RAF Tern Hill Flt Lt. B R Galletly
A Memory of Market Drayton.
1964 - Mortimer Road, Buntingsdale Park, Market Drayton.
I lived briefly in Mortimer Road as a toddler with my parents and older brother. My father was a Flight Lieutenant stationed at RAF Tern Hill from sometime between late 1962 or 1963. On March 25th, 1964, he was instructing a trainee helicopter pilot. One of the helicopter's rotor blades failed and it crashed to the ground killing my father and the pilot. He is buried in a little graveyard near to a river, which I have visited only twice and not for around 20 years. I would like to visit again soon and wonder if anyone has any information about any of these places or the event itself. As a child of 2 I have no conscious memory of my Dad and little by way of information about his time in Market Drayton. When I visited in the 80's, Mortimer Road was still there but I think it has been replaced with a new development. Any information would be very welcome.
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Thank you for your reply.
I certainly remember your Dad. We were both on No.1 Squadron doing basic helicopter instruction. I didn't know him all that well as he was married and lived off the Station and I was still single and living in the Officers Mess. I can't remember how long he had been at Ternhill before the accident but it wasn't very long.
I remember another instructor returning from a training exercise where he had been demonstrating Vortex Ring, very shaken and white faced. After landing it was found that the blades had struck the tail boom during the manoeuvre and caused severe damage to the blades. Fortunately they held together. But until your father's accident the exercise remained in the syllabus.
The Bristol Sycamore had had problems. It was prone to "Ground Resonance" and there were several cases of the aircraft rolling over on take off. The engine was the Alvis Leonides which was not the most reliable. I had to make two precautionary landings and one severe fire that destroyed the aircraft.
As I said, the blades were made of laminated wood and there were blade failures in the Far East (Malaya) because the glue used to make the laminations deteriorated due to the hot humid climate there.
I remember air taxying out for night flying shortly after the last "rolling over" accident, when a message came over the radio to return to dispersal. All Sycamores had been grounded and as far as I know, never flew again.
They were replaced by the Bell 47, known as the Sioux.
I'm sorry Louise that I can't give you any more information about your father but I hope what little I have has helped.
Kind Regards,
Geoffrey Pendlebury
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada/