Wellington Mk.III Z1566 of 75 Squadron RNZAF, crashed at Grindon in Staffordshire during the night of the 22nd May 1942
|
Crew / Passengers |
Rank - if applicable |
Position e.g. Pilot |
Status |
|
Andrew Donald Mckay |
Pilot Officer RNZAF |
Pilot |
Killed |
|
James Wilfred Beaven |
Sergeant RNZAF |
Observer |
Killed |
|
Wilfred Hurbert Smeaton |
Sergeant RNZAF |
Observer |
Killed |
| John William Bode | Sergeant RAFVR | Wireless Operator / Air Gunner | Killed |
| Cyril Hayton | Sergeant RAFVR | Air Gunner | Killed |
| Sidney John Chappell | Flight Sergeant RNZAF | Air Gunner | Injured |
The crew where on a night cross country flight from Feltwell when according the accident card they had flown into un-forecast bad weather and while trying to descend through the cloud to determine their position the aircraft struck the ground near Grindon and broke up over a wide area with the front end of the aircraft being the most broken up section. Of the parts found at the crash site that were identifiable most were from the cockpit area, they were spread across almost the entire field indicating the front end of the aircraft was completely destroyed as the aircraft slid across the field.
A view of the crash site of Z1566, it struck some distance to the right of this photograph and came to rest in the centre of the photo.
In early April 2006 Sydney Chappell's daughter, Kathy, while visiting Europe from New Zealand with her husband Mike visited the site of the crash site of Z1566, the visit was recorded by Your Leek Paper in the following week's edition.
Of the five crew men who were killed in the crash, four were buried at Buxton cemtery, the fifth Cyril Hayton was buried at Newcastle (Heaton & Byker) cemtery.
