A heart warming story
Saw this guy being interviewed on TV a few days ago. During WW2, when he was 8, he witnessed a USAF aircraft crash in his local park in Sheffield. He never forgot the 10 dead crewmen and virtually everyday since he has placed fresh flowers on the memorial (which he helped to set up ) and kept it clean and tidy. Now he has been rewarded with a combined USAF/RAF flypast to mark the 75th anniversary of the crash. In this day and age I thought it was a lovely story. There is more info on the BBC News website.
BBC vid
Yes I watched this when it first went out. It seems that Dan Walker the BBC person on 'Breakfast' who lives in Sheffield met him when walking his dog in the park. Quite remarkable and I found it very emotional. If I lived further north I would go there, hope that the weather stays good for the occasion.
The aircraft didn't just crash! What makes this more poignant is the aircraft pilot was desperate and looking for somewhere to land. As it came lower and lower the pilot must have seen the lads on the park playing football because it suddenly pulled up and veered away, just to crash further on. The gentleman concerned knew how heroic this was and has looked after the site of the memorial every since.
The report is here if you would like to read more
The report is here if you would like to read more
I should have added that I was particularly interested in this article because a few years ago I visited a remote USAF Liberator aircraft wreck site in NW Scotland (nr Badachro). The aircaft was returning to the US after the war had ended but unexplicably crashed on a lonely mountain side. All 15 people on board died. For anyone interested the OS grid ref is 808 712 and info can be found by searching 'Fairy Lochs wreck' . There is a lot of wreckage strewn around including u/c, engines/props , wings etc although most of the remaining aircraft wreck is in the adjoining loch. So sad that they died after the war had ended and in such a lonely, remote place.
Very remote and about an hours walk (mainly uphill and boggy !)
Very remote and about an hours walk (mainly uphill and boggy !)
One of my first ever memories was when my dad took me to the scene of a recently crashed Spitfire just after the war, known as the 'Camelsdale Spitfire' I was 3 and a half years old. I can still remember the smell of the Glycol antifreeze. I should add that the pilot had been killed and taken away before we arrived.
In 2013 I researched it again and eventually found the site where there is now a small stone memorial in the woods. (I remember it as being an open area with no trees then.)
In 2013 I researched it again and eventually found the site where there is now a small stone memorial in the woods. (I remember it as being an open area with no trees then.)
There are several crash sites around the Brecon Beacons but the one I always return to is on Moel Feity, where a PB4Y Liberator crashed during a training flight in 1944. The six American crew members were killed. It's a beautiful place tinged with sadness. There are always poppies there so it's not just me that visits. I always try and tidy up as the few bits of aluminium remaining are often strewn around by the wind or animals. There are two memorials, one a few yards away.
Today is the 75th anniversary of the Sheffield tragic crash. There will be a flypast of military aircraft there at 0845 today, the BBC (1) has set up their Breakfast programme live from the park so it might be worth watching or recording the programme...................
