Flight Captain Bernard Short.

[THANKS
PAUL F
I RICHARD BIRD.
THE SON OF SENIOR FLIGHT ENGINEER ARTHER BIRD I
WASE ONLY 5 YEARS OLD.
THANK FOR PLACEING FLOWERS ON MY FARTHERS GRAVE.

A.T.A ARTHER BIRD.

HI
Kev35
THANKS EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED IN
RESEARCH FOR MY FARTHER. FLIGHT ENGINEER
ARTHER BIRD.

Sorry chaps but I have recently just stumbled across this thread. I have been very impressed with all the work that has gone on here. Just to add a bit more to scene, below are combined extracts form both the Station Diary and the OAPU ORB’s from Kemble around the time of the incident.

18.1.42 Substantial fall of snow during the night, ceased at 08.00hrs. Visibility all day was 10/10th, depth of snow was 2 inches.

18.1.42 Heavy snow and fog through to the 24.1.42.

19.1.42 Snow falling steadily until 14.00hrs, snow plan in operation from 15.00hrs.

20.1.42 08.00hrs runway being cleared of snow. All personnel employed.

21.1.42 Runway clear in the morning, and flying in progress until 16.30hrs.

22.1.42 More snow at 15.15hrs, very heavy. No flying, bad visibility.

24.1.42 Full flying programme commenced.

27.1.42 Snow fell at 11.45hrs, turning to sleet.

Now we have a more close-in picture of the positions if they were flying Kirkbride to Ringway.

To hit Eel Crag they were 8 miles off a direct track after a very short time aloft.

However there is no reason to suppose they would have taken a direct route. Climbing out of an airfield in hilly terrain you would tend to find a safer area to climb to altitude before setting course.

I need to dig up a N England half-mil

Moggy

Support and interest are defined by the kind of actions shown to make it so. You are doing a grand job, and doing one of the forgotten proud.

Thank you for the kind comment. I am hoping for some more information over the next few days.

It never fails to astonish me how contacts are made and new information comes to light. For every blind alley one follows, somehow, someone, quite often from this forum, offers you another avenue to follow.

What I’m trying to say is thank you to everyone for your continued interest and support.

Regards,

kev35

I’m very moved by this – congratulations to you all.

“The ATA – brief glory, but not forgotten.”

So Kirkbride, the base of another Ferry Pool, played refuge to JP182 that day.
On the second attempt, if they were going to Manchester, they would have followed the green track on the map below, taking them away from Eel Crag. If they had gone direct to Kemble by the straightest route they would have followed the broken red line.

I have read somewhere that it was best practice in bad weather to turn out to sea and approach the coast again when the weather was better. If that is so, might it be possible that the crew were making an attempt to turn out to sea when they encountered the high ground? Either way, it seems there was very little in it.

Thanks Moggy for your efforts, much appreciated.

Regards,

kev35

Negative. You’ll need to refer to the this map from Page 1 of the thread for the crash site. (The other black cross on the map above is Carlisle airfield)

Moggy

Thanks Rob. Is the crash site marked with the black cross? With Kirkbride being the first turn?

Getting a little confused here……

Regards,

kev35

Forget all that – Bingo!

Found Kirkbride airfield – Scheduled as “Totally unfit for night flying”

Military Airfields, Steve Willis & Barry Holliss

Moggy

As you can see, adding Carlisle takes them a little nearer the crash site,

whilst Manchester moves the track away from it.

Still an almost straight track though.

Moggy

Once again courtesy of Navbox Pro.

Allocated JP182 for the flight to Kemble, it has now come to light that the extreme weather conditions forced Flight Captain Short to land at Kirkbride? near Carlisle. Conflicting memories suggest that the was to continue his flight direct to Kemble, although it is also said that he was to land at Manchester to pick up another crew. I have not yet established which is the case. Perhaps Moggy would do me the service of providing further route maps including both of these possibilities? (A pint of something suitable will be waiting.)

Regards,

kev35

The bribe isn’t necessary, but will be appreciated 😀

Moggy

First of all, I’m really sorry for the delay in posting these photographs and this update, unfortunately, I haven’t felt too well since my return from Manchester.

The wreath laying went as planned at 12:30. It looked as though the grass in the Churchyard had recently been cut so there was little to do. The first image shows Michael Kinghorn (T5) laying the wreath. The second shows the three members of the commercial forum who accompanied me. Left to right are Michael, Andrew Simpson (A330 crazy) and Tom (LBARules.) The final image is of the wreath in situ.

I’d like to thank all three of them for accompanying me and showing an interest in the work of Flight Captain Short. A special thank you to Michael for assisting me when I visited the Airport Archives in the afternoon. Michael will be playing a significant part in the proposed developments, more of which later.

I have to thank Ant Harrington for producing a drawing of the ATA badge for placement behind the wreath. I will also be forever indebted to Paul F for visiting Arthur Bird’s grave at exactly the same time. Although not a forum member, Paul Isherwood of the Airport Archives was of considerable assistance and a pleasure to meet. I will be visiting the archive in the next two weeks for further research so I am grateful for his guidance and enthusiasm.

So, what did I Find? Curiously, very little, yet an awful lot. I was stunned to find the variety of aircraft types flown in one pilot’s logbook during the course of a single month…

Corsair
Spitfire
Hurricane
Fulmar
Barracuda
Magister
Martinet
Blenheim
Mustang
Anson
Oxford
Mosquito

And all of these with the aid of just a single sheet of pilot’s notes.

On the 24th of January, Bernard Short had been delivered to Kinloss via Preston by another 14 Ferry Pool pilot, Leo Carter. Allocated JP182 for the flight to Kemble, it has now come to light that the extreme weather conditions forced Flight Captain Short to land at Kirkbride? near Carlisle. Conflicting memories suggest that the was to continue his flight direct to Kemble, although it is also said that he was to land at Manchester to pick up another crew. I have not yet established which is the case. Perhaps Moggy would do me the service of providing further route maps including both of these possibilities? (A pint of something suitable will be waiting.)

As to the ‘proposed developments.’ I have become intrigued by the life of Flight Captain Short and very moved by his death alongside his Flight Engineer, Arthur Bird. I now know that Flight Captain Short lodged at the Airport Hotel at Ringway. This establishment flourishes today and the garden looks onto the threshold of Runway 06 Left/24 Right. Having received the permission of Robinson’s Brewery and that of the current tenant, it is proposed that a bench be situated in the garden in memory of Bernard Short and Arthur Bird. I have secured the necessary permissions and the services of the airport Padre, Reverend Vincer. Mr. Short is delighted that his Father and Arthur Bird are to be remembered in this way. It is proposed that the dedication of this bench will take place on a Tuesday or Wednesday in the first two weeks of October.

In the meantime, new contacts are being made and further research is being carried out. With the assistance of Paul F it is hoped that we may be able to trace relatives of Arthur Bird. As always, if anyone out there has any information or can help in any way I would be most grateful.

Regards,

kev35

In Memory….

As discussed in thread above, yesterday I placed some flowers on the grave of Capt Short’s Flight Engineer, at about same time as Kev35 and others were hoping to place flowers on Captain Short’s final resting place in Manchester.

– May you Rest in Peace Gentlemen, and thanks for your contribution to the War effort.

Paul F

Everything is in place for the wreath laying tomorrow and I shall also be visiting the airport archives. Here’s hoping all goes well. Thanks to everyone for their assistance and kind words and a particular vote of thanks to Paul F for his help in ensuring that both Flight Captain Bernard Short and Senior Flight Engineer Arthur Bird will be remembered simultaneously.

Just two men out of millions lost in war, two out of approximately 180 ATA personnel lost in the course of their duties. Gone, but not forgotten.

Regards,

kev35

Can’t join you, but I’ll be there in spirit. Good stuff chaps.

Remembering Capt Bernard Short & Arthur Bird

Just to Bump this back up the list.

As Kev 35 says, I will be laying some flowers for Arthur Bird in Edenbridge on Weds at 12:30 at same time as Kev and the group at Manchester remember Bernard Short.

Any other forumites in the Edenbridge area are welcome to join me, please PM to arrange etc.

Paul F

Thanks Ian.

If anyone has any clues on the activities of 14 Ferry Pool and the detail thereof, can they please put me on the right track. The ORB for that unit appears not to have survived, or at least not reached the NA at Kew.

The more I learn, and there’s NO doubt this forum has played a very significant part in that learning process, the more determined I become to get to the bottom of each investigation. Carrying out some of the less glamorous duties, the men and women of the ATA are no less deserving of our respect. It must have been an incredible challenge flying so many varied types of aircraft without the benefits of the Conversion Courses given to service pilots. Although less at risk from enemy action, the hazards encountered during ferrying, both aircraft that were new and those that had been damaged, were comparable to those of Service crews. Perhaps this is why the story of Flight Captain Bernard Short has touched me so much.

Regards,

kev35

I can only reiterate Moggy’s comment about the thanks that are due to you Kev for your work in this area. It was a pleasure to meet you on Wednesday, albeit well overdue and as we discussed, these stories should be kept alive. We are all too familiar with the epic feats of the famous that have been told so many times and rightly so, but we should never forget the unsung heroes, such as those in the ATA and convoys etc who went about their job on a day to day basis to keep this country alive and for whom recognition is long overdue.