The Deadliest Wartime Air Crash in New Forest History

Рет қаралды 3,411

11 ай бұрын

On Friday the 13th of August, 1943, thirteen men were killed when two aircraft collided over the village of Sway in the New Forest.
A Vickers Wellington of 407 Squadron (RCAF) left RAF Chivenor in Devon on an anti-submarine patrol. On returning to the English coastline, bad weather including fog meant it was diverted to land at Beaulieu Airfield in the New Forest.
A few hours later, the tired crew took off from RAF Beaulieu, and the Wellington was soon flying over the village of Sway to the west of the airfield, flying just below the clouds. Unbeknown to the crew they were now in the flight path of an RAF Halifax of 502 Squadron that had taken off from the nearby RAF Holmsley South airfield on a test flight.
The two aircraft collided, and both crashed on separate sites in the village of Sway. All 6 crew of the Wellington died, as did all 6 crew of the Halifax.
As if this wasn’t tragic enough, when the Halifax came down, it crashed onto the home of Peter Jenvey who lived in a railway coach converted into a caravan in a field. He was 68 and had moved from Southampton to the New Forest, as he thought it a safer place to be away from German bombing.
He was also killed, bringing the overall death toll to 13.
Wellington (MP622) - RCAF (Canadians)
F/L Beverley W. Pritchard
F/O Nicholas J. Tuchtie
F/O Harold M Tarver
F/S Alan A. Johnston
F/S Thomas Main
F/O Allison G. Tatton
Halifax (JB902) - RAF
W/O Francis W Brands
F/S Gerald W. Hawkes
F/S Edwin C. Hainsworth
F/S Henry L. H. Bainton
F/S Lawrence E. Burgess
F/S Leslie Fraser
Peter Jenvey (civilian on the ground in Sway)
You can read more on the following links
nfhwa.org/new-forest-worst-ai...
rafbeaulieu.co.uk/memory-of-w...

Пікірлер: 16

@RaggyAl1971 8 ай бұрын

Nice respectful video,the title could have been worded better though without the "deadliest" in it.

@TrexplorerUK 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for the comment, and I can understand why this thought has crossed your mind. I gave the title to this a lot of thought before publishing the video, and went back and forth whether or not to use that word. The reason I chose to in the end was simple, but let me explain first. I have the utmost respect for the men who lost their lives in the accident, and hope that comes through in the film and our efforts to find the sites. I spend a lot of time researching stories of those who served in the New Forest as want them to be remembered, and i do this with videos like this, articles in local newspapers I write, a book I’m working on, and so on. Otherwise they would get forgotten about. My experience tells me that with this particular medium, KZfaq, you get more eyeballs on the films by using a catchy looking image, and a headline to match. Likely why you chose to view it, I imagine. As unfortunate as it is, that’s how this platform works, and means I’ve probably more people clicking the short film to learn about all 13 men, whom otherwise they’d not have heard of and learned about… And that’s a good outcome I believe.

@harbourwoodlandvisitor2445 11 ай бұрын

thanking you very much for this video. every time i cycle past Holmsley South campsite i think of the brave folk who had been there in the 1940s and i thank them out loud as a cycle pass the concrete stands where there aircraft once stood hoping that at least of one of there spirts may hear my voice of gratitude telling them they are not forgotten by us.

@TrexplorerUK 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for the kind comment, and I am know exactly what you mean, and how you feel. This accident seems to have not really been discussed much, and there certainly wasn't much about it that I could find, so am glad could tell the story and help them be remembered a little.

@SpitfireCGI 11 ай бұрын

Fantastic investigative insight into the tragic events of that day and videos like this ,right now in our time are perfect to link it all together, as they fought for us and we in turn remember them and learn their story.

@TrexplorerUK 11 ай бұрын

Thank you chap, appreciate the comment. Agreed,.

@kostas9329 9 ай бұрын

I'm writing my honours history thesis on ten soldiers from my neighbourhood in Scarborough, Canada and one of them was aboard the Wellington MP622. I stumbled across your video while doing research for the paper, and I want to thank you folks for honouring everyone who passed in this tragic accident.

@TrexplorerUK 9 ай бұрын

Hi Kostas, thank you for your comment. There were thousands of Canadians in the New Forest during the Second World War. In fact, one of the airfields I mentioned, Beaulieu, the nationalities with the highest casualty rates flying from it were Canadians. There's a Canadian war memorial in the area too, so as a broad brush, Canada hasn't been forgotten. However, many of the names and incidents have. This accident a perfect case in point. Not many people know of it, as the incident wasn't passed through a couple of generations.

@TrexplorerUK 9 ай бұрын

PS: Good luck with your research and paper.

@SueNewman-Crane 8 ай бұрын

That was so moving. Well done. Marc and Richard.

@TrexplorerUK 8 ай бұрын

Thank you Sue

@davidstewart4825 8 ай бұрын

good video and applaud for your effort in remembering these men...im from Southampton and lived near Eastleigh airport..great history there....

@TrexplorerUK 8 ай бұрын

Hi David, thank you for taking the time to watch and leave a comment. I agree with Eastleigh, there was actually an incident there I was researching possibly for a new video - I might do that if I get a chance this next 6 months or so - thank you again!

@codycoyote6912 6 ай бұрын

Thank you.

@MavAuto-Pete 2 ай бұрын

Strange and sad there is not much info about the accident on the Web. Thanks for sharing the info 😊

@TrexplorerUK 2 ай бұрын

I completely agree Pete... it was the worst over the Forest, but by no means the only one. I have researched there were approximately 100 air incidents in the New Forest in WW2... crazy. Not all were fatal, but the incidents were huge. There are so many other names forgotten. I will attempt to document more when I can