Airmens' graves

Good afternoon. I’m just replying to this post as I’m researching a story on the 80th anniversary of this crash and calls for a memorial to the pilot. Would anyone know the provenance of the photographs as we’d like to use them in our report for BBC Points West tomorrow. My contact is steve.knibbs@bbc.co.uk and if someone was able to contact me urgently that would be very helpful. Many thanks, Steve. 

From “Wings over Gloucestershire” by John Rennison, 1988:
Harvard I P5885 of 15 FTS spun in near Brockworth on 9.9.40; Sgt W G Lane and Sgt E A Hares were killed.

Just bumping this one up again

Does anyone have any details on Smith, Lane and Parkins?

Thanks chaps…fascinating stuff.

Here is a report of the crash which was supplied by Sgt.George Wilcox sometime in the late 1980s and some photos.

The September 23rd 1940 flight was the completion run of our Operational training prior
to a Squadron posting. It was to take form of a cross country east/west run to the Bristol
Channel followed by a three legged recce off the west coast of England and Wales. We carried
a full bomb load which we were to use if the necessity arose – otherwise we were to simulate
a bomb attack on shipping on the homeward sea leg.
On the extreme leg of our run over the sea the starboard engine failed and we made for
the coast on one engine hoping to touch down for repairs at an airfield south east of
Gloucester. In order to avoid any accidents on landing we jettisoned our bomb load into
the sea and flew in over the the South Wales coast at about 10’000ft. Over the Welsh
hills our port engine failed and the pilot immediatley put the aircraft into a steep dive
in an endeaver to start the engine revolutions. This proved to be successful as for the
port engine was concerned but only for a limited period of time and we had a series of stalls,
steep dives and port engine restarts yet at no time were we in any doubts reaching our
destination. However on the outskirts of Gloucester our luck and and hight ran out and
we pulled out of our final dive just in time to miss a church , cottages and trees before
stalling and crashing into a field in the village of Lower Tuffley.
The Pilot Flight Lt. Coventry was killed instantly the Observer Sgt Jackie Lane was
dragged from the burning wreckage by a young Irish girl, a maid from the local Manor or
Grange, who extinguished the flames of his flying suit, Later awarded the B.E.M
I was hoplessly trapped inside the burning aircraft, entangled in a mass of wires and
cables and only able to move one leg with which in desperation I managed to kick a hole
in the side of the aircraft.
The Dairyman Mr. Cartwright and his wife enlarged the hole and despite my blazing
flying suit untangled me and pulled me through the hole. Mrs Cartwright was still
holding a pair of dressmaking shears she was using when the crash occured and she quickly
slit open my suit and rolled me off the burning fabric. They must of been oblivious of the
intense heat from the blazing aircraft not to say anything of the blazing ammunition.
Hope this helps still looking for details of the others for you.
Best Regards
G.

F/L Robert George Coventry was the pilot of Blenheim IV L8797 of 18 OTU. The aircraft took off from Upwood to carry out a live bomb dropping exercise over Cardigan Bay. The aircraft crash landed at approximately 1430 due to engine failure. Sgt J Lane and Sgt G Wilson were both injured. The aircraft came down near Tuffley on the outskirts of Gloucester.

Information from Chorley’s BCL.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

kev35