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Location: Blogs Peter's pointers |
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| Posted by: Peter |
Tuesday, July 03, 2007 |
With the majority of HD residents only settling here in the last 30 years very little is known about past events and personalities. Much is covered in the Hadlow Down Autobiography but much is not. Does anybody have any old photographs or information about the Spitfire which crashed in Hadlow Down in 1940? The pilot was a 20 year old Pilot Officer Gordon
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Comments (6)
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Re: Spitfire crash in 1940 |
By eddie on
Saturday, July 07, 2007 |
"Pilot Officer William ‘Scotty’ Gordon of Banffshire, aged 20, never returned to Middle Wallop. His Spitfire X4036 was hit almost immediately, burying itself in Hadlow Down, East Sussex. An RAF recovery team probed the smoking crater, collected any salvage, made the area good and recovered Gordon’s remains."
The context of this quote can be found at http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba75/feat1.shtml
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Re: Spitfire crash in 1940 |
By eddie on
Saturday, July 07, 2007 |
From: www.thebattleofbtitain.co.uk
P/O W.H.G.Gordon of No 234 Squadron was killed on the 6th of September 1940 at 09:10hrs. He was shot down in his Spitfire I by a Bf 109 over Hadlow Down |
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Re: Spitfire crash in 1940 |
By Peter on
Saturday, July 07, 2007 |
Eddie
That's fascinating because it seems a recovery team came back in 2003 and found a bit more. What they don't say is where in Hadlow Down. Somebody here must know the location |
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Re: Spitfire crash in 1940 |
By eddie on
Saturday, July 07, 2007 |
Peter
There is a bit more with a photo of the pilot at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/3022110.stm
But still no exact location |
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Re: Spitfire crash in 1940 |
By richard on
Friday, July 13, 2007 |
As a ten year old schoolboy I interviewed Gerald Standen (late landlord of the New Inn) about this event in 1976. Gerald was a keen aviation enthusiast and local historian and of course he remembered seeing this take place - I guess he would have been in his early teens at the time. I wrote up my article and it was published in the parish magazine that year. I still have the original copy somewehere, if i can find it I'll see if it can be reprinted - perhaps for September's magazine, that's Battle of Britain month.
My Then and now book states:
"234 Squadron, Middle Wallop. Spitfire X4036. Shot down in combat with Bf109's and crashed on Howbourne Farm Hadlow Down 9.10 a.m. Pilot Officer W.H.G. Gordon killed. Aircraft AZ-G a write off. Crash site investigated by the Wealden Aviation Archaeological Group in 1974 but no wreckage found."
The caption under the photograph of the pilot reads "Pilot Officer William Gordon was born in Aberdeen but his family moved to Banffshire. On September 6, 1940 his squadron was heavily engaged by Bf109's over the Sussex coastline, losing three Spitfires. Bill Gordon was the only fatality and his body was taken back to Mortlach Churchyard."
I note from the headstone that he was just 20 years old.
I remember Gerald telling me that he made no attempt to bale out, he must have been shot dead as he power dived at high speed straight into the ground. I think when they tried to excavate the site in 1974 they went down many feet but the aircraft had buried itself very deeply.
I do have some notes about several other events that took place during the war from eyewitness accounts. |
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Re: Spitfire crash in 1940 |
By Peter on
Friday, July 13, 2007 |
| That's really interesting. I just wonder if there's going to be something of interest in any of the Parish Council minutes which are available at the East Sussex Record Office. When I can get some transport during the week I'll be going to the Record Office. I have a list of all the Hadlow Down stuff they hold, including Parish Council Meeting Minutes from 1905 to 1976 and volumes of old correspondence from 1937 onwards |
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