Walkers' guide to air crash disasters

Jump to: navigation, search

Simon Burch reviews the second of three fascinating books by Derby author Pat Cunningham detailing some of the 300-plus air crashes which have happened in the Peakland area.

IN August 1957, some 56,00ft above Lathkill Dale, an English Electric Canberra jet broke up in mid-air. Its pilot and navigator bailed out and the pieces of the plane were left to find their way to earth.

They landed in a succession of fields either side of the dale and in and around the village of Monyash.

One piece landed just 10 feet from a young boy as he played: other eye witnesses recalled seeing the wings spiralling down like sycamore seeds.

Weeks later, under a cloak of secrecy – the plane was part of Britain’s arsenal in the Cold War – the pieces had been collected and taken away.

The two flyers recovered and the witnesses were left with a story to tell.

Eventually, some 50 years or so later, they told their stories to Pat Cunningham, who has set about recording, in as much detail as possible, the various crashes, like that of the Canberra, in the Peak District.

It is a big job. At the outset, Pat ,71, from Derby, had expected to be logging up to 200 incidents. In fact, there are 305 – and many of the pilots of downed planes were not as lucky as the crew of the Canberra.

The fruits of his labours have now appeared in written form. Towards the end of last year, Pat released Peakland Air Crashes: The Central Area, a follow up to his first installment, Peakland Air Crashes: The South, last year.

The central area covers Macclesfield in the west, Darley Dale in the south, the M1 motorway in the east, right up to Sheffield.

The crash sites include that of a Vickers Armstrong Wellington, that crashed in Chatsworth Park in June, 1943, another Wellington that crashed close to Youlgreave and a Bristol Blenheim Mk IV that crashed at Spitewinter, north-east of Matlock after descending out of cloud on April 7, 1943.

Pat is both an aviator of more than 40 years experience and a keen walker.

“My interest came about from being an aviator walking in the Peakland and coming across these bits of wreckage,” he says.

“I began to look into them. I’ve written a short story on crashes but my main interest was getting facts and figures and finding out what it was that the airmen had been up against.

“I also wanted to show people where they are and visiting the sites may be a reason to visit some of the more further-out paths.”

The book comes with GPS locations and a brief write up of the history of the crash. It also has photographs of farmers who told Pat their memories.

“I enjoyed talking to the farmers,” he says, “and what they say is fascinating. They are all interested in what happened on their land.”

That said, Pat simply sticks to the facts. “We hear a lot about hero pilots trying to save lives before they crash,” he says, “but most of these pilots hadn’t a clue about what was going to happen.

“I look at these crashes very pragmatically – they were just the result of people making mistakes.”

Peakland Air Crashes: The Central Area, by Pat Cunningham, is published in paperback by Landmark Collector’s Library at £14.99.