1934 Wreckage After Collision in Six-Ship Loop

On the basis that pilotless, badly damaged Bristol Bulldogs are likely to drop like lead balloons, one might expect them to come to earth not far away from where the collision took place. Furthermore, if the eye witness reports are to be accepted, their descents probably were made with less that their full complement of wings!

Funny old thing AA – Dean Lane runs through Alderstead Heath 🙂

According to the Surrey Mirror of 18 May 1934 (q.v. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=23000.msg94817;topicseen#msg94817), the two Bulldogs belonged to No. 3 Squadron, then based at Kenley. Their pilots landed, by parachute, near Chaldon Church. The aeroplanes  crashed to earth in separate fields adjoining Dean Lane, Hooley.

D.S Brookes was OC 74 Sqn in 1936

OC No 74 Squadron

19 Jul 1936 Flt Lt D S Brookes

 1 Sep 1936 Sqn Ldr D S Brookes

It would seem my wild guess was wrong this time! Surprised that he was still pootling about the skies at 34, when presumably he joined up very close to the end of WW1.

Hypersonic

If there had been a WO1 on 3 Sqn he would have been on the Sqn Nominal Roll.

Mr Blampied most definitely joined the RAF (from IWM website ).

Mr Blampied liked the Blue Suit so much he later became an Air Cadet WO 😉

From Unithistories

https://www.unithistories.com/officers/RAF_officers_B01.html

Donald Scott Brookes,at some stage transferred to Technical Branch,retired as Group Captain 1946ish

Brookes,
Donald Scott,20.04.1900
Rugby, Leicestershire
–
(D).1968
Hatfield district, Hertfordshire

Sq.Ldr.
01.10.1936 [17155]

(WS) W/Cdr.
09.12.1944

(T) Gp.Capt.
? (retd 09.10.1946)

Maybe Brooks carried the can?

Sgt Willis, it seems, not only survived the mid-air collision but also WWII (although three of those years were spent as a PoW in Stalag Luft III). Commissioned in 1940, he ended his RAF career in 1956 as a wing commander and officer commanding RAF Cranwell. Oddly, I can find nothing about Flt Lt Brooks’ RAF career subsequent to the mid-air collision.

AI is telling me that WO 2 was indeed around, in the RAF, until 1939. That is something I wasn’t aware of. Despite having served 25 years in the “light blue” force. However, it is possible for him to be on secondment from the Army at the time. Secondments do produce strange anomalies from time to time. If he was established in the RAF, I would have expected there to be a WO 1 above him. The latter serving as the Sqn WO.

Just to show an example of secondment strange happenings. 617 Sqn (perhaps the most RAF of any RAF Sqn) has a new Boss. He is the only RM Fast Jet pilot. To take on the roll he has had to go on secondment to the FAA. Having recently been on secondment to the RAF.

H

Of the men in the list above,  a B P A Boitel-Gill* was with 152 sqn in 1940, Donaldson was a Sqn Ldr with 151 sqn, according to After The Battle’s listing. 

One wonders what the others were doing – instructors? Reservists? Flying a desk? 6 short years later.

*FreeBMD might help ascertain if this is Derek  but is horribly phone unfriendly, and I should br doing other things!

Hi Hypersonic

Mr Blampied was ex Army – the RAF had the WO2 Rank until 1939*( from memory) 😉

Bazv,

Thanks for the RAFWEB data.

A slight correction if I may. “Mr” Blampied is not ex Army – he is Army. There has never been two classes of WO in the RAF. Your either a WO or your not.

However, it is interesting to note two of them made it to 2* (Air Vice Marshal) and another made it to 1* (Air Commodore). Presumably as part of the RAF expansion on the run up to WW II / during WW II.  

H

From RAFWEB

Not sure if link will work as it is in the members area of rafweb

https://www.rafweb.org/Members%20Pages/Unit%20Details/Squadrons/001-050…

3 Sqn Pilots Roll (inc Donald S Brookes) + the wonderfully named WO2 Lionel Blampied DCM,MM who was ex Army and I assume filling the role of ‘Sgt Major/Sqn Warrant Officer’

It appears that the pilots’ full names were Flt Lt Donald Scott Brooks and Sgt James Donald Wakefield Willis.

The Crash site is very close to Kenley (Alderstead Heath) – 3 Sqn were based at Kenley at the time (they had just recently moved to Kenley) and 3 Sqn did have a commissioned pilot called Brookes on strength at the time.I could not check on Sgt Willis as the Sqn Roll I looked at (on RAFWEB) only showed commissioned Officers and a WO2.

So circumstantially I would say probably a 3 Sqn accident,I believe there was another a/c involved in the mid air but presumably made it back to Kenley for some sort of landing (but written off).

RAF Grantham / Spittlegate did have a based unit called 3 FTS. But 3 Sqn was never based there. Grantham is in God’s own county of Lincolnshire – I don’t understand the connection with “Northumberland”.

H

Trumper. Their thinking was that aircrew might bale out rather than fight.

Generals etc., with the intelligence  and common sense of a cheese sandwich.

Not bad for a guess! So that will be K2486 in a heap at the front. 

I did ponder mentioning the narrow rudder meaning that the letter in the serial was above the number looked like Bulldog too, but I realised that I had no idea about other types, and was really meant to be doing other things than looking it up…7

Nice one Adrian. Both aircraft were Bulldogs from 3 FTS at Grantham. They collided over Alderstead Heath, Surrey on 16th May 1934. K2486 and K1651 being the aircraft involved.

Info according to The Scotsman newspaper. Not sure though that 3 (or as they put it – Third) FTS is correct. More likely 3 Squadron?