Date:	Thursday 12 February 1942
Time:	day
Type:	Westland Lysander TT Mk III
Owner/operator:	7 AGS RAF
Registration:	P1719
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Pont Sarn, Aberbaiden, 800 yards NE of Kenfig Hill, Glamorgan -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Stormy Down, Port Talbot, South Wales
Destination airport:

Narrative:
This Lysander was one of 70 delivered to the RAF by Westlands, Yeovil, to contract 611814/37 between September and December 1939. Its service life included conversion to target towing (TT.III) and assignment to 7 AGS (Air Gunnery School) RAF Stormy Down, Port Talbot, South Wales The aircraft flew into the ground at Pont Sarn, Aberbaiden, 800 yards northeast of Kenfig Hill, Glamorgan on 12th February 1942. According to the ORB for RAF Stormy Down:

"Thursday the 12th" [February 1942] "That was the day the BBC arrived to record an "Aircrew of Tomorrow Programme". The day of the visit was marred further when Lysander P1719 was totally wrecked in a crash into trees at Pont Sarn, Aberbaiden. The Canadian pilot, Sgt A.V. Ruffey (buried at Nottage) and the tow operator, AC.1 Cyril Thomas, were both killed."

Crew of Lysander P1719:
Sergeant Alfred Victor Roffey (Pilot) (Service Number R/85664, aged 24) - killed. Buried Porthcawl Cemetery, Block 1. Row H. Grave 15.
AC.1 Cyril Thomas (Passenger) (service Number 1277171) - killed. Buried Mountain Ash (Maesyrarian) Cemetery, Grave 6962.

Wreckage:
The whole area (including the hill) has been quarried down to a considerable depth, totally eradicating the crash site.

Additional Information:
Sgt Roffey was the only son of Edwin and Lillian Roffey, of Markham, Ontario, Canada.
Aircraftman Thomas was a Welshman and was born in Penrhiwceiber near Mountain Ash, his parents were Samuel and Jenny Thomas.

Memorials:
Sgt Roffey is commemorated on the Canadian Cenotaph in Toronto and a memorial at his hometown of Markham,

1. Lysander P1719 Flying Accident Form AM 1180, RAF Museum, London
2. Halley, J J, 1996, Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000 to R9999, p 9and p 11.
3. http://www.ggat.org.uk/timeline/pdf/Military%20Aircraft%20Crash%20Sites%20in%20Southeast%20Wales.pdf
4. http://www.ceninrenewables.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cottrell-1993-Stormy-AirBase.pdf
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?5659-13-Feb-1942
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2717923/roffey,-alfred-victor/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2717663/thomas,-cyril/
canadianvirtual-war-memorial.ca
canadianfallen.ca

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Mar-2008 03:17	JINX	Added
19-May-2019 22:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
19-May-2019 22:30	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Date, Source, Narrative]
30-May-2019 15:44	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
14-Jan-2022 20:02	Davies 62	Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, Category]