Denham until 1968.

Richard James Tetley was the son of Brigadier James Noel Tetley DSO, owner of the Joshua Tetley and Son brewing company of Tadcaster. Richard Tetley later took over.

James Bray was the son of Col George Bray MC and Mrs Constance Bray, of Causeway House, Adel. Col.Bray was chairman and managing director of George Bray and Co.Ltd. general precision engineers in which his son James was a director.

Peter Simmonds I have been unable to trace much information other than for an entry in the London Gazette in 1965 when he appears to have been declared bankrupt.

The three men, under the "Yorkshire Territorial Flying Group" name owned Auster G-ANIK which crashed at Guiseley on 3rd March 1962 killing the pilot, his daughter and another child.

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