Date:	Friday 24 November 1939
Time:	day
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	9 BGS RAF
Registration:	L5255
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities:	3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	4 miles NNW of RAF Penrhos, Caernavonshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Penrhos, Caernavonshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I L5255, 9 BGS (Bombing & Gunnery School), RAF Penrhos, Caernavonshire: Written off (destroyed) 24/11/39 in a mid air collision with Fairey Battle L5256, four miles North-North-West of Penrhos, Caernavonshire. All six crew (three in each aircraft) were killed. Crew of Battle L5255 were:

Pilot Officer Keith Percival Hamilton (New Zealander, Service Number 41287, aged 20) killed
L.A/C Thomas Douglas Siddons (Service Number 581355, aged 20) killed
L.A/C Roland Alexander Stirling (Service Number 581360, aged 20) killed

Two things are notable about the official Air Ministry Board of Inquiry file into the accident (File AIR 81/1681); first, although most sources state that there were six fatalities (three in each aircraft), file Air 81/1681 only lists three ("Pilot Officer K P Hamilton, Aircraftman G D King, Aircraftman F Shepherd"). That is, one in Battle L5225 and two in Battle L5256.

Second, the file AIR 81/1681 is closed to the public, and therefore unavailable to researchers, until 1 January 2042, some 103 years after the accident. The decision to retain the file and keep it closed was taken by the National Archives in 2015 on the grounds of "Exemption 1: Personal information where the applicant is a 3rd party" and "Exemption 2: Information provided in confidence".

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft L1000-N9999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p 146
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) Air 81/1681: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16359512
4. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1939a.htm
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2716340/hamilton,-keith-percival/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2718952/siddons,-thomas-douglas/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2716360/stirling,-roland-alexander/
8. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?17720-LAC-Roland-Alexander-STIRLING-d-24-Nov-1939 .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Apr-2018 18:44	Dr. John Smith	Added
29-Nov-2018 08:59	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
26-Jun-2019 19:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Source]
26-Jun-2019 20:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]