Halifax DT581, Hoar Side Moor, Todmorden.
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Halifax DT581, Hoar Side Moor, Todmorden.
2 of the 7 airmen on board this Halifax were killed in the crash. They were Sgt Campbell and Sgt Whyte. The positions of the crew is not known, beyond PO Getcliffe being the pilot and Sgt Whyte being the wireless operator/air gunner.
The Halifax was returning to base at RAF Snaith near Selby, from a mine laying operation (known as ‘gardening’ in RAF parlance) off the Freisian Islands on the night of January 21st 1943.
There’s not much left. A few fragments of mostly molten metal. The square object is a piece of armour plating.
Crew;
Pilot Officer Richard Donovan Getliffe
Sgt A Campbell
Pilot Officer Edward Burt Chatfield
Sergeant Allan Campbell
Sergeant George Hugh Whyte
Sergeant G J Merritt
Sergeant E R Smart
Grid reference SD 93635 29714
Photos from visit March 2022. The piece of armour plating has been nicked since my fist visit.
That’s a hefty bit of armour plating !
It is a small set of remains – the heather and ground seem to have recovered well
very nice shot
Sad that people feel the need to remove things like that~
Agree with redrocker about the removal of these relics.
A bit off course for Snaith?
We have a Halifax crash site in our village – there’s absolutely nothing left there – it’s a shame something couldn’t have left as a memorial to the 8 lads that died.
Thanks everyone. Yeah, it is sad that it happens. One reason for my obsession with photographing these places.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/highy/]
Well observed. They were off course, having navigated back by dead reckoning, but I don’t know why.
why would anyone trudge a piece of metal over a moor just to have a morbid souvenir?
One thing you notice with all these crash sites is how mother nature always recovers the ground or leaves very little to indicate what had happened there many years ago. Armour plating…very heavy bits of metal and a helluva weight to carry on ones back for a souvenir, best left alone where it fell is what I would say to who ever took it.
Removing remains from these sites is sadly inevitable. From the moment the aircraft crashed, they would be guarded until anything of military value had been removed. Then people move in. It must be a basic human instinct, to want a souvenir, a piece of history all to themselves. It’s just a pity that some people still want to remove this stuff now when there’s so little left.