Marske and World War 2

When thinking about World War Two one often thinks of fatalities abroad.  But there were also a substantial number of military casualties and deaths on home ground, and Marske, being close to the military activity associated with Catterick, was no exception. 

In 1941 a truck driving from Reeth towards Richmond crashed into the parapet on Downholme Bridge before plunging into the Swale¹. Soldiers were killed when a Bren gun toppled down the bank at Telfit. ².  Accidents on Feldom Range led to the deaths of seven soldiers in two separate incidents involving mortars in the summer of 1945^3,4.

The Crash of Blenheim Fighter L1467 on Skelton Moor, December 1940

One accident that it has been possible to research concerns the crash in December 1940 of a Bristol Blenheim Mk 1 fighter (tail number L1467) which led to the deaths of pilot, Sergeant T N Wilson, and his air gunner, P/O George Henry Holmes⁵. Remarkably a portrait of George Holmes was painted in 1940 before the crash, and is now in the Imperial War Museum’s collection (see above).

The Blenheim was the primary aircraft of 600 Squadron (The City of London Squadron) in 1940. (George Holmes was from Dalston in north London.)  In the spring of 1940, 600 Squadron had been based at Manston in Kent.  On the 10th of May, Germany invaded Holland, and six Blenheims were dispatched on a day-time raid to Rotterdam Aerodrome.  Whilst the raid did destroy one aircraft on the ground, it was a major tragedy as five of the six aircraft were shot down.  The German Messerschmidt 110s proved themselves to be more than a match for the Blenheims.  Corporal Holmes returned unscathed and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) for directing his pilot to safety from the vantage of his rear-facing gun turret, whilst also fending off a further 3 German fighters^6,7,8,9.

After the disasterous outcome of the Rotterdam raid the Blenheim was not used again in daylight operations. 600 squadron was relocated to Catterick airfield in autumn 1940¹⁰.  It was from there on the 20th of December that Holmes set off with Wilson (his pilot) as part of a night-time action to hunt down reported enemy aircraft.  On returning to base, and without finding their quarry, they were flying too low and crashed into Skelton Moor¹¹.  

The advantages of radio communication had many benefits for wartime aviation, however, air forces were struggling with two problems: how to tell whose plane was whose, and how to stop the enemy listening into your transmissions¹². The Blenheim was using a new system called “Masquerade” for giving heights over the radio by using a crude verbal code.  This included the pilot calling in his altitude as “Devils 1 ½”, which somewhat confusingly was code for 2500 feet, the height he should have been flying at.  However it appears he became muddled by all this and was actually flying at 1500 feet.  The aircraft hit the ground at 1200 feet.  The commanding officer noted in his report that he thought the Masquerade system of codes would lead to more accidents, and that a pilot in bad weather had enough to do without doing sums in his head ⁵. 

The pilot of the plane, Sgt T N Wilson, was killed instantly.  Holmes survived the crash and was taken to the military hospital at Catterick Camp.  His wife (in Sussex) was telegrammed the news that her husband was dangerously ill after a crash and travelled to Catterick.  Unfortunately six days later on 26 December he succumbed to his injuries.  The pilot and air gunner are buried together at Catterick Military Cemetery¹³.

In an unfortunate twist of fate, the day after the crash, 600 Squadron was assigned to non-operational duties, including a spell of training pilots as airborne interception (“AI”) operators¹¹.  The whole episode brings home the unpredictable nature of life during the War.

It is fortuitous that Holmes’s portrait was painted when it was.  The artist John Mansbridge¹⁵, who before the war had painted posters for London Transport, was an unofficial artist for the RAF in 1940¹⁶.  For much of the war his artistic skills were used to design camouflage schemes for military installations¹⁶.  One sortie flown by 600 squadron from Manston in 1940 was to inspect, from the air, the camouflage that had been applied to their home airfield¹⁷.  Perhaps camouflage design had brought John Mansbridge to Manston. Perhaps there he met Holmes, and painted the portrait shortly after Holmes’s distinguished return from the Rotterdam raid.

Crash of Hampden P2072 at How Tallon, in October 1940

A second air crash locally occured on How Tallon (a local top) about 3km north of Kexwith in New Forest. The aircraft involved was a two-engine Handley Page Hampden bomber, which has been on a four-hour navigation training mission from RAF Cottesmore in Rutland. On returning to base in poor weather and at night, the pilot mistook low cloud for the coastline, descended too far in trying to get a navigational “fix”, and hit the hill with a “glancing blow”. Amazingly all four crew survived, alas the pilot was killed returning from a raid on Lorient, France, two months later^18,19.

Evacuees

At the beginning of the Second World War there are several records of evacuations of children from larger towns and cities to Marske.

Marskeman’s story

A BBC project assembled stories of the “People’s War” and this included a contribution from “Marskeman”, an 11 year old boy from Gatehead²⁰. Marskeman’s first evacuation in 1939 had been to Spennymoor where he recounts a troubled stay with a couple who were not united on the idea of having someone else’s child boarding with them! Meanwhile Marskeman’s mother had responded to a call to be a housemother for around 30 Gateshead children who to be were put up in Marske Stables. He describes the group sleeping in dormitories in the stables, above where horses and coaches had been kept in the past. Two dilapidated coaches served as a set for the children’s games of “Cowboys and Indians”. A magnificent ballroom, probably in the Hall itself, was used sparingly for the boys’ entertainment on cold and wet days.

Whilst the Stables dormitories may have been fun, one can also imagine the chaos created by 30 schoolkids billeted there. Marskeman’s mother and her son themselves stayed away from the Stables at Clints with Mr and Mrs Pearson. The village school was not big enough for both the Marske and Gateshead children so each only had a half-day of lessons, and he was able to ride shotgun on the village bus that delivered local children to outlying farms. They planted potatoes as part of “Dig for Victory” in what had been the school playing field. Rabbit was eaten several times a week, juicy pork pies were often also served for tea, and each afternoon Marskeman went down the lane to collect milk in a large can from the Simpson’s farm. He had enough pocket to buy a Milky Bar from the Post Office general store and divide it into thin slices so it lasted the week. Malteresers had just been invited. He went away with good memories of Marske!

Scarborough College

During the War the Hall also became the temporary home for boys from Scarborough College, who remained there until 1947.  Their website has on it photos of school groups outside the front steps of the hall during the War (Scarborough College Heritage). Many pupils returned to Marske from the 1960s onwards with fond memories of Marske (see Church Visitors’ Books).

Return to History pages

1. Yorkshire Evening Post.  23 Dec 1941.  Army Lorry Plunges into Swale.  Viewed at The British Newspaper Archive (BNA website).[↩]
2. Local Contributor 11.  2023. Various conversations.[↩]
3. Yorkshire Post.  26 June 1945.  Burst Mortar Kills 4 – Inquest Verdict.  Viewed at The British Newspaper Archive (BNA website).[↩]
4. Bradford Observer.  11 July 1945.  3 Dies when Mortar Bomb Explodes.  Viewed at The British Newspaper Archive (BNA website).[↩]
5. The National Archives AIR 81/4265.  21 Dec 1940.  Blenheim Mk 1 L1467.[↩][↩]
6. The London Gazette. 24 May 1940. Royal Air Force. Page 3110.[↩]
7. The National Archives AIR 27-2059-9/10.  May 1940.  600 Squadron.  Operations Record Book.[↩]
8. Battle of Britain London Monument Website.  The Airmen’s Stories – P/O G H Holmes. Accessed 2023.[↩]
9. City of London (600) Squadron Association.  Visit to Holland 2017 blog.  Accessed 2023.[↩]
10. Wikipedia.  No 600 Squadron RAF. Accessed 2023.[↩]
11. National Archives AIR 27-2059-23/24.  Dec 1940.  600 Squadron.  Operations Record Book.[↩][↩]
12. Wikipedia.  For example see pages on Indentification friend or foe. Accessed 2023.[↩]
13. National Archives AIR 81/4265.  21 Dec 1940.  Blenheim Mk 1 L1467.[↩]
14. The National Archives AIR 27-2059-23/24.  Dec 1940.  600 Squadron.  Operations Record Book.[↩]
15. Wikipedia.  John Mansbridge. Accessed 2023.[↩]
16. Imperial War Museum.  1981.  John Mansbridge.  Oral History.  IWM 4994[↩][↩]
17. National Archives AIR 27-2059-9.  2 May 1940.  600 Squadron.  Operations Record Book.[↩]
18. National Archives. AIR81/3634. 6 October 1940. Hampden Mark I. P2072[↩]
19. Aircraft Accidents in Yorkshire website. Hampden P2072 near How Tallon, Barningham Moor. Accessed 2023.[↩]
20. BBC. Evacuation 1939. Archived page from BBC website. Accessed 2024.[↩]