Following my account of our tour of HMS Tern, Lindsay Bailey (Site Manager) was good enough to send me some extra information about the ‘planes which crashed in Rendall. With her permission, I’ll transcribe what Lindsay sent to me.
“The Rendall Spitfire crash X4108.
His early life and training
Reg was born on 2 August 1921 in Port Elgin, New Brunswick, Canada. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in summer 1940, training on Fleet Finch, Yale and Harvard aircraft before travelling to Britain. His brother Eric went absent without leave to see him before he departed, receiving a court martial and punishment. It was the last time the brothers saw each other.
Service defending Scapa Flow After further training at RAF Usworth.
Reg joined 124 Squadron at Castletown, Caithness, flying Spitfires on convoy and coastal patrols to defend Scapa Flow. His first operational flight was on 1 August 1941, in Spitfire R7156, named Cardiff II. The fatal crash On 24 September 1941, Reg took off at 7.20am in Spitfire X4108, accompanied by Sergeant Moore in R6627.
They were searching the waters east of Orkney for floating wreckage that could endanger shipping. With low cloud over the hills, the aircraft flew inland over Gairsay Sound. Reg’s Spitfire struck the hillside above a farm at Rendall, killing him instantly. He was 20 years old.
Moore narrowly cleared the hill and returned safely to base.
Burial and rediscovery
Reg received a full military funeral on 27 September 1941 and was buried in Sandwick Cemetery, Section N, Grave 57.
The precise crash location was eventually rediscovered in September 2009 by William Shearer and Kevin Heath of the Aviation Research Group Orkney & Shetland, using local witnesses’ knowledge. Recovered pieces included a radio push-button tuner and a climb/descent instrument face.
In May 2018, relatives Kevin Berry and his son Ryan travelled from Canada to visit Reg’s grave and the crash site
The Seafire Crash
On 3 February 1943, two Fleet Air Arm Seafires from 880 Squadron collided at approximately 6,000 feet above the Woodwick range, Evie, during a camera-gun attack training exercise.
The pilots were: – Sub-Lieutenant (A) Lloyd H. Johnson, Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve — flying MB362, which crashed into the sea off Tingwall. – Sub-Lieutenant (A) Anthony Charles Armstrong Smalley, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve — flying MB369, which crashed into a field in Rendall. Both pilots were killed.
Their bodies were recovered and buried with full military honours in adjoining graves at St Olaf’s Cemetery, Kirkwall.
Finding the Rendall crash site Research began in 2004, using recollections from local people, but the first search failed to locate aircraft remains.
In 2009, the Aviation Research Group Orkney & Shetland (ARGOS) resumed the search. Investigators initially found remains of nearby Hackland Camp, used by the 9th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment. The camp’s wartime diary recorded a Seafire crash nearby and the recovery of wireless equipment and other parts. With further help from local witnesses and the landowner, Kevin Heath and William Shearer located the aircraft on 27 July 2009. A small metal fragment bearing identifying numbers provided the crucial evidence.
Remembering the pilots
ARGOS contacted relatives of both pilots, who contributed information to the research. Lloyd Johnson’s brother Kit Johnson and Kit’s daughter Charlotte visited his grave from New Zealand in 2008..
The Team at HMS Tern plan to hold a Service there for Remembrance Day – remembering the 16 pilots and crew who were lost between 1941 to 45.