ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 195569
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| Date: | Friday 8 March 1940 |
| Time: | 05:30 LT |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 61 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | L4111 |
| MSN: | QR-N |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Digby, Scopwick Heath, Lincolnshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Digby, Scopwick Heath, Lincolnshire |
At 20:18 hrs on 7 March 1940 the Hampden Mk.1 L4111 of 61 Squadron RAF went on an ’offensive patrol’ to attack the Luftwaffe base at Sylt, one of the German Frisian Islands. The plane suffered severe damage during the raid and the crew struggled to bring it home. At 02:00 hrs on the 8th they were plotted as just off the English coast, however no requests for bearings were made until 3 hours later. Mist and enemy action held them on the coastline. They managed to get as far as R.A.F. Digby, near Lincoln. The usual method of landing is to perform a left hand turn but, due to difficult conditions, they had to attempt a right hand turn and crashed in the darkness at 05:30 hrs. They were the first aircrew of 61 Sqadron to be lost in the war.
Crew (all killed):
Pilot: 39855 Fg Off Derek Charles Gray Clinkard (New Zealand) -Scotter Cemetery Section B Row D Grave 38.
2nd Pilot: 740516 Sgt Charles Carlile Hobbs - Haltemprice (Hessle) Cemetery Compartment 59 Plot 3 Grave 4.
Observer/Bomb Aimer: 580651 Sgt Ronald Philips Glasson - Vale Road Churchyard Extension Clewer Section B Row B Grave 11.
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: 550803 LAC Winston Kitchener Wood - Blackpool (Layton) Cemetery Section JJ Grave 97.
The pilot was the son of Cecil Henry and Margaret Tessier of Wanganui, Wellington, New Zealand where he attended Wellington High School. After finishing his education he worked in the engine room aboard ship to get his passage to England. He later joined the Royal Air Force on a short service commission. He was based at R.A.F. Hemswell and married Zillah Marris whose family ran the butchers shop on Messingham Road. They rented a bungalow at the very north of the village on Gainsborough Road. He was promoted from Pilot Officer to Flying Officer on 10 January 1940. The medals he received for active service were: 1939-1945 Star, Aircrew Europe Star, War Medal 1939-1945, New Zealand War Medal. He was buried Scotter Cemetery, Lincolnshire. After the war his mother visited his resting place.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-L9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978 p 23)
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/187: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14142012
3. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Lincolnshire/Scotter.html
4. https://www.facebook.com/raflincolnshire/posts/443379382418573
5. http://www.raf-lincolnshire.info/61sqn/61sqn_crash.htm
6. http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Scotter/section.asp?docId=53257
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2358968/clinkard,-derek-charles-gray/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2408187/hobbs,-charles-carlile/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2697795/wood,-winston-kitchener/
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 21 June 1940 | P4346 | 61 Sqn RAF | 3 | Jöllenbeck, 6 km NW of Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2017 17:24 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 25-Jun-2018 19:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Jun-2019 23:16 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-May-2022 16:50 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
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