Wellington T2564 (KX-T) crash RAF Northolt 18th October 1942

The 1942 Ruislip Wellington accident occurred on 18 October 1942 when a Vickers Wellington 1C medium bomber of No. 311 Squadron RAF crashed near South Ruislip station, Middlesex, on approach to RAF Northolt. The crash killed all 15 people aboard the aircraft, and six civilians on the ground including four children


1942 Ruislip Wellington accident - Wikipedia

 

Civilian casualties

Both sisters were wives of British servicemen and had been out for an afternoon walk with
their children.

Pte. J. Reay, Royal Army Service Corps.
Marine William Edward Street Royal Marines


REAYCivilian LILY VALENTINE PEARL Sunday, October 18, 1942Age 32RUISLIP AND NORTHWOOD, URBAN DISTRICT VIEW RECORDCivilian War DeadUnited Kingdom
REAYCivilian MARION Sunday, October 18, 1942RUISLIP AND NORTHWOOD, URBAN DISTRICT VIEW RECORDCivilian War DeadUnited Kingdom
REAYCivilian RUTH Sunday, October 18, 1942Age 4RUISLIP AND NORTHWOOD, URBAN DISTRICT VIEW RECORDCivilian War DeadUnited Kingdom


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/167847320/marion-reay#view-photo=143996745

STREETCivilian BERYL FLORA Sunday, October 18, 1942Age 4RUISLIP AND NORTHWOOD, URBAN DISTRICT VIEW RECORDCivilian War DeadUnited Kingdom
STREETCivilian PHYLLIS FLORA ANNIE Sunday, October 18, 1942Age 35RUISLIP AND NORTHWOOD, URBAN DISTRICT VIEW RECORDCivilian War DeadUnited Kingdom
STREETCivilian PHYLLIS MOLLIE Sunday, October 18, 1942Age 12RUISLIP AND NORTHWOOD, URBAN DISTRICT VIEW RECORDCivilian War DeadUnited Kingdom


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/167846129/beryl-flora-street#view-photo=143995719

 

Last Flight of Wellington T2564

 

Wellington Crash NORTHOLT, October 1942
Record of a WW2 family tragedy
From (macwester) a Street family relative

Street Family: Bill(father) Phyllis (mother) Molly(daughter) Beryl(daughter)

Reay Family: Lily (mother) Ruth (daughter) Marion (daughter)

Bill Street had joined the Royal Marines in 1941. In the summer of 1942 he had been home on leave at his home in Brockenhurst Hants, and then returned to his unit in South Wales. Phyllis had wanted to go and stay with him in Wales but Bill had been unable to get rooms. She then decided to go to visit her sister Lily and daughters Ruth and Marion, leaving on the Friday afternoon to spend a fortnight with them in Ruislip, near Northolt.

On the Sunday the two mothers and the children went out to visit friends when the tragedy happened.

A letter from the MOD R.A.F. confirms that on 18th October 1942 a Wellington Mark 1c T2564 of 311(Czechoslovak) squadron spun into the ground and caught fire off a steep turn near the ground half a mile east of Northolt. It is understood all 13 aboard were killed. Civilian casualties included Phylis, Molly and Beryl Street. Lily, Ruth and Marion Reay, all were sadly killed.
Bill heard the dreadful news in South Wales and travelled to London with father Fred Street for the sad task of identifying the two families.

The funeral of the two mothers and four children of the Street and Reay families was conducted by the Vicar, Reverend Haslam on 24th October 1942. They were all buried in St Nicholas Churchyard, Brockenhurst, Hampshire.

BBC - WW2 People's War - Wellington Crash October 1942

 

At about 16:00 the Wellington was seen approaching RAF Northolt from a westerly direction.

It had an altitude of between 500ft and 600ft, undercarriage lowered and at a low speed with its engines appeared throttled back in preparation for landing. The pilot had committed the aircraft to a steep turn in order to approach Northolt’s East/West runway.

The Wellington was seen to go into a steep left-hand turn which developed into a vertical turn, stalled and then dived vertically into an area of waste ground in a residential area by Uxbridge, narrowly missing some houses, about 1 mile from the runway and crashed into waste ground at 16:08. The waste ground was adjoined by a timber yard and dozens of children were playing on it.
As the aircraft went into this vertical dive P/O Bulis, recognising that the aircraft was out of control and would crash, was seen to be frantically waving to people on the waste ground to flee from that area. The Wellington’s wing tip clipped the main road and the aircraft flipped over onto the waste ground, it’s petrol tanks bursting into flames on impact enveloping the aircraft and immediate area around it. All on-board the aircraft were killed. The heat from the flames caused the aircraft’s machine-gun ammunition to explode and go-off in all directions. The last second’s action of the Wellington’s pilot undoubtly saved many lives amongst people on the waste ground.
An unconfirmed theory is that the aircraft approached Northolt too high and the pilot tried to loose height by side-slipping. This resulted in the shifting of the human cargo which the pilot was unable to counter at the time.
Sadly not all managed to escape and two women and four children were killed either by being struck by the aircraft or burnt to death. The two women were sisters Lilly Reay, 32, her daughters Ruth 4½ and Marion 18 months, and Phyllis Street, 35, with her daughters Phylliss Mollie 12 and Beryl Flora 5. Both sisters were wives of British servicemen and had been out for an afternoon walk with their children.
When the wreckage was being examined for possible causes of the crash the charred remains of a pig were found on-board. It is believed that the pig had been ‘acquired’ by some members of 311 Sqn from the rural area of Talbenny and that it was being taken to the Czechoslovak Club in London to be used in the festivities to commemorate the Czechoslovak National Day of 28 October.
Last Flight of Wellington T2564