REASON FOR LOSS:

This aircraft took off from its base at Pershore at 16.55 hours for a cross-country flight. Aircraft dived from 3,000 feet and crashed as a consequence of the dinghy breaking from its stowage and fouling the controls. Wreckeage was spread over a wide are to the west of Tiddington/Wheatley, Oxfordshire. Main impact point is today located within the grounds of Waterstock Golf Club.
Report from Paul Cannon;

One Sunday morning in July 2005, Bob, a Canadian friend of mine phoned me to say that he had just collected another Canadian in his taxi. John Mc Donald had come over from Toronto. Bob is also from Toronto. John's visit here was two-fold, firstly to visit his son in London, secondly to re-visit his elder brother’s grave at Haddenham, Bucks, churchyard. John's brother George was the pilot of a Wellington Bomber that crashed near Tiddington/Wheatley, Oxon in June 1942. All the SEVEN crew were killed, the five British members were all buried at their respective places, the two Canadians were interned at St Mary's church Haddenham. Mid October 2006, after much correspondence I collected John on another of his visits, from Aylesbury train station. Along the way to Haddenham we stopped to see the Wellington memorial at Ford, this is in part dedication to a Canadian crew member. Then on to Haddenham. After this I took John to see for the first time the site of his brother’s crash. Having already arranged with the Waterstock Golf Club people John's visit they very kindly gave us the use of a Golf Buggy. The actual crash site is just to john's left in the fourth photograph, where the taller tree is. The Golf Club said that they would agree to a small memorial, a bench/seat with a plaque. John is still pondering...

John McDonald at the grave of his elder brother George at Haddenham, Bucks (Cannon)

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At Waterstock Golf Club for John's visit they very kindly gave us the use of a Golf Buggy (Cannon)


The actual crash site is just to john's left in the fourth photograph, where the taller tree is (Cannon)

Burial detail:

Charles George MacDonald; HADDENHAM (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD.

Lloyd George Morrison; HADDENHAM (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD. Son of Clarke L. Morrison and Velma A. Morrison, of St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

Cyril Dinham Chant; MINEHEAD CEMETERY. Cons. ground. Grave 2716. Son of Thomas William and Lilian Annie Chant, of Minehead. M.Sc. (Lond.).

Arthur Walter Smith; STREATHAM PARK CEMETERY. Square 27. Grave 43499. Son of Arthur and Naomi Florence Smith; husband of Ruby Smith, of Couldsdon.

Francis William Sims; GREENFORD PARK CEMETERY. Sec. S.4. Row 9. Grave 21883.

Researched and compiled by Melvin Brownless with special thanks to Paul Cannon, August 2013.

The British Library is preserving this site for the future in the UK Web Archive at www.webarchive.org.uk All Aircrew Remembered on our Remembrance pages, are therefor not just remembered here, but also subsequently remembered and recorded as part of our nation’s history
and heritage at The British Library.