Date:	Saturday 29 May 1937
Time:	12:30 LT
Type:	Percival P. 10 Vega Gull
Owner/operator:	Sydney William Sparkes
Registration:	G-AERH
MSN:	K.41
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	215 Hounslow Road, Feltham, Middlesex -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Hanworth Aerodrome, Hanworth, Middlesex
Destination airport:	Hooton Park Aerodrome, Hooton Park, Cheshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
First registered [C of R 7495] on 2.12.36 as G-AERH to William Robertson Porter, Aintree, Liverpool (aircraft based at Hooton Park Aerodrome, Hooton Park, Cheshire). C of A 5730 issued December 1936.

Written off (destroyed) 29.5.37 when hit a house at 215 Hounslow Road, Feltham, Middlesex, shortly after take-off from Hanworth Aerodrome, Hanworth, Middlesex. According to one source (see link #5):

"The one which crashed into the house on Hounslow Road (Percival ‘Vega Gull’ G-AERH – 29th May 1937)

Saturday 29th May 1937 was Britain’s fourth Empire Air Day and one of the blackest days in the early history of British aviation. Seventeen people were killed over that weekend, including these three in Hanworth at the start of the Isle of Man air race.

The pilot, Sydney William Sparkes, aged 41, was an experienced airman and manager of the Queen’s Arms Hotel, Wallasey, Merseyside. His passenger was Charles Fry, 46, a pawnbroker, also from Wallasey. Both pilot and passenger died along with Mrs Elsie Abbey, 40 who lived in the house which the airplane crashed into, with her husband and 12 year-old son. The coroner, Reginald Kemp, described the accident as ‘a terrible tragedy – one of the saddest in my long experience’.

The Vega Gull monoplane was the 14th plane to take off for the Isle of Man race which started from Hanworth that year. The airplane took off around 12.30 pm but as it was turning towards the Hounslow Road boundary of the aerodrome, onlookers were horrified to see one of the wings clip a tree and crash into the roof of number 215 Hounslow Road. Some of the huge crowd attending the race rushed to the scene of the crash and police had to keep them away. Neighbours assisted the police and fire brigade to try to extricate the casualties, several of the police officers receiving burns to their hands.

Mrs Abbey had been in bed in her front room recovering from an operation the day before when the crash happened. PC McRobbie who was in Hounslow Road when the crash happened used his truncheon to break the window pane and rescue Elsie, whose clothing was in flames. Her husband and their 12 year-old son Stanley were also treated for burns. The house was described to the inquest jury as ‘burning like a furnace’ and within an hour was a burnt-out shell.

At the time, Sydney Sparkes was the private pilot to Mr William Porter of the Nelson Preserving Company, Liverpool, who owned the machine. The inquest heard that Sparkes was an experienced and well-known airman at the RAF airfield at Hooten Park, Cheshire, where he had served with the RAF from 1919 – 1931. Prior to obtaining his pilot’s licence in 1922, he had served with the R.N.A.S. (Royal Naval Air Service). He was a flying instructor at Sealand Aerodrome, near Chester for several years, and, in 1928, became the first voluntary flying instructor of the newly-formed Liverpool and District Flying Club. He had taken part in the King’s Cup Race in 1934, 1935 and 1936, racing Mr Porter’s airplanes. He was regularly seen giving exhibitions at an air circus which he organised. He was also a keen motorcyclist and, in 1928, had created a record for travelling round the world on a motorcycle and side-car in 157 days. His passenger in the Vega Gull was Charles Fry who had held a commission in the Royal Flying Corps during the war, but had not flown for 20 years.

Despite his experience, it seems that Sparkes had not made enough height on take-off, and tried to execute a steep turn. The lack of height led to the plane clipping a wing on the tree in front of number 215 Hounslow Road and crashing into the roof. Parts of the airplane were found in the back garden, where the charred bodies of Sparkes and Fry were found amongst the wreckage. The engine embedded itself into the masonry of number 217 next door, where Mr and Mrs Hilton lived. There did not appear to be anything wrong with the machine itself, and the jury found that an error of judgement on the part of the pilot led to the tragedy.

On the day itself, the traditional stiff upper lip had been on display. Organisers decided that the race should proceed, and six planes took off after the disaster, circling the plumes of smoke coming from the burning house as they left the aerodrome. Miss Florence Desmond, an actress who had performed the opening ceremony, had been ‘very upset’ by the tragedy which she witnessed. She nevertheless decided to continue with her intention of flying from Hanworth back to Hatfield that same afternoon. And the same newspaper articles which reported the tragedy at the time, gave considerable coverage in the same article to the rest of the race which continued as planned.

The entire Feltham and Hanworth community appeared shaken by the tragedy, which was reported in newspapers around the country and flying was suspended during the time of the funeral, which was apparently appreciated by the relatives. However, a petition was got up afterwards (it is not clear who started this) calling for the closure of the airfield".

Three people were killed:

Sydney William Sparkes (pilot, aged 41)
Charles Fry (passenger, aged 39)
Mrs Elsie F Abbey (aged 40)

Mrs. Elsie F. Abbey was the occupant of the house at 215 Hounslow Road, Feltham, Middlesex, that was struck by Vega Gull G-AERH, and she died the next day (30.5.37) of injuries sustained. 215 Hounslow Road was rebuilt, and still exists in 2022 (currently valued at £426,000!)

Registration G-AERH cancelled by the Air Ministry 7.11.37 due to "destruction or permanent withdrawl from use of aircraft"

1. Newspaper Gloucester Citizen (Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK), issue of Saturday, 29 May 1937, page 1, article "Two Killed at Start of Air Race"
2. Newspaper Derby Daily Telegraph (Derby, Derbyshire, England, UK), issue of Saturday, 29 May 1937, page 1, article "TWO DEAD IN INTERNATIONAL AIR-RACE CRASH"
3. Newspaper Aberdeen Press and Journal (Aberdeen, Scotland, UK), issue of Monday, 31 May 1937, page 7, article "17 AIR DEATHS IN TWO DAYS",
4. https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/isle-of-man-airport/about-isle-of-man-airport/history/1920-1936/manx-air-races/1937/?iomg-device=Mobile .
5. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-gb-registers-g-ae
6. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AERH.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A9.html
8. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1937.htm
9. https://habitatsandheritage.org.uk/blog/air-crashes-at-hanworth-aerodrome/
10. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-percival-p10-vega-gull-hanworth-3-killed
11. https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/plane-crash-at-hounslow-road-north-feltham-1937
12. https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/plane-crash-at-hounslow-road-north-feltham-1937/gallery/1 [photos of damage to house]
13. http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=a&n=12189

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-Jan-2018 00:54	Dr. John Smith	Added
18-Nov-2022 17:32	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category]