ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 207005
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| Date: | Monday 15 March 1937 |
| Time: | 16:35 LT |
| Type: | Blackburn Shark Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | Gosport C Flt RAF |
| Registration: | K4353 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pepper Pot Hill, Saxelbye, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Brough Aerodrome, Brough, East Yorkshire (EGNB) |
| RAF Gosport, Hampshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Blackburn Shark Mk.I K4353, C Flight, RAF Gosport: Written off (destroyed) 15.3.37 when crashed in snowstorm at Pepper Pot Hill, Saxelbye, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. Pilot - Flt Lt Richard William Wicks (Lt. Royal Navy) - was killed. According to the official Air Ministry announcement in "Flight" magazine (March 25, 1937 page 307):
"FLYING ACCIDENT
The Air Ministry regrets to announce that Fit. Lt. Richard William Wicks lost his life as the result of an aircraft accident which occurred at Saxelbye, near Melton Mowbray, on March 15. Flt. Lt. Wicks was the pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft."
According to published sources (see link #3):
"On the afternoon of Monday 15th March 1937 at 4:30PM, Melton Mowbray & District was enveloped in darkness. A severe blizzard and low, heavy clouds formed a complete blackout. Ten minutes later it had ceased snowing and the sky was bright again.
During those ten minutes, two RAF planes, passing over Melton, lost their bearings in the storm. They were flying low. A few seconds later, one of the machines was a complete wreck. The engine and cockpit were buried some eight feet in a field near Saxelby, and the head of the pilot, who must have been killed instantly, could be seen protruding through the mass of debris. He was bare headed and around his neck was a red, white and blue scarf. The deceased pilot was Richard Wicks.
The aircraft were Blackburn Shark II’s from the RAF 11 Fighter Group at Gosport. The only piece of fabric that had survived the impact bore the identification number K4353. A wheel of the undercarriage was lying some thirty yards away while it was obvious from the stench of petrol that the tank had burst when the machine crashed.
Mr T Morris, of Manor Farm, Saxelby, heard the machines and saw that one was in difficulties. Later he saw it nose dive into the field. He dashed to the scene and realising that it was hopeless to make any attempt to extricate the pilot, he telephoned Supt. Fotheridge, informing him of the tragedy. PC Neal was immediately sent out from Asfordby to investigate, being joined some fifteen minutes later by Supt Fotheridge and Sgt Jones.
The plane was a complete wreck, the engine, cockpit and pilot being embedded in a confused mass well below the surface of the ground. Although spades were brought, digging operations were too heavy a task to be worth even attempting. Until the arrival of suitable mechanism, all that could be done was to gaze on in despair.
The difficulties of recovering the pilot’s body were added to by darkness, thick fog, and the saturated condition of the land. Later in the evening, a breakdown gang from the Midland Garage was brought to the scene and under considerable difficulties driven to within a few yards of the wreckage. In the glare of its headlights and the feeble light shed by hurricane lamps brought from neighbouring farms, a twelve foot tripod, fitted with block and pulley was erected and with the assistance of some hundred villagers, attempts were begun to haul the wreckage out of the ground, to enable the pilots body to be released. For over four hours, this herculean task was carried out. Parts of the machine were raised with the pulley and lengthy tow ropes, manned by villagers who had flooded to the scene, pulled the wreckage clear.
When the heaviest of the debris had been removed, Sgt Jones was able to recover from the clothing of the pilot documents from which it was hoped means of identification would be obtainable. The pilots body was eventually released on the instruction of the Melton Coroner to the Melton War Memorial Hospital mortuary with identification “Lieut. R.W.Wicks RAF Base Southampton”.
At the subsequent inquest, Herbert Walter Brook, the NCO in charge of C Flt Training Squadron RAF Station detached at Southampton said that on the morning of 15th March 1937 he instructed the mechanics to do an inspection on the aircraft K4353, Lieut Wicks machine, and it was certified as airworthy. This was carried out and the engine ran satisfactorily on the ground test. “I myself certified the machine as airworthy after the inspection” he said. In reply to the coroner, he said that when the machine started at 10:10 am he was satisfied that it was perfectly airworthy. It was not a brand new machine, but had been reconditioned in October. Corroborative evidence was given by William Shellick, an aircraftsman and one of the mechanics who examined the machine. Evidence was given that the machine was replenished with petrol and oil at Brough in company with 5 other machines. They left the aerodrome, one after another at about 4 O'clock.
Anthony John Trumble, Pilot Officer, Royal Air Force Base, stationed at Southampton, detached from Gosport, said that he left Brough in a similar machine about five minutes after Lieut. Wick’s machine had gone and joined it in formation over the Humber. “About 35 minutes after leaving Brough we ran into a thick snowstorm”. “I remember passing Newark but as we were flying in formation I was not doing navigation.” Trumble told the coroner that the snowstorm was intensely thick and that there were three of them in the first case, but they became separated. They were only flying together for a minute after entering the snowstorm- probably less. He went on to say “I did not know there had been an accident until the next morning”.
The pilots widow, Mrs Hilda B Wicks, of Timsbury, Somerset, gave evidence of identifying the body. She told the inquest “Her husband was 31 years of age. He was a Flt Lt in the Fleet Air Arm of the RN. I last saw him on 11th February when he was home on leave”.
Richard Wicks was given a funeral with full military honours and was buried at Thorpe Road Cemetery, Melton Mowbray. The coffin was draped in a Union Jack and was carried to the cemetery on a Royal Air Force goods trailer. The standard bearer party consisted of six RAF Sergeants from Grantham, and the service was conducted by Canon P. Robson, Vicar of Melton Mowbray".
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft K1000-K9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1976 page 33)
2. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1937.htm
3. https://www.rafa.org.uk/melton-mowbray/flt-lt-william-richard-wicks-tragedy-saxelbye
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20170912054316/http://www.naval-history.net:80/xDKCas1937.htm
5. https://leicestershire-aviation.co.uk/aircraft-crashes-force-landings-in-leicestershire/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxelbye
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Mar-2018 20:43 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 09-Apr-2018 22:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 09-Apr-2018 22:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 30-May-2019 16:29 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 27-Nov-2019 14:45 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 26-Oct-2022 02:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 26-Oct-2022 20:08 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator] |
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