Vickers Wellington HX737, Donegal
The 28th february 1943 witnessed the tragic death of six young airmen of an RAF training unit on a non-descript peice of bog land in County Donegal.
The crew were stationed with 7 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit based at RAF Limavady in Northern Ireland. This training organisation was used to build together crews for Coastal Command operational Squadrons. Each member of the crew would have under taken their basic service training prior to this before going ton to learn their particular trades at separate training facilties. At this stage in 1943, it is possible that some of the crew members may have done some off their initial training in Canada or another of the Commonwealth countries.
Sergeants Court and Wall would have completed their advanced training on single engined aircraft before moving on to a multi engine training unit.
John Campbell is known to have trained to become a navigator in South Africa.
The three remaining men, Farthing, Gutteridge and Gilmore would have learned their trades of air gunners and wireless operators. All would have found themselves posted too 7 (C) OTU where they formed a training crew. All would have therefore been well trained in each others trades and were in the process of becoming a crew. They may have gone on to join one of the RAF’s front line Coastal Command Squadrons flying the Wellington or Halifax patrol bombers.
The aircraft they flew was a Vickers Wellington VIII bomber built at Weybridge during the war.
The Irish Army report into the crash is very sparse in details due to the nature of the crash. Among the details it records that:
It records elsewhere:
I have the honor to submit report in connection with above mentioned crash.
The aircraft was a wellington MK. 1 aircraft fitted with Fegasus Engines. It appears to have
dived steeply into a bog and was completely burned out and destroyed. The crew of six
were killed. The engines of the aircraft couldn’t be seen but several separate cylinders were
lying around. 4 Browning Machine Guns and 2 Vickers K. Machine Guns, all serviceable,
were collected as well as about two hundred rounds of ammunition, all damaged. About
two tons of scrap was loaded on the trailer and the remainder was dumped into the hole
dug by the crash and buried there.
It was learned that the owner of the property was a Mr Philip Duggen of Lower Bealtoray,
Cortahork, Co. Donegal and that, due to illness he had not been near the scene of the crash
and would there fore have had little extent of the damage caused. The remainder of the
engines were embedded in the face of the trench recently dug for cutting turf and the
presence of scrap would render it impossible to cut any more turf from a thiry foot length of
this face. It is considered by the salvage Officer that £10 or £15 would compensate the
owner for the loss of turf from this part of the bog.
The Irish officers who attended the scene felt it was important to commend the soldiers and officers of 17th Infantry Battalion who had the task of sifting through the wreckage of the bomber for the remains of the dead airmen.
The unit records for 7 (C) OTU do not carry great detail and the deaths of the crew of HX737 are recorded on just two lines of the Operations record Book among some mundane administrative entries.
These records are held by the United Kindom National Archives in Kew, London. It is worth noting that on the day before the crash of HX737, no 7 (C) OTU suffered the loss of another Wellinton bomber on a training flight in Scotland. HX779 crashed into a hill side in Kintyre killing Sgt D F Sutterby RCAF, F/Sgt J N Mittom RCAF, Sgt W E Davies RNZAF, Sgt J M Wilson and Sgt H G Brooks
The only other obvious entry in this document relating to the crash is a note that Sgt Gutteridge's funeral took place locally on the 4th of March. The remaining five men were returned to their families for burial. Carnmoney Cemetery Belfast were able to say from their records that James Gilmore was buried there on the 3rd of March. His parents are buried with him, having died in 1953 and 1965.
The relatives of the dead airmen have been kind enough to supply the following information along with the details obtained from the Commonwealth War Graves Commishion website.
LEONARD ASHBY COURT
Sergeant (Pilot)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 23
Service No: 1213640
Additional information: Husband of Joyce
Enid Court, of Barkby.
Grave Reference:
Barkby Cemetery, Sec. W. Grave 48.
 Photo from Leonards son Ian and his wife Margaret. |
JOHN D'ARCY WALL
Sergeant (Pilot)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 22
Service No: 1140108
Additional information: Son of John D'Arcy
Wall and Mary Elizabeth Wall, of Rochdale;
husband of Janet Wall, of Rochdale.
Grave Reference:
Rochdale Cemetery, Square D.D.D.
Nonconformist. Grave 38997. Seeking a photo 
|
JOHN STEEN CAMPBELL
Sergeant (Nav.)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 34
Service No: 1081848
Additional information: Son of Samuel and
Eleanor Campbell, of Belfast; husband of
Emma Campbell, of Belfast.
Grave Reference:
Carnmoney Cemetery, Sec. R. Grave 155. Provided by Sam Christie |
RONALD WILLIAM GUTTERIDGE
Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 21
Service No: 1333994
Additional information: Son of Alice I.
Gutteridge, of Huntingdon.
Grave Reference:
Drumachose (Christ Church) Church of
Ireland Churchyard, Grave 12. Photo provided by Ronald's sister Margaret. |
JAMES GILMORE
Sergeant (W. Op./Air Gnr.)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Service No: 1036700
Additonal Information: (From Headstone)
Aged 23, Son of Jane and John Gilmore.
Grave Reference:
Carnmoney Cemetary, Sec. A.F. Grave 65. Kindly provided by D Quinn, nephew of James's sister Betty. |
GEOFFREY JAMES SCOTT FARTHING
Sergeant (W.Op./Air Gnr.)
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age: 21
Service No: 1315164
Additional information: Son of William Scott
Farthing and Alice Farthing, of Caversham,
Reading. Berkshire.
Grave Reference:
Cemetery: Reading (Henley Road)
Cemetery, Block 10. Grave 16007.
Seeking a photo
|
Sgt Gutteridge's sister Margaret who was only a young girl of six at the time of is death sent a number of photos of him. She was able to learn some more about her older brother through the letters published in local papers by this author as people from the twon came forward with their memories of Ronnie. Shr travelled to Northern Ireland on the 50th Anniversary of his death and was delighted to find his grave well tended. She recalled how he had a sweet heart at the time of the crash and this kind lady wrote to Ronnie mother for many years after the war and then in turn to Margaret. The photo below shows Ronald with his mother.
