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North Staffordshire
Royal British Legion News March 2007 |
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News Friday
16 March 2007 |
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1947 Staffordshire Moorlands crash remembered. |
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 The
Chairman and members of the Leek, Staffordshire, Branch
of the Royal British Legion and the Leek Royal Air Force
Association attended a service of commemoration in the
bleak Staffordshire Moorlands on the 60th Anniversary of
the crash of a Halifax bomber delivering supplies to a
snow-bound moorland village.
The Handley-Page Halifax of 47 Squadron, with six Royal
Air Force personnel and two press photographers on
board, was on a mercy flight on 13th February, 1947, to
drop food and supplies to the villages of Grindon and
Butterton which had been cut off by high snow-drifts. In
horrendous flying conditions, the Halifax struck high
ground at Grindon Moor and exploded, killing all on
board. The villagers have never forgotten the sacrifice
of the men who died trying to help them and each year
hold a Service of Commemoration at the Parish Church of
All Saints, Grindon.
In 1999, a memorial cairn was built near the site of the
crash and unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant of
Staffordshire. A plaque on the cairn records the name of
the eight men who died.
 The 60th Anniversary Commemoration Service on Sunday,
18th February, 2007, was presided over by the Bishop of
Lichfield, the Right Reverend Jonathan Gledhill and
attended by over 150 people. In addition to the Legion
Standards from Leek and Waterhouses, a contingent from
47 Squadron paraded their new Squadron Standard along
with the Leek R.A.F.A. Standard. Descendants of some of
the men who were killed in the crash were also present,
including the two sons of the pilot, Squadron Leader
Donald McIntyre, the daughter of Warrant Officer Gordon
Chapman, the brother of Sergeant William Sherry and the
brother of press photographer David Savill.
Following the service, the congregation and association
members watched a fly-past by a C47 Hercules of 47
Squadron, currently based at RAF Lyneham. Legion and
Association members, accompanied by the relatives of the
dead, then made their way across fields to the crash
site where wreaths were laid at the memorial cairn.
Mr Geoffrey Robinson B.E.M., Chairman of the Leek Branch
of the Royal British Legion who laid one of the wreaths,
recalled the aftermath of the crash:
"I was fifteen in
1947 and still at school. The day after the Halifax
crashed the school was closed because of the bad
weather. A friend and I made our way to Grindon by
hitching a ride on a tractor and walking the last three
miles. As schoolboys we were naturally curious to see
the wreckage. There was still a lot of snow on the
ground and a heavy frost made conditions very bad. The
snow was so deep it was impossible to distinguish where
walls and hedges were but the hard frost had made it
possible to walk on the snow quite easily. We eventually
reached the site of the crash on the top of Grindon Moor
and were met with a scene of utter devastation with
wreckage strewn over a wide area. It was a very tragic
sight and knowing men had died trying to help others
made it particularly sad. It is one thing in my life I
have never forgotten".
Photographs courtesy of Alan Brundrett and Pat Butler.
Article by Christopher Sheldon Leek Branch
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County News Archive |
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© Royal British Legion in North Staffordshire 2006
, Registered Charity No 219279, Haig House, Ferranti Court, Gillette Close, Stafford Tec Park, Beaconside, Stafford, ST18 0LQ
Telephone: 01785 226526 Fax: 01785 226537