1918 light aircraft crash near Wynols Hill (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Friday, March 13, 2015, 01:56 (3554 days ago) @ Daffodil

Hi,
this intrigues me, but so far I've not found anything at all in any local and notsolocal newspapers from the BNA site. Perhaps the DF Mercury might have covered it, if you have access to their archives at Cinderford Library ?

I'm pretty sure Eastbach airstrip near Bicknor wasn't in use until long after WW2, so no relevance here.
I did find an August 1918 report in the Cheltenham Chronicle of a low-flying plane crashing into a house near Tetbury; the pilot, who's named, suffers a broken leg and arm.
Another report in the Gloster Echo, Nov 1918, mentions an Avro plane crashing near Cheltenham, due to engine trouble, but the two crew were not injured.

These reports leads me to wonder if the crash you mention was less severe, ie no injuries and more of a "routine" accident which were common in those days, especially during takeoff on rough fields, hence it never made the papers ?
I think you're suggesting the Broadwell crash wasn't a military plane, so perhaps less newsworthy?. But then again a private plane would be very rare indeed in 1918, wish I could see the photo. Can you clarify on this at all, hopefully someone has the book or photo and can confirm if the aircraft carries military or civil markings, any clues may help ?

Many thanks, Jeff.

ps The Gloster Citizen of Wednesday 5 December 1923 reported;

"Dean Forest Constabulary.
PRESENTATIONS TO EX-CONSTABLES. Recent resignations from the Forest Division of the Gloucestershire Constabulary were those of P.C. James Bartlett, Coleford,' and Henry Miles, of Littledean. The former has settled down at Perry Grove, near Monmouth, whilst the latter has crossed the Severn to Dursley district. At the monthly meeting of the Forest Force, Supt. Shelswell, on behalf of his men, asked ex-PC Bartlett to accept a valuable timepiece, and ex-P.C. Miles a gold chain & seal. The recipients made suitable acknowledgment."

pps IF the crash had been just six months later, then the following photo might have been a likely explanation. The Avro shown here was the standard basic trainer during WW1 and stayed in RAF service long afterwards. More were built during WW1 than any other type, hundreds of surplus RFC/RAF machines were bought for civil use after the war, it being easy to fly and could take passengers. The one plane alone in this example did thousands of joyrides during the year or two after mid 1919, the mid 1919 papers show adverts for it across northern England. Pilot Alan Cobham went on to become a very important pioneer of civil aviation across the world.
http://www.sungreen.co.uk/Bream-Forest-of-Dean/Bream-Avenue-plane.html
http://wantage-museum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/The-Berkshire-Aviation-Co.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28gfuR1Qv1Q
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504