Date:	Friday 27 September 1940
Time:	04:45 LT
Type:	Handley Page Hampden Mk I
Owner/operator:	106 Sqn RAF
Registration:	X2914
MSN:	ZN-E
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near West House Farm, Chilton Polden, near Bridgwater, Somerset -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Aircraft returning from Gardening sortie (mine laying) in the area of Brest, Fance, was running out of fuel, and unsure of position, requested permission to land at Weston Zoyland, but was refused. (Suggestion that Weston Zoyland thought it was a German aircraft trying to deceive). The pilot, Wally Huggins crash landed the Hampden in a field close to West House Farm and survived uninjured. The three Sergeants in the aircraft, Shelfer, Bogue and Harvey died when parachuting out at very low level prior to the crash

Crew:-
Pilot : Sergeant William Wallace Huggins RAF 745701 (Officer:186724 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 12 December, 1944)
2nd Pilot : Sergeant Eric Henry William Shelfer RAFVR 742908 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Bernard Harvey RAFVR 936441 [Killed]
Air Gunner : Sergeant James Joseph Aloysius Bogue RAFVR 751147 [Killed]

F/O Huggins relinquished his commission, Gazette of 22nd August 1950, on appointment to a commission in the Territorial Army.

There was thick mist at the time and Huggins thought he was over water, the life-raft was found in the field nearby. When he emerged from the mist he was very close to the ground and crash landed.

1. From Chorley, and first hand evidence from my father who was a Wing Commander and knew Wally Huggins the pilot very well and they had conversed regarding the accident.
2. Weston-Super-Mare and the Aeroplane By Roger Dudley, Ted Johnson
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2427374/shelfer,-eric-henry-william/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2459308/bogue,-james-joseph-aloysius/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2409150/harvey,-bernard/
6. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database http://robdavistelford.co.uk/webspace/raf_bc

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
30-Dec-2011 04:16	Lester Stenner	Added
02-Jan-2012 00:30	Anon.	Updated [Source, ]
13-Aug-2012 14:20	Nepa	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Destination airport, ]
27-Aug-2016 12:55	Anon.	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, ]
09-Jul-2018 17:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ]
27-Oct-2018 20:54	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator, ]
01-Apr-2025 07:21	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]