Major A W Hewetson

The memorial to the second fatal plane crash on Salisbury Plain is sited in the southeast corner of the Fargo Plantation on the A344 road to Shrewton half a mile west of Stonehenge. It commemorates the death of Major A.W.Hewetson of the 66th Battery Royal Field Artillery in an accident when he crashed taking his test for his aviaters licence having travelled all the way from India to learn to fly. The test for this was, by todays standards, pretty simple. All that was required was to demonstrate that they could take-off and land safely and complete a figure of eight turn which was witnessed by ground based official observers. He lost control in a turn and crashed on the aerodrome at Larkhill. But there is another memorial unknown to most; it is in the field that formed the Larkhill aerodrome. A suitably inscribed flagstone was positioned on the crash site; it was surrounded by a white painted post and rail enclosure. This had suffered from the ravages of time with a bush growing out of the enclosure. This has now been restored but not too sypathetically. The new enclosure is rather massive with a gate entrance, and has not really entered into the spirit of the original memorial.. The use of galvenised water pipe is very practical but is an inappropriate material for a memorial; but at least the legend on the stone is legible once more, even if it is cut into a slate plaque. But there is a human side to this sad story, a photograph taken at the time showed a young lad leaning on his bicycle near the wreckage, when it appeared in the press he lost his job as he should have been at work. But he was reinstated when he explained that he saw the crash and went into the field to help. But it was the circumstances that surround the incident that indicates how times have changed. The las cycled from his home in Lavington en-route to Bulford Camp wher he was employed. But it is the time of day that is significant. The most practical time for these early aviaters to fly was either very early morning or late evening when prevailing winds were usually relatively light. Therefore flying tests would be taken during early mornings and Major Hewetson’s test was very early. The lad concerned was due to start work at seven o’clock, the point of all this is, who today would live in Lavington, work twenty miles away in Bulford and be prepared to cycle to work for seven o’clock in the morning?
The better known memorial in the corner of Fargo Plantation was unveiled exactly one year after his accident. It originally had a low ornamental fence surrounding the square base but this progressively disappeared over the years. The inscription having suffered the ravages of time has been replaced by a grey slate plaque, like the one in the old aerodrome that accurately records the details but does little to enhance the appearance of the memorial. It is rather sad that the considerable expense of restoring these two memorials could not have taken into consideration the design of the originals and restored them accordingly.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/884670