Part of my recent Mountain Leader training course was to inspire us to look deeper at the landscape around us, to learn more about the ground over which we're walking. It may be the flora and fauna, the geology, the people. Each person would find their own niche - I found something that sparked my interest while on my Hill and Moorland leader assessment a few years ago when passing by a decaying engine in gully high in the Brecon Beacons.
The high ground of this country is littered with debris from aircraft which made their final decent into our hills and mountains. Much of it comes from the second world war when inexperienced aircrew were training without the comfort of navigation aids that we take for granted these days.
The high ground of this country is littered with debris from aircraft which made their final decent into our hills and mountains. Much of it comes from the second world war when inexperienced aircrew were training without the comfort of navigation aids that we take for granted these days.
One such story comes from the 20th November 1944. Wellington MF509 set out on a night navigation exercise. Taking off from RAF Wellesbourne Mountford near Stratford the aircraft headed over Wales. The crew of six were all Canadian, one was 28 years old, the others were only 20-22. None of them survived when the Wellington developed problems with it's starboard engine possibly due to icing, the wireless operator requested permission to drop below cloud level and shortly afterward to plane slammed into the mountain side of Carreg Goch. Have a look around the internet and you'll find plenty of information about the crew and the aircraft, some fascinating stories and well worth a bit of a read.
The west of the Brecon Beacons national park is a sparsely populated, rarely visited area and Carreg Goch in the wrong weather is an inhospitable place. 72 years on and I'm looking out of my window on a cold, wet and windy November day and can only guess at the conditions at 520 meters above sea level at the site of the crash.
The west of the Brecon Beacons national park is a sparsely populated, rarely visited area and Carreg Goch in the wrong weather is an inhospitable place. 72 years on and I'm looking out of my window on a cold, wet and windy November day and can only guess at the conditions at 520 meters above sea level at the site of the crash.
Visiting these sites my seem a macabre pass time. Thanatourism to give it it's proper title - visiting sites associated with death and tragedy. I've had a long held passion for the RAF, a cadet in my youth and heading for a commission for aircrew. A bad few days at selection saw me drift away and take a different career path. Passing that engine in a gully rekindled my interest and linked it with my love of the country's high places. Visiting these sites takes me off the beaten track to new and rarely visited areas in the hills. It tests my navigation skills, most of these sites are not big and are often on featureless areas of moorland.
More importantly I get to tell the story of those courageous men who gave their lives. So many of them in their 20's and so many of them still undergoing training. I get to keep their memory alive, to tell their story to a new generation and educate people that these sites are war graves and are protected by law. Please visit them, show your respects but take nothing apart from photos.
More importantly I get to tell the story of those courageous men who gave their lives. So many of them in their 20's and so many of them still undergoing training. I get to keep their memory alive, to tell their story to a new generation and educate people that these sites are war graves and are protected by law. Please visit them, show your respects but take nothing apart from photos.