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| Date: | Saturday 11 April 1942 |
| Time: | 15:57 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide |
| Owner/operator: | 4 Group Communications Squadron, RAF |
| Registration: | Z7263 |
| MSN: | 6293 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Cantley Lane, Bessacarr, near RAF Doncaster, South Yorkshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Doncaster, South Yorkshire |
| RAF Clifton, York, North Yorkshire |
c/no. 6293: UK civil Registered as G-ADIM [C of R 5933] 25.7.35 to British Continental Airways Ltd, Croydon; named "St David". C of A 4972 issued 31.7.35; delivered same day. Presumed damaged since engines removed and fitted to G-ADYD 9.5.36 on production line. Taken over by British Airways Ltd 1.8.36; re-registered [C of R 7685] 18.2.37 to them.
Re-registered [C of R 8093] 28.8.37 to Airwork Ltd, Heston and operated by Martin Navigation Ltd/6 CANS Shoreham; coded "2"; later to Staverton and 6 AONS 30.11.39.
Registration cancelled 15.7.40 by Secretary of State, Air Ministry. Impressed into RAF Service as Z7263 15.7.40. To 110 (AAC) Wing Ringway 17.7.40. To 8 AACU Cardiff 27.11.40. To RAF Old Sarum 24.9.41. To 4 Group Communications Squadron, Clifton, North Yorkshire 14.3.42.
Written off when stalled and crashed into a tree after take-off from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, 11.4.42 and destroyed by fire. This aircraft was No.4 Group's communications aircraft and those on board had been visiting Doncaster airfield on 11th April 1942. Doncaster was used by an Army Co-Operation unit. The aircraft had been used to carry Army officers by air to view river sites to undertake practice bridging operations. When it came to taking off from Doncaster to return to Clifton the aircraft stalled at 500 feet and hit trees on the north-eastern boundary and crashed on a road in the Bessacarr area at 15.57hrs. Sadly, the three crew on board died and a disabled young lady being pushed along the road in a "bath-chair" was struck by the wreckage and was seriously injured. Another female pushing the first was also injured. Two fifteen-year-old boys, Frank Bywater and Joseph Devine, witnessed the accident and succeeded in entering the burning wreckage to drag the young lady clear but she sadly died in Doncaster hospital on 1st May 1942.
Struck off charge 9.5.42. Three of the occupants of the aircraft (pilot and two passengers) died in the accident and one civilian on the ground was killed by flying debris.
Those killed in the aircraft were:
Pilot - Squadron Leader Edward Claud Inglefield RAFO (37738), aged 25, of Weyhill, Hampshire. Buried Fulford Cemetery, York.
Pilot (Passenger) - P/O Charles John Roger Boyce RAFVR (112002), aged 25, of Hendon. Buried Kingsby Churchyard, Middlesex.
Passenger - AC.2 William Giblin RAFVR (1526080), aged 21, of Selly Oak, Birmingham. Buried Lodge Hill Cemetery, Birmingham.
Plus one ground fatality
Civilian - Miss Mary Parker, aged 20, of Leicester Avenue, Doncaster. Died of injuries 1st May 1942. Burial location unknown (but presumed to have been in the Doncaster area). She died in Doncaster Infirmary 3 weeks after the incident of 11 April 1942 after being hit by parts of the plane which crashed in the road that she was being pushed along in a wheelchair by her mother, who alslo sustained injuries from flying debris.
Sources:
1. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
2. http://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/component/content/article?id=78
3. https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ADIM.pdf
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A6.html
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh89-dragon-rapide-doncaster-3-killed
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?5434-420411-Unaccounted-airmen-11-4-1942/page2
7. https://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/york42/z7263.html
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2407969/inglefield,-edward-claud/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2735416/boyce,-charles-john-roger/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2449543/giblin,-william/
11. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=83792
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56208537/edward_claud-inglefield
13. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cwgcnorthengland/posts/4139623229609873/
14. https://doncasterwarmemorials.weebly.com/p.html
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Doncaster
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessacarr
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Dec-2011 02:57 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 15-Aug-2012 06:38 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, ] |
| 17-Jun-2014 19:31 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Narrative, ] |
| 08-Jan-2018 02:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Nov-2018 17:56 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 20-Feb-2019 00:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 15-May-2024 21:52 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Operator, ] |
| 15-May-2024 21:54 | Nepa | Updated [Narrative, Operator, ] |
| 22-Mar-2025 03:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
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