Scattered among the graves at Ann’s Hill Cemetery Gosport are a few graves with memorials to Officers and men of the Royal Flying Corps and the newly formed Royal Air Force based at Grange (Fort Grange) Airfield Gosport. A few of them briefly document the reason of the death as a flying accident.
One of the more well known graves is a memorial to Captain Beaufoi John Warwick Montressor Moore RFC who was an assistant to the famous developer of the ‘Gosport Tube’: Smith Barrie. Captain Moore died on 10th June 1917 whilst flying from Grange Airfield at Gosport. His plane crashed at Lee-on-the-Solent Golf Links.
He joined the R.F.C. in 1914. He was an electrical engineer, having served his time in the works of Messrs. J. C. Fuller and Son, electrical and telegraph engineers, of Woodland Works, Chadwell Heath. He was a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers. About the time of the outbreak of War he returned from Canada, where he had been engaged on important electrical undertakings, and at once offered himself for service. He was refused a commission on medical grounds, but joined the R.F.C. as a first-class air mechanic. Within a few months he received his commission and pilot’s certificate, and shortly afterwards went to the Front. There he remained for about 12 months, during which time he was recommended for the Military Cross, which he eventually received at the hands of the King at Buckingham Palace on February 14th last.
Click HERE for more on Captain Beaufoi John Warwick Montressor Moore RFC.
Another, very large memorial is to Lieutenant Henry Claude Jack, who served in other roles before he joined the Royal Flying Corps at Grange.
Lieutenant Henry Claude Jack RFC
Born 4 November 1892
Died 1 Sep 1916
He was serving in the Highland Light Infantry when he transferred to the RFC. Born in 1893, he died aged 24 whilst piloting his aircraft, on September 1st 1916. On the morning of the 1st of September that year he took-off from grange aerodrome, he was flying a Henri Farman F20 aeroplane, service no 7445. Lt. Jack had been flying for about fifteen minutes, he was observed from the ground to be at a height of about 600 feet the machine made a right hand turn, losing some 100 feet in the process, it then nose-dived into the ground in a field some two and a half miles from the aerodrome. The machine exploded on impact and caught fire; Lt. Jack had been thrown some thirty feet away from the blazing aeroplane by the crash. At the inquest it was stated that Lieut. Jack was not an experienced flyer, and probably turned at too low a speed.
Lieutenant Ralf Conway Jenkins RFC
Died Dec 2 1917 age 21
Attested for Territorials 25.8.1914, no 653 Royal Garrison Artillery.
He entered the Army on the outbreak of war, at the age of 18, in the Garrison Artillery, afterwards being transferred to the Anti-Aircraft Defence. After a time he was offered the post of despatch rider at Harwich and Felixstowe. From there he went to the front and saw active service for twelve months, the latter four months as aerial observer, with a commission as second lieutenant in the R.F.C. He then returned to England, and, gaining his wings at Gosport, was made an instructor. He was a brother of Brigadier-General Conway Jenkins, R.F.C.
Lieutenant Ralph Conway Jenkins, R.F.C., was killed by the fall of a military aeroplane at Gosport. He made an ascent, taking with him an able seaman of the Royal Navy named Penn. When at an altitude of about 200 feet the machine turned sideways, and it crashed to earth. The officer was instantly killed, and Penn had one of his thighs broken.
Air Mechanic JAMES HERBERT MARTIN R.F.C.
12299, No. 28 Squadron
Age 23 Died 11.3.1916
On the afternoon of Saturday the 11th of March 1916, he made a flight with Captain George Crosfield Norris Nicholson, the son of Baron, Sir Charles Nicholson, and Member of Parliament.
On the day in question, along with his mechanic James H. Martin, they took-off from Grange Aerodrome in a Fe2b, service No. 6362, and were soon flying at an altitude of some 4,000 feet. Observers on the ground stated that that it turned as if to make an “S” turn downwards. When the machine reached about 250 feet from the ground it made a steep “bank,” turning slowly to the left. This developed into a bank of about 60 degrees. The machine then apparently side-slipped, and gaining velocity, moved forward and downward until it made a nose dive down to the ground. The two aeronauts were extricated by those who had witnessed the descent. On his arrival just before four o’clock Surgeon J.N. Glen saw that both aviators were in a dying condition, and each had evidently sustained an extensive fracture of the skull. They were at once removed to the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar. Captain Nicholson died on the way, and the mechanic about a quarter of an hour after admission to the Hospital. They had received severe injuries and death was due in each case to fracture of the skull.
Details
Air Mechanic Richard Nuttall Allen RFC
Death Date: 18 May 1916
Death Place: Gosport
Rank: 2nd Air Mechanic
Regiment: RFC 28 Squadron
Regimental Number: 23582
Allen was accidentally killed while assisting at the flight of an aeroplane, on Wednesday afternoon. The engine had just been started and the machine was about to rise, when a piece of waste was drawn into the cross bracing wire of the tail. In trying to remove this the deceased was struck by the propeller on the head and was killed. The evidence showed that Allen approached the propeller very incautiously. A verdict of “Accidental Death” was returned.
Air Mechanic RICHARD ALLEN, having just joined the Royal Flying Corps, was not used to being around aeroplanes. He was serving with 56th Squadron based at Fort Grange Aerodrome. On the 18th of May 1916, he assisting one of the Squadron’s pilots Lieutenant A.G. Brooke, who was preparing to make a flight. Richard Allen was standing by the side of the aeroplane waiting to remove the chocks from the wheels.
The officer noticed a piece of rag the air mechanic had been using, instructed Allen to pocket the rag before he started the engine, apparently Allen threw it to the ground, blown by the prop-wash when the officer started the engine, the rag became trapped in the machine’s cross bracing wires, being inexperienced Allen, instead of walking around the tip of the wing, he walked underneath the aeroplane and was struck on the head by the spinning propeller blade, killing him.
At the following inquest, it was stated that this was Richard Allen’s first introduction to an aircraft, and he had been warned of the dangers of being near rotating propellers, sadly Allen had forgot the warning, medical aid was rushed to him, but he was already dead. The inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.
2nd Lieutenant William Herbert Arthur RFC
5th Brigade CFA
Killed whilst flying at Gosport Dec 13 1917
Date of Birth May 1, 1890 in Cardiff
Occupation before the war – Locomotive Fireman
39 (Home Defence) Squadron RFC/RAF
Born in South Wales, William Herbert Arthur enlisted in the Canadian Army in November 1914 at the age of 24. Arriving in England in August 1915, his record shows that he was promoted to the rank of “S.Sgt. (Fitter)” a month later while at Otterpool Camp. Having embarked for France, something obviously went wrong in his career path, for at the end of June 1916 he was reduced to the ranks for incompetence. Five months later he was awarded his Good Conduct Badge, and promotion to Corporal followed in April 1917.
Arthur applied for the Royal Flying Corps and was sent to England in July 1917, where he was posted for duty at the R.F.C. Depot, South Farnborough, pending his transfer to the R.F.C. Cadet Wing. He received his commission as Second Lieutenant on 11th October 1917, but a little over one month later he died in a flying accident at, or near, Gosport.
Killed while flying Sopwith F1 Camel B2536
2nd Lieutenant George Simpson Bateman RFC
2nd Battalion Canadian Infantry
At 11.30am on the morning of Thursday the 18th of May 1916, two officers, Lieutenant’s ARTHUR PENROSE SELWYN and GEORGE SIMPSON BATEMAN, made an ascent in an aeroplane. The flight under the direction of a Lt. Norman B. Paterson, who in evidence at the inquest, stated that ‘both men were very good airman’, Lt. Selwyn was flying the machine, and was the more experienced of the two, Lt. Bateman was in the observers seat.
The aeroplane, although not identified, was stated to be a modern type. It had been examined before the flight, and found to be in good working order. After taking off, the machine climbed to a height of about of between 300 – 400 feet. During a turn to the right, the machine was seen from the ground, to nose-dive and plummet into the ground at Holbrook. At the hearing, Lt. Paterson when questioned, was of the opinion that ‘the pilot had attempted to turn the machine at an insufficient height, and the aeroplane had stalled’. Lt. Bourchier was the first officer to reach the stricken aviators. Both men were taken from the wreckage, and were found to have died of their injuries.
Lt. H.G. Smart, who was airborne at the time, testified that he observed the other aeroplane from a distance of about three-quarters of a mile away. He confirmed that during a turning manoeuvre the left wing dipped, then sank and the machine made a rapid dive into the ground. After the accident, the wreckage of the machine was examined. It was found every control was correctly connected, except for one, which had been broken as a result of the crash. A verdict of accidental death was returned.
Both airmen were buried with service honours, four days later. A CWG headstone (not a RFC one) commemorates Lt. Bateman, Plot 48 Space 25 and Lt. Selwyn, Plot 52 Space 57, both.
Lieutenant Robert Victor Bartley AFC
Born 1887, Victoria, Australia
Enlisted in the Army: 5 January 1916
Served with No. 5 (Training) Squadron, Australian Flying Corps,
attached to No. 1 School of Special Flying RFC
Died 3 July 1918
On 3 July 1918, Second Lieutenant Bartley was killed in the crash of Sopwith Camel C.9 at Gosport. He took off from Fort Grange, Gosport, Hampshire at 2.30 pm on 3rd July, 1918 flying a Sopwith Camel No. C 9 solo. The purpose of the flight was for practice & the weather conditions were fine.
The aircraft was seen to come out of a half roll, partly flatten out and then go into a steep dive and crash. The Court of Enquiry found that, during some part of a manoeuvre, Second Lieutenant Bartley must have pulled the stick back so quickly as to cause his head to be thrown forward onto the guns. The impact was sufficient to render him insensible, after which he fell forward on the stick.
Lieutenant Alexander Burns RFC.
Age 24 Died 20.4.1917
20.4.17: Airco (DeHavilland) D.H.1a A1625, 59 (Reserve) Squadron, RFC Fort Rowner, Gosport. Written off (destroyed) when failed to pull out of a spinning nose dive after practice stall, RFC Fort Rowner, Gosport, Hampshire.
On Friday the 20th of April 1917 Lieutenant Burns took off from Grange Aerodrome, and the aircraft had not risen more than 400ft or 500ft, when without warning, the machine appeared to those on the ground to get of control, dipped its nose, and the angle steepened, finally it nose-dived and crashed into the ground. Lieuteenant Burns was badly injured and both his legs were broken. He lived three hours after the accident, the last hour being unconscious. He was taken to the Queen Alexandria Hospital at Cosham, where he died of his injuries shortly after being admitted.
Court of Inquiry 87/7954 – 3/5/17
“Flying accident. Spinning nose dive. Pilot was practicing stalling, and failed to regain control. In the opinion of the Court of Inquiry, the machine was in perfect flying condition before flight. Accident was due to pilot failing to regain control of machine after stalling”.
Lieutenant Ronald Adam Ronaldson Clarke RAF
Military Cross, Royal Flying Corps, he came from Douglas, Isle of Man (where his father Colonel William Ronaldson Clark was the Supervising Medical Officer of the Internment Camps)
R A R Clarke was a member of the 10th Training Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Aged 24, on the 19th of October he made an ascent from Grange Aerodrome in a Camel E service no 1507, during the course of which his aeroplane crashed to ground inside the confines of the aerodrome. He was about 15,000 feet up when his machine suddenly made a nose-dive. When about 200 feet from the ground deceased got the machine out of the dive into a stalling position. It then, however, rolled and nosedived to earth. When he was taken out of the machine life was extinct. His skull was fractured, and there were injuries to the chest. The cause of which was attributed to a sudden squall of heavy wind, which took the inexperienced pilot by surprise. He was at time some two hundred feet above the airfield, and had insufficient height in which to recover the trim of the aeroplane. His death was put down to an accident.
Lieutenant Allen Cowen Coley RFC
Died 6 Mar 1918 age 19
Killed in Action. Flew into sea at night in fog, near Cowes
B.E.2e, School of Aerial Co-operation with Coastal Defence Batteries, Gosport
Corporal Thomas Newson Giddings RFC and General List
Died 5 May 1916 Age 19
Corporal Giddings serving with 28 Squadron RFC was killed by the fall of an aeroplane in which he was flying at Gosport, Hampshire. An officer with him was injured.
2nd Lieutenant Cuthbert Harrison RAF
Date of Death:03/05/1919
Regiment/Service: Royal Air Force 186th Sqdn.
Second-Lieutenant Cuthbert Harrison, Royal Air Force, was killed while flying at Gosport. He was flying a machine for instructional purposes, following another aeroplane piloted by an instructor, when his machine suddenly fell on the railway line between Fareham and Gosport. The petrol tank exploded, and when help arrived Harrison was found to be dead.
Lieutenant John Basil Robert Langley RAF
Born 1888 he was in Canada in 1914 when he signed up.
He was the son of the Reverend John Langley of North Wraxall Rectory, Wiltshire. He was husband to Lorna Leslie Langley, and their home was at ‘Sky’ Amesbury, Wiltshire. Joining the Army, at the outbreak of the war with Kaiser Willhem II’s Germany, he served with the 19th Alberta Dragoons (Canadian Contingent). He made numerous flights over the Western Front observing fall of artillery fire, for his enthusiasm of flying, he was posted back to Gosport for flying instruction, gaining his pilot’s wings.
With the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, forming the Royal Air Force, he was one of the many who found themselves under a different regime. On the 15th of May 1918, aged 29, he took off in a Camel aeroplane, service No. B 847 from Fort Grange, Gosport, during the flight in which he was practising aerial combat, his plane entered a spin, from which it never recovered and plunged to the ground. Lt. Langley, was instantly killed by the impact, suffering a broken neck, leaving a widow, Lorna Leslie Langley and a young family, their home was at Amesbury, Wiltshire. Lieutenant JOHN BASIL ROBERT LANGLEY, R.A.F. was buried on the 19th of May 1918, and is laid to rest, Plot 50 Grave 93, a CWG headstone commemorates him. “
Captain Ivan Mario Mackenzie RFC
Captain Ivan Emilio Mario Mackenzie R.F.C. was born in Genoa, Italy, the son of Evan and Margaret Tenison MacKenzie of 15, Via Cesare Cabella, Genoa, Italy. He qualified as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. With plenty of experience, he became one of the Chief Flying Instructor’s at the School of Special Flying, based at Fort Grange Aerodrome, Gosport.
On the 12th of October 1917 Captain MacKenzie, aged 28, took off in an Avro 504J aeroplane service no B3171. He was accompanied by Captain Andre Gerbe aged 33, of the French Flying Service. Captain Gerbe was in this Country to observe the new training methods adopted at the School of Special Flying based at Grange Aerodrome. The flight was to have been a demonstration of the aircraft’s abilities. The aeroplane climbed to a height of about 1,000-feet, upon reaching that height, Captain Mackenzie began a series of aerobatics manoeuvres. 15 minutes into the flight, observers on the ground watched as the machine commenced to make a spinning nosedive, from which the aeroplane never pulled out of and the machine crashed.
Evidence at the subsequent inquest revealed that Captain MacKenzie and Captain Gerbe were indeed expert pilots. Assistance was rushed to the scene of the crash. Both officers were unconscious on being extricated from the machine, but died soon after admission to the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar, as a result of shock and multiple injuries. In the opinion of a Flying Corps officer, the pilot made an error of judgement, in not having corrected the spin when at a sufficient height to do so. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
Captain Mackenzie was buried on the 16th of October 1917, and is laid to rest, Plot 59 Space 53, and is commemorated by a Family Memorial. Captain Gerbe was returned to France where he was buried.
Lieutenant Lee Thompson Mclaughlin RFC (Thompson-Mclaughlin)
59 Reserve Squadron (4 Yorkshire Regiment pupil )
19 April 1917
Aero accident flying an Airco D.H.1 Aircraft serial A1627
stall too close to the ground, causing aircraft to spin. Gosport.
Lieutenant LEE THOMPSON McLAUGHLIN, Royal Flying Corps, joined the Army at the beginning of the 14-18 War, serving in the 4th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment as a Lieutenant, he saw action on the Western Front, being recommended for a course in flying, He was posted back to Gosport, where he was attached to the Royal Flying Corps. Qualifying for his pilot’s wings, he was placed on the pilot strength of the 59th Reserve Squadron, taking the opportunity to gain as much air experience as possible. The young officer had been attached to the Corps for only about a month for instructional purposes; he had had previous flying experience, and had passed through all his flying tests, except those of night flying.
On the 19th of April 1917 he took off from the Fort Rowner base in a DH1A biplane service no. A1627. At about 3.00pm that Thursday afternoon, he was practising his combat technique. After he had reached an altitude of between 300 – 400 feet. It was observed that the machine was in difficulties after spinning around in a flat spin, the machine nose-dived onto the aerodrome. The fuel aboard the aeroplane ignited and Lt. McLaughlin was burned about the head. He was rushed to a sick ward at nearby Fort Rowner, but died about half an hour later. The cause of the mishap to the machine has not been ascertained. The medical evidence showed that death was due to injuries to the head. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
2nd Lieutenant George Carlton Mills RFC
4 November 1917 aged 26
Lieutenant Mills was killed on afternoon of Sunday 4th November 1917, by the fall of the aeroplane in which he was flying alone. The aeroplane an Avro 504J ‘B’, service no 4251, was a two-seater machine. When at a height of 600 feet, it came into collision with another machine, piloted by Captain Oswald Horsley of the Gordon Highlanders Regiment (attached to the R.F.C.), who was in sole charge. Lt. Mills Avro crashed on the outskirts of the aerodrome. Assistance was promptly sent to the scene, but upon reaching the young officer, he was found to have died. A surgeon who was summoned, and was in attendance within a very short time, stated that Mills had ‘a severe fracture of the skull besides other injuries, which were sufficient to cause his death.’ Captain Horsley testified at the inquiry he saw Lt. Mills machine about 700 yards distant, it was then turning away, soon afterwards he felt his machine struck and was forced downward, his machine turning over. Although it was badly damaged, he recovered control and managed to make a safe descent, and was not hurt. A verdict of accidental death was returned.
AEROPLANES COLLIDE. Young Officer Killed in Hampshire Accident.
Lieut. George Carlton Mills (25), of the Royal Flying Corps, was making an aeroplane flight in South Hampshire yesterday, and when about 600 feet up his machine came into collision with another aeroplane. Lieut. Mills’ machine crashed to the ground, and the officer was picked up dead. The officer in the second aeroplane effected a safe landing.
2nd Lieutenant (T) Walter Scott Morrison RFC
18 March 1917
Initially a Private in 18/Royal Fusiliers No 6291
To France 14.11.1915.
Awarded 15 Star, Victory and British medals
Two officers of the R.F.C., Second-Lieuts. W. S. Morrison and J. J. E. Gray (Regiment/Service:Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry), were killed on Sunday evening 17th March 1917, the aeroplane in which they were making their flight nose-diving to the earth.
Lieutenant Walter Scott Morrison and Lt. John James Elmslie Gray serving with No. 28 Squadron R.F.C. took off from RFC Fort Grange aerodrome in the early afternoon of the 18th of March 1917 in a F.E.2b, service No. 4912. He was practising taking off and landing. This continued, until just after 5.00pm. When achieving an altitude of some 400 feet, the aeroplane was seen by those on the ground, to make strange movements. It then turned over onto its back, the pilot managed to partly correct this, but then inexplicably, the aircraft nose-dived towards the ground, throwing Lt. Gray out of the machine. The fall broke his spinal column, killing him instantly. Lt. Morrison, firmly strapped in came down with the plane, which crashed with tremendous force, he was alive when taken from the wreckage of the aeroplane, but sadly died shortly afterwards from a fractured skull. As a pitiful footnote, Lt. Morrison arrived at the aerodrome having just transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on the day he was killed; it is possible the fatal flight could have been one of his first flights.
Lieutenant Warren Colclough Pemberton
Date of Death:25/04/1916
Age:20
Regiment/Service:Canadian Pioneers 3rd Bn. attd. Royal Flying Corps
Verdict of “Accidental death” was returned 25 April 1916
Lt. Pemberton was drafted to No.40 Squadron RAF, Fort Grange Aerodrome for instruction in flying. On the 25th of April 1916, Lt. Pemberton took off from the aerodrome at 12.45pm in an Avro 504A, service no 4067. The weather on the day was turbulent, with strong gusting winds. The machine rose rapidly to a height of between 100 and 150 feet where it made a sharp left-hand turn downwind, upon doing so the aeroplane dipped its nose and crashed onto the airfield. Lt. Pemberton was taken from the wreckage of the aeroplane, which had caught fire. He was taken to the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar. Where he was treated for a fractured thigh and extensive burns to arms, legs, face, back and severe shock, he survived the night, but passed away during the following morning. At the inquest the suspected cause of the accident was attributed to the fact that the aeroplane ‘got out of the eye of the wind’, obtained a certain amount of drift. And it was surmised that Lt. Pemberton attempted to turn the aircraft too sharply, which caused the machine to side slip and nose-dive into the ground. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
Lieutenant Arthur Penrose Selwyn RFC
Died 18 May 1916 age 26
11th King Edwards Own Lancers (Probyns Horse) attached to the RFC.
Evening Telegraph – Saturday 20 May 1916: Killed by side-slip.
“The circumstances of the deaths of Lieutenant G. S. Bateman and Lieutenant A. P. Selwyn, of the Royal Flying Corps, who were killed in an aeroplane accident on Thursday 18 May 1916, were investigated on Friday by a coroners jury. It was stated that Lieutenant Selwyn, who was the pilot, tried to turn before sufficient height and speed had been attained, with the result that side-slip occurred. Both officers were said to be expert pilots.
At 11.30am on the morning of Thursday the 18th of May 1916, two officers, Lieutenant’s Arthur Penrose Selwyn and George Simpson Bateman, made an ascent in an aeroplane. The flight under the direction of a Lt. Norman B. Paterson, who in evidence at the inquest, stated that ‘both men were very good airman’, Lt. Selwyn was flying the machine, and was the more experienced of the two, Lt. Bateman was in the observers seat.
The aeroplane, although not identified, was stated to be a modern type. It had been examined before the flight, and found to be in good working order. After taking off, the machine climbed to a height of about of between 300 – 400 feet. During a turn to the right, the machine was seen from the ground, to nose-dive and plummet into the ground at Holbrook. At the hearing, Lt. Paterson when questioned, was of the opinion that ‘the pilot had attempted to turn the machine at an insufficient height, and the aeroplane had stalled’. Lt. Bourchier was the first officer to reach the stricken aviators. Both men were taken from the wreckage, and were found to have died of their injuries.
Lt. H.G. Smart, who was airborne at the time, testified that he observed the other aeroplane from a distance of about three-quarters of a mile away. He confirmed that during a turning manoeuvre the left wing dipped, then sank and the machine made a rapid dive into the ground. After the accident, the wreckage of the machine was examined. It was found every control was correctly connected, except for one, which had been broken as a result of the crash. A verdict of accidental death was returned.
Both airmen were buried with service honours, four days later”
Airship Accident
Sergeant Charles Henry Frederick Lewry, A.F.M., R.A.F.
313806, Sergeant, Air Force Medal, Royal Air Force. Age 26
Died 15.7.1919
Sergeant Lewry was killed when the Airship N.S. 11, caught fire and crashed into the North Sea off the East Coast on the 15th of July 1919. The airship had taken off from Pulham Airship Base, Norfolk; en route for Kingsnorth Airship Base, near Ashford, Kent, the crash cost the lives of all of the crew.
Sgt. Lewry, joined the Royal Navy as a boy of 16, during 1915 he transferred to the newly formed Royal Naval Air Service, upon the amalgamation of the R.N.A.S. with the Royal Flying Corps, he was accepted into the new service the Royal Air Force. He saw service with the Grand Fleet on North Sea patrols aboard the early airships. He was awarded the Air Force Medal for his part in a World record breaking endurance flight in February 1919 of which he was one of the crew, the airship flight being under the command of Major Warneford, and which lasted 100 hours 50 minutes. So far as is known, Sergeant Lewry’s body, was the only one to be recovered. He was washed ashore on Cromer Beach, Norfolk, 16 days after the airship crashed. He was believed to have been Steering the airship in the forepart of the car at the outbreak of the fire, the cause of which was proved by scorching on the clothing of Sgt. Lewry’s body. The cause of which was unknown. He was serving as 2nd coxswain, and was onboard to qualify for promotion to Warrant Officer. The inquest felt that his body was probably released when the airship broke in two thus splitting the car apart. It was also surmised that the weight of the engines would have dragged the airship to the seabed, probably trapping the bodies of the remainder of the crew. The inquest recorded a verdict that Sgt. Lewry was found dead on the beach after being washed ashore from the wrecked airship.
Another air accident at Gosport
Blériot monoplane, fatal crash, Gosport, 1 May 1915
It occurred at Fort Grange, Gosport, one of the early RFC depots, when the Blériot monoplane flown by Air Mechanic William Thomas James McCudden suffered engine problems and crashed, killing its pilot. That pilot was the older brother of James Thomas Byford McCudden VC, the WW1 ace who died a little over three years later. Buried at Maidstone Kent.
Sources and Links
https://gosport.info/gosport-history/anns-hill-cemetery-war-graves/
RFC Graves http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?board=108.0
Aviation Safety Network https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/221088
NS11 website http://www.ns11.org/the-last-crew/
A list of fatal air accidents in Britain Jan – Jul 1917 http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1917.htm
Hampshire Air Crashes https://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
Original page created by David Moore.