Handley Page Halifax Mk.II JP190 of No.1656 Heavy Conversion Unit crashed on Muckle Knowe near Hawick on the 1st April 1944

 

Ronald Emerson Ross MBE MM Flying Officer Pilot Killed
John Birkett Flying Officer Air Bomber Killed
Peter Burchell Flight Sergeant Navigator Killed
Brian Atkinson Bell Sergeant Flight Engineer Killed
Cyril Farthing Sergeant Flight Engineer Killed
Harold William Simpson Sergeant Wireless Operator Killed
John Grimes Hinder Sergeant Air Gunner Killed
Herbert Smith Sergeant Air Gunner Killed

 

The crew, along with a second Flight Engineer, were on a night cross country navigation exercise from RAF Lindholme near Doncaster having taken off at 20:15 when the aircraft struck Muckle Knowe, a hill in the Craik Forest near to Hawick, just below its summit and not from what was then a farm at Wolf Cleugh Head.

Flying Officer Ross received his commission in September 1943, having been appointed MBE in the New Year Honours list in 1941 while at the rank of Warrant Officer. He had received his Military Medal in November 1936 for service with the No.2 Armoured Car Company, RAF, in Palestine, his rank at the time was Leading Aircraftman.

Crash site of Handley Page Halifax Mk.II JP190 on Muckle Knowe, Craik, near Hawick, Scottish Borders
Today a reasonable amount still remains at the crash site in a clearing in the forestry, this is at least the second planting of trees on the site.
Crash site of Handley Page Halifax Mk.II JP190 on Muckle Knowe, Craik, near Hawick, Scottish Borders
A second view of the clearing in which the remaining parts of JP190 are located.
Rolls Royce Merlin supercharger casing at the crash site of Handley Page Halifax Mk.II JP190 on Muckle Knowe, Craik, near Hawick, Scottish Borders
Most of the remaining items are structural parts of the aircraft, but this is part of the casing from one of the superchargers on the aircraft’s Rolls Royce Merlin engines.
Plaque commemorating the crew of Halifax JP190 at Craik, near Hawick, Scottish Borders
On the 1st April 1994, 50 years after the crash, a plaque was dedicated in memory of the crew of JP190, it is built into a stone wall in the Forestry Commission parking area at Craik.
Plaque commemorating the crew of Halifax JP190 at Craik, near Hawick, Scottish Borders
A close up of the plaque in the car park at Craik.

 

The crew are all buried or commemorated at different locations around the the UK.

Grave of Flying Officer Ronald Emerson Ross at Chester (Blacon) Cemtery, killed in Halifax JP190 on Muckle Knowe, Craik, Hawick
Flying Officer Ronald Emerson Ross was buried at Chester (Blacon) Cemetery.
Commemoration for Flying Officer John Birkett at Manchester Southern Cemetery, killed in Halifax JP190 on Muckle Knowe, Craik, Hawick
Flying Officer John Birkett is remembered on the screen wall at Manchester Southern Cemetery for those whose remains were cremated there.