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 19453,4.

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

Oil painting on canvas of George Holmes, showing him in a Blenheim gun turret, with machine gun in front of him.
“An Air Gunner In A Gun-turret: Sergeant G Holmes, D.F.M”.  George Holmes died after a crash into Skelton Moor, Marske. Painted by Peter Mansbridge, 1940.  Reproduced with kind permission of the Imperial War Museum.  © IWM Art.  LD 374.

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).

Black and white photo of Blenheim Mark I. Photo taken by Bertrand Daventry, an RAF official photographer.
A Bristol Type 142M Blenheim I similar to one that crashed on Skelton Moor in 1940.  Reproduced with kind permission of the Imperial War Museum.  © IWM CH 655.

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 fighters6,7,8,9.

Black and white photo of Blenheim Mark IV from rear showing crew leaving the plane. Photo taken by RAF official photographer.
Photo of Blenheim IV showing gun turret similar to the one George Holmes would have been familiar with.  Reproduced with kind permission of the Imperial War Museum.  © IWM CH 17172. 

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. 

View from Dicky Edge towards Skelton Moor. Crash took place on high land towards horizon in centre of photo.

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.

Excerpt from Operational Records Book of 600 Squadron for December 1940 detailing the crash of the Blenheim on Skelton Moor, Marske14. Image reproduced with kind permission of The National Archives.

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 later18,19.

Photo of Handley Page Hampdens.  Reproduced with kind permission of the Imperial War Museum.  © IWM CH 8654. 

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.[↩]