don walker 122 Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 when I was a small boy about 3/4 years old ( about 1951/2 ) my dad had an allotment in wilford village. when we got to the ferry inn the road was blocked off , apparently there had been a plane crash . The plane came down on the allotments which were situated across the road from the large pond that was at side of the 1/2p bridge Has any body got any info about it, was any body killed? what type of plane was it, etc. mainly did I imagine it, after all I was only a toddler, my dad and mam never spoke about it, I,ve often wondered why. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DAVIDW 1,681 Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 Checked on the newspaper archives for this but unfortunately they only go up to about 1950 at the moment, so nothing shows up . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robbie 39 Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 I don't know if this is what you are talking about. 14-15/01/1945 A Wellington Bomber forced the crew to abandon the aircraft, which they did safety. The Wellington crashed into tennis courts at Wilford, Nottingham. I wouldn't have thought there would have been many air crashes in that region over the years Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TBI 2,351 Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 Don't have any information about the crash, but Tollerton aerodrome was open then and it's only about three miles away. Always plenty of aircraft circulating around the area. If there was a crash, it could have been an aircraft from there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
don walker 122 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 do you know where the tennis courts were because this is a possibility. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robbie 39 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Yes, Corner of Coronation and Vernon Avenue, the site is now occupied by St. Patricks RC Church August 1944, Training Mission, Wellington 111 Pilot F/O survived Pilot W/O Killed age 28 Air Gnr Killed age 21 Air Gnr Killed age 20 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TBI 2,351 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Presumably it wasn't the Wellington, thats before you were born? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
denshaw 2,871 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Or is this reincarnation ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robbie 39 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 It was a Wellington Mark 111 on a training mission from Stafford that crashed at Wilford in August 1944 and yes it happened before I was born. Incidentally, just as a matter of interest my grandad was a crew member on Wellingtons during the war. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TBI 2,351 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 No, I'm talking about Don. He says the road was blocked because of the plane crash on their way home in 1951/2. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Robbie 39 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 TBI, I should have re-read Don's thread. As your thread followed mine I thought you were talking about my age......All cleared up and no damage. done. Like you said it cannot be the Wellington if Don remembers the road being blocked in the 50's, unless denshaw is right #8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
don walker 122 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 hi ,yes the road was blocked off ,,in 1944 I was a distant twinkle in my dads eye,, I was born in 1947, I don,t remember much but I can recall large trees smashed to the ground, there was also a shed flattened . I also recall a smouldering pile of rubbish ,and I certainly recall my dad saying that a plane had crashed. and he told me to close my eyes and be quiet for a while at the time I was sitting on his shoulders, I was only about 3/4 at the time. is my memory playing tricks on me ! it,s got to be that plane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DAVIDW 1,681 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Adjusting the search term for the news archives , using out of county newpapers , these results come up for plane crashes in Notts in the early 50s. Doesn't help the Wilford search but may aid a future researcher . ?....."Six killed in plane crash Six men were killed and another seriously injured when an Anson aircraft crashed last night at the R.A.F. station at Newton, near Nottingham. The aircraft, flying from the R.A.F. station at Acklington, Northumberland, crashed " 05 December 1953 - Dundee Courier - Dundee, Angus, Scotland Plane crashed as it was coming in to land The 31 years-old Grantham captain of a Varsity aircraft, Sgt.-Pilot Ronald Leslie Vickers, was killed when his machine crashed and burst into flames as it was coming in to land at Swinderby R.A.F 02 April 1954 - Grantham Journal - Grantham, Lincolnshire, England RAF Venom Jet fighter, Flying Officer Alan Towle, of St. George's Avenue, Bridlington, was killed yesterday when his 'plane crashed open country between Darlton and .Tuxlord, Nottinghamshire. An eye-witness of the crash said: " I was half a mile away 30 December 1953 - Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Leeds, West Yorks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smiffy49 590 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 A similar, but earlier, story was related to me by my Dad who is now 91. I asked my Dad if he could remember the above incident but he couldn't. However, he does remember that one late Summer evening during 1941 he saw an aeroplane on fire pass over the Trent between Wilford Toll Bridge & the railway bridge. The whole family heard the crunch but no explosion was reported. He told me that the plane came down near Coronation Road (or Avenue?) between the Ferry and Iremongers pond. The Army closed the toll bridge and no one was allowed over, but the next morning two Army ambulances went over. It was two days before anyone was allowed over the bridge. He recalls "Ivy" the toll collector being very excited because of all the 1/2 pences she was getting from people eager for a glimpse. "Ivy" made a fortune from the taking for a few days. By the time he got around to going over himself most of the debris had been carted away, the only thing he saw was part of the tail fin with half a swastika on it. The debris must have been taken away southwards and through Wilford village, as he says nothing came back over the bridge. Anyone else know about this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
firbeck 859 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Fatal aircraft crashes are not easy things to forget, I've been very close to two in my time. The first was an early USN Turbomentor training aircraft, it was the first thing on the agenda at the famous USAF Mildenhall Airshow back in the early 80's. It was crewed by two Navy pilots whose wives were watching. It was looped too low, narrowly avoiding a fueled up KC-135 tanker and just smashing into the ground in a fog of atomized avtur. I was only a couple of hundred metres away, the crowd was in a state of shock, totally silent, the rescue teams were on the spot, pulled out the sad victims, but there was nothing they could do for them. The next one was the RNHF Fairey Firefly at Duxford, it had just been restored to flight, the pilot seemed to be carrying out aerobatics that I thought were too close to the ground. I was right, he went into the hillside with a terrible bang, the engine flew off and nearly smashed into the busy M11. I rushed over to see what I could do, the rescue services hadn't arrived. The field was full of ghouls trying to retrieve souvenirs, one had found the pilots helmet, I told them to get the f### out of it and show respect, apart from the fact that the wreckage, still active, could have blown up at any time. The pilot was dead in the field, his poor, young, ground crew member, up for a jolly, was dead in the rear cockpit. The worst thing was the arrival of the hideously ghoulish Reuters, they set up a satellite link across the road and proceeded to broadcast the event across the world, I asked them if they had any scruples, they just looked at me and said coolly, 'We're just doing our job'. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,458 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Corner of Coronation and Vernon Avenue, the site is now occupied by St. Patricks RC Church He told me that the plane came down near Coronation Road (or Avenue?) between the Ferry and Iremongers pond. Effectively the same location, so presumably the same incident - even though the reported dates don't coincide. Unless that particular corner of Wilford has been unfortunate enough to have two plane crashes within a couple of years. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DAVIDW 1,681 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Must have been even more unfortunate , as this crash was reported on Aug 12th 1944 at the same spot .So thats 3 dates. Because it was a wartime report some of the details are probably kept secret . Can't embed on this pesky tablet but link here of the news report in the NEP https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7521/16348811975_53302311f8_b.jpg 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Smiffy49 590 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Just got back from going over to see my Dad today as we had been to a funeral and afterwards I asked him about the wartime crash. Although he is 91 he remembers the event vividly and confirmed that it was late in the war (1944 as stated above) I told him about the other later crash but he remembered the part swastika in the remains. We left the funeral and followed the other cars for the wake... funnily enough it was at the Ferry in Wilford. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,458 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 While looking for something else, I came across this. See the info in the notes for the photo. http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?action=printdetails&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NTGM008750&prevUrl= 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,458 Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 Someone who didn't register, but only logged in as a 'Guest' has posted this on the subject. Â I recall seeing the wreckage of an aircraft - could have been this Wellington,- near Iremongers pond. I was 13 at the time, on my way to fish in the pool. It was being guarded by soldiers. Â Geoff Morris - an evacuee from London 1941-1945. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavidA 153 Posted December 22, 2021 Report Share Posted December 22, 2021 The book "Nottinghamshire Air Crashes" by David Needham has quite a bit of information on the 1944 Wellington crash if anyone is interested? It crashed on 12th August 1944 in Iremonger's Field alongside the railway line, Wilford Village. It includes some photos of the site today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.