Salisbury Plain

Hello ,
I have just been speaking to my cousin who says that my great uncle was wounded on Salisbury Plain approx 1942 by a quisling firing from an aeroplane. The story goes that Winston Churchill was in area at the time . My great uncle certainly was wounded and spent time in Shaftsbury Hospital but is the rest too fanciful ? I wonder if this was true where might report be ?
Regards
Alan

 

Hi Alan

I think this is the incident you must be refering to.

TRAGEDY AT IMBER

The area around Imber on the Salisbury Plain in England, comprising of around 91,000 acres, is the traditional training ground for the British Army. On April 13, 1942, during a demonstration of fire-power from a squadron of Hurricanes, the pilot of the 6th plane to make the attack inadvertently fired into the crowd of invited military spectators. He had mistaken the spectators for the rows of dummy soldiers placed on the ground as if in marching order.
The demonstration was immediately cancelled and all aircraft ordered to return to base. Fifteen minutes later some thirty military and civilian ambulances arrived to convey the dead and injured to hospitals. Twenty five officers and men were killed and seventy one injured. The Hurricane pilot, just approaching his 21st birthday, was found guilty of an error of judgement by the Court of Inquiry. (On June 28, 1942, seventy-six days after the tragic incident, he was shot down and reported missing in a sortie over Cherbourg).


additional help from Dennis Burke - David Layne

 

I wonder what the pilot would have received in way of a sentence if he wasn't shot down.

 

Hello Peter,
Thank you very much for this, I was beginning to think the whole thing was too fanciful.I guess the suggestion that the pilot was a 'quisling ' and arrested was added to to spice up story even more !
I will convey this to my cousin , who , I have told, to get her dads service record, it should show him being wounded after all .
Thanks again
Alan

 

Hello Peter,
Do you happen to know please if a list of the dead and wounded was published, also do we know the name of the unfortunate pilot ?
Regards
Alan

 

Hello Peter,
Do you happen to know please if a list of the dead and wounded was published, also do we know the name of the unfortunate pilot ?
Regards
Alan


Hi Alan,

Sorry to say I don't know of a casualty list for this incident, but I expect there will be one somewhere.

As for the pilots name I can only surmise, going by the date of his death and looking in the relevant reference books a name springs out, but I cannot be sure so I would rather not lay the blame at someones door without confirmation, hope you understand.

Regards
Peter.

 

Hello Peter and Owen ,
Thanks for replies , I understand your reasoning Peter , I would be the same myself . It would be good if someone has an After The Battle { 49 } to elaborate on story etc ,
Regards
Alan

 

The pilot was Sgt.William Mclachlan...

 

It would be good if someone has an After The Battle { 49 } to elaborate on story etc ,
Regards
Alan

You could try and purchase a copy direct from "After the Battle". Here's there website.

Home

 

Thank you both for your info , a good idea about trying to buy copy of After The Battle. I will get in touch with them
Regards
Alan

 

Thanks Owen ,
No wonder I could not find him , I was entering UK serviceman, not Canadian. I wonder if anything is known of his downfall near Cherbourg ?
Regards
Alan

 

He was shot down by flak from a minesweeper.
Source - FCL Vol 2 by N Franks

 

Thank you 52nd but excuse my ignorance but what is FCL ?
Regards
Alan

 

Thank you that makes sense , I will see if a copy of the book is available .
Regards
Alan

 

Thank you Owen, it all adds to the story .
Regards
Alan

 

Thank you that makes sense , I will see if a copy of the book is available .
Regards
Alan


Alan

Fighter Command Losses are available here....

Amazon.co.uk: fighter command losses: Books