Part of No.610 Squadron they were flying out of Hooton Park on a training exercise .
The pilots it seems were descending when they hit the hillside demolishing a dry stone wall . Two sections of wall were knocked down by the aircraft seperated by a mere 12 feet in distance . It was definately close formation flying .
We found wreckage associated to both missing wall sections.
Behind the wall today can be made out to shallow craters where presumably the aircraft disintegrated and wreckage was flung far and wide across the moor .
Both pilots were killed.
They were
F/Lt. Anthony Basil Mercer flying WH384
and
F/O Arthur Micheal Fletcher
flying WH383
F/Lt Mercer was a local lad and would have been around when an aircraft crashed into the street where he lived in Bolton .
Despite reports that no wreckage exists at this site we found quite a lot scattered in the deep grasses of the moor . We have now collected these aircraft fragments to create a pool of wreckage which hopefully will remain to mark the spot these airmen met their end . Seek and ye shall find !
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| Something missed by the magpies ?! along with a lot of bits they usually leave | al |
