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Flight Crew in Box Air Crash, 27 February 1943 Contributions from the surviving relatives Research by Graham Moore, Robert Palmer and Stephen Heal May 2019 Graham, Robert and Stephen were researching North Devon servicemen who lost their lives in the Second World War when they discovered that Box was the final resting place of a Devon airman. You can read more about the air crash in our articles about Box Air Crash. It inspired them to find out more about the stories of the other airmen and to get in touch with their surviving relatives. This is a compilation of the research which they uncovered.[1] Any further details which you can provide are welcomed. Right: Pilot Officer Charles Henry Nichols photo (courtesy Chris Goodman) The Air Accident Record The official report correctly gave the names of the five aircrew who were killed and recorded evidence of the crash but little about the people behind the names: |
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The aircraft stalled from low altitude, crashed and caught fire. The aircraft was first seen approaching the airfield (Colerne) downwind in gentle right-hand turn and at low speed with port engine turning over slowly. The aircraft was in a position to land downwind with undercarriage retracted but continued to turn towards Box where, in an attempt to climb, it stalled.
This article seeks to discover more about the servicemen from the records and their ancestors. The men who lost their lives were:
Charles Henry Nichols
Graham Brayshaw
Cecil Edward Vyse
Dennis Oswald Moss
Barry Charles Burton.
This article seeks to discover more about the servicemen from the records and their ancestors. The men who lost their lives were:
Charles Henry Nichols
Graham Brayshaw
Cecil Edward Vyse
Dennis Oswald Moss
Barry Charles Burton.
Charles Henry Nichols, Pilot Officer, 1923 - 1943
By Chris Goodman
My mother, Ruby May Nichols (1920-2012), was the sister of Charles Henry Nichols, making him my uncle. Like many people of the time, she often thought about her brother but rarely wished to talk about the events of his death. It was too painful for her.
I started researching the story some twenty years ago and this is the information I was able to find.
Charles Henry Nichols was born on 13 September 1923 in Withypool, on Exmoor. He was the son of Henry Nichols and his wife Florence Nichols (nee Hobbs). Henry and Florence were married in Barnstaple in 1919, their daughter Ruby May being born on 27 December 1920 and three years later Charles Henry. By 1939 the family were living at Lyndale number 2, Bickington, Barnstaple, North Devon.
By Chris Goodman
My mother, Ruby May Nichols (1920-2012), was the sister of Charles Henry Nichols, making him my uncle. Like many people of the time, she often thought about her brother but rarely wished to talk about the events of his death. It was too painful for her.
I started researching the story some twenty years ago and this is the information I was able to find.
Charles Henry Nichols was born on 13 September 1923 in Withypool, on Exmoor. He was the son of Henry Nichols and his wife Florence Nichols (nee Hobbs). Henry and Florence were married in Barnstaple in 1919, their daughter Ruby May being born on 27 December 1920 and three years later Charles Henry. By 1939 the family were living at Lyndale number 2, Bickington, Barnstaple, North Devon.
Charles and his parents (photo courtesy Chris Goodman)
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After leaving Barnstaple Grammar School, Charles went to work at Barnstaple Post Office. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force in early 1942 and began training as a navigator. On completion he was commissioned in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a Pilot Officer (on probation) on 18 November 1942.
He was stationed at RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, and I believe he was on a training flight in February 1943 before going operational. I have seen information that one engine on the plane caught fire over Portishead and the fire spread to the wing. The plane was attempting an emergency landing at Colerne when it came down in Box. When reports of the death came through, his family thought it was Cologne (Germany), never having heard of Corsham. My uncle Charles was nineteen years old when he lost his life. He had his whole future in front of him, had just become engaged to Joan Jordan, was an intelligent and sporting young man with a secure future ahead. |
A measure of the affection which he enjoyed was that two hundred mourners attended his funeral at Fremington on 4 March 1943. The local newspaper reported that a gloom was cast over the Bickington and Fremington District. The official cause of death on his death certificate was given as Due to war operations.
Amazingly, Graham managed to trace Joan Jordan, Charles’ fiancée, who recorded this charming reminiscence of him and her life afterwards.
Amazingly, Graham managed to trace Joan Jordan, Charles’ fiancée, who recorded this charming reminiscence of him and her life afterwards.
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Joan Curtis (nee Jordan) Recorded her Memories of Charles Nichols Joan Jordan, Charles’ fiancée, had volunteered for work with the Red Cross in the Barnstaple area during the war. She was a trained dancer and put on various Gang Shows for the troops in Devon during the war and afterwards, when she ran her own ballet school. On 4 March 1943, Joan received a letter of condolence from Bob Parr, the Officers’ Mess, Upper Heyford, which she has always kept. Bob Parr had been unable to get to Charles’ funeral (or rather his pal “Nick” as he was always known by RAF colleagues) but two of Charles’ other colleagues did attend. Bob Parr wrote about the man with whom he had joined up: It seems to me to be such a sad ending to what was just beginning to be the actual job we both joined up to do. Joan married Eddie Curtis shortly after the war ended and had three children, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Right: Charles in training April 1942 aged 18 (courtesy Joan Curtis) |
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Charles Nichols with his mates (photograph courtesy Joan Curtis)
Graham Brayshaw, Pilot Officer, 1917 - 1943
By Cathy Ramsay
Graham Brayshaw was related to my mother, nee Nancy Brayshaw, as a first cousin. We were always told he died in the war but we never knew how, why or when. I have some information about the family, particularly Graham's father, George Brayshaw, who owned a mill called Brayshaw & Dickinson at Stainland, Greetland, Yorkshire. Graham's grandfather, Squire Brayshaw, was a master wool sorter but I don't know which mill he worked at. George bought the Stainland mill in partnership long after his father died. Uncle George and auntie Amy were considered well off as they had a car and a chauffeur and ladies’ maids in service at their home in Stainland called Rockvale or Rockwell. Graham was the youngest of their three children and had two older siblings, Margaret and Israel.
I visited Greetland in 2014 to see the old family homestead, Ashcroft, 17 Haigh Street, Greetland, where George and his brother Fred Brayshaw were born. To care for their mother, Fred bought George's half of the house and took care of granny who lived in the granny flat attached. George and Amy went to live in Stainland thereafter & ran Brayshaw & Dickinson's mill. Graham's dad died of a coronary right there in his office at the mill. Mum showed me black and white snaps when Graham was a baby and his two sisters were little girls. She also had photographs of the girls’ weddings where she and Eunice were bridesmaids.
By Cathy Ramsay
Graham Brayshaw was related to my mother, nee Nancy Brayshaw, as a first cousin. We were always told he died in the war but we never knew how, why or when. I have some information about the family, particularly Graham's father, George Brayshaw, who owned a mill called Brayshaw & Dickinson at Stainland, Greetland, Yorkshire. Graham's grandfather, Squire Brayshaw, was a master wool sorter but I don't know which mill he worked at. George bought the Stainland mill in partnership long after his father died. Uncle George and auntie Amy were considered well off as they had a car and a chauffeur and ladies’ maids in service at their home in Stainland called Rockvale or Rockwell. Graham was the youngest of their three children and had two older siblings, Margaret and Israel.
I visited Greetland in 2014 to see the old family homestead, Ashcroft, 17 Haigh Street, Greetland, where George and his brother Fred Brayshaw were born. To care for their mother, Fred bought George's half of the house and took care of granny who lived in the granny flat attached. George and Amy went to live in Stainland thereafter & ran Brayshaw & Dickinson's mill. Graham's dad died of a coronary right there in his office at the mill. Mum showed me black and white snaps when Graham was a baby and his two sisters were little girls. She also had photographs of the girls’ weddings where she and Eunice were bridesmaids.
A Child’s View of the Tragic Death of Graham Brayshaw
By Leueen Lewis-Jones (nee Wolfenden)
I have always wondered about the terrible tragedy of my uncle Graham’s crash. My mother was Isabel's sister, Margaret, and we lived in New Malden, Surrey, but at the time had been evacuated to Stainland to get away from the London bombs and were living with my grandparents. I was only six years old at the time and my brother, also called Peter Graham, was only one but I remember a little about my grandparents’ grief. One memory was when my uncle's belongings were returned. They came in a brown paper parcel which my grandfather slowly unwrapped. As a child, I was terrified and thought it might contain my uncle’s bones. I was very frightened.
I am married to Trevor Lewis-Jones and have five children and we emigrated to Australia in 1970 and live near Perth, Western Australia.
Graham enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1939 at Padgate, Warrington, and qualified as a pilot.[2] He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was awarded his wings. On 21 November 1941, he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer, and on 1 October 1942, promoted to the rank of Flying Officer.
By Leueen Lewis-Jones (nee Wolfenden)
I have always wondered about the terrible tragedy of my uncle Graham’s crash. My mother was Isabel's sister, Margaret, and we lived in New Malden, Surrey, but at the time had been evacuated to Stainland to get away from the London bombs and were living with my grandparents. I was only six years old at the time and my brother, also called Peter Graham, was only one but I remember a little about my grandparents’ grief. One memory was when my uncle's belongings were returned. They came in a brown paper parcel which my grandfather slowly unwrapped. As a child, I was terrified and thought it might contain my uncle’s bones. I was very frightened.
I am married to Trevor Lewis-Jones and have five children and we emigrated to Australia in 1970 and live near Perth, Western Australia.
Graham enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1939 at Padgate, Warrington, and qualified as a pilot.[2] He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was awarded his wings. On 21 November 1941, he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer, and on 1 October 1942, promoted to the rank of Flying Officer.
Cecil Edward Vyse, 1917 - 1943
By Lois Friend
Cecil Vyse was my uncle. Although I was only a few months old when he died, I felt I knew him because I was very close to my grandmother who told me all about him. There were four children in the family at Beaverton, Ontario, Canada: Merlyn, Cecil, Agnes (my mother) and Canada (as my uncle Ken was always known). Like my uncle Cecil, I am also a traveller, married to an Australian and I have lived in Melbourne since the 1980s. When I lived and worked in England in the early 1970s, I made a point of visiting Bath, Haycombe Cemetery, where Cecil was buried, not only for myself but also for my grandmother who was never able to make the journey.
I've been reading his daily diary along with his log book. I thought you might be interested in a few of his daily thoughts starting from the time he arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 28 October 1942. He boarded the Queen Elizabeth with 19,000 other troops: Thought she was a lovely ship. On board in harbour for 3 days. Set sail Oct. 31, 1942 and landed in Greenock, Scotland the following Tuesday Nov. 4. On board all day, then taken ashore on small ships. Boarded a troop train for Bournemouth. Left there end of November for Upper Heyford. Spent Christmas there. Sat. Jan.2, 1943 At classes all morning, got out of PT (Physical Training) and went to funeral for Jack MacDonald from Belleville, buried near Upper Heyford.
A notable date is Monday 18 January 1943 where got crewed up with F/O Brayshaw, P/O Nichols, P/O Moss, F/Sgt. Burton (his spelling) in B Flight. One of his letters says he thinks they are nice chaps. His diary is an amazing record of their training in the days leading up to the fatal flight in Box.
Thursday 28 January mentions feeling airsick after 3 hours flying.
Sunday 7 February 1943 Went to Hinton. Did NFT (Night Flying Test). Pilot Sgt. Aldersley started to panic.
Monday 8 February Transferred to D Flight. Went to briefing room, nearly froze as it was cold. In intelligence library all afternoon. Saturday 20 February 1943. Did NFF (Night Flying Flight) in Wellington Bomber. Went to Oxford for party with my crew.
Wednesday 24 February 1943 Cross country over Scotland.
Thursday 25 February 1943 Cross country. Bulls Eye at 1900. Over London, Isle of Wight, Birmingham and back to Upper Heyford. Returned at 0400. 7½ hour trip, 12,000 ft., 150 miles per hour.
Friday 26 February 1943. Slept till noon, went to flights, not on detail so wrote letters, had bath and retired for the day.
Saturday 27 February [His last day alive] Log book reads STERT FLATS HEAVY BOMBING then simply written in small letters in another hand crashed.
It amazes me that with all the casualties at that time, the relatives were notified so quickly of the deaths of loved ones. My grandmother received the telegram the very next day from the RCAF Casualties Officer, followed a few days later by a letter from the office of the RCAF Chief of the Air Staff confirming his death. A few days after that was another confirmation letter from the office of the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief, RCAF Overseas. There are three letters from chaplains, one of whom apparently conducted the funeral service and also arranged for the photographic department to take a few snaps of the funeral which my grandmother received. There is a lovely handwritten letter from the RCAF chaplain of that district but he mistakenly has Uncle Cecil buried in Colerne Village Cemetery.
After the crash in Box, Cecil was buried in Bath where his headstone records: Think of him, Still as the same, I say, He is not dead, He is just away. Posthumously, he was awarded the Defence Medal, the War Medal, and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal. One more interesting thing before I end. When I visited my uncle's grave at Haycombe Cemetery, I noticed that the chap buried next to him is an Australian with the surname of Holmes a Court. This is a very prominent family name in Western Australia and of course I have the connection with Australia. Life is strange sometimes.
Cecil Edward Vyse was born on 4 September 1917 in Ontario, Canada; the son of John Benjamin and Emma Vyse (nee Johnston).[3] His family ran a farm at Beaverton, Ontario, which is where Cecil was born and, as soon as he left school, he started working on the family farm. Cecil enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on 6 August 1941 at Toronto, completed his initial training at No. 1 Manning Depot, RCAF Toronto, and moved to No. 4 Wireless School at RCAF Guelph on 23 August 1941. On 6 November 1941, he was promoted to the rank of Aircraftman 1st Class and was promoted to the rank of Leading Aircraftman on 6 February 1942. Cecil spent two periods in hospital, in August 1941 and October 1942. Cecil qualified as an Air Gunner on 9 October 1942, receiving his wings and promoted to the rank of Temporary Sergeant on the same day. He embarked to the UK on 5 November 1942, and was posted to No. 16 Operational Training Unit on 8 December 1942. It was there that he joined up with Graham Brayshaw as part of his air crew.
By Lois Friend
Cecil Vyse was my uncle. Although I was only a few months old when he died, I felt I knew him because I was very close to my grandmother who told me all about him. There were four children in the family at Beaverton, Ontario, Canada: Merlyn, Cecil, Agnes (my mother) and Canada (as my uncle Ken was always known). Like my uncle Cecil, I am also a traveller, married to an Australian and I have lived in Melbourne since the 1980s. When I lived and worked in England in the early 1970s, I made a point of visiting Bath, Haycombe Cemetery, where Cecil was buried, not only for myself but also for my grandmother who was never able to make the journey.
I've been reading his daily diary along with his log book. I thought you might be interested in a few of his daily thoughts starting from the time he arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 28 October 1942. He boarded the Queen Elizabeth with 19,000 other troops: Thought she was a lovely ship. On board in harbour for 3 days. Set sail Oct. 31, 1942 and landed in Greenock, Scotland the following Tuesday Nov. 4. On board all day, then taken ashore on small ships. Boarded a troop train for Bournemouth. Left there end of November for Upper Heyford. Spent Christmas there. Sat. Jan.2, 1943 At classes all morning, got out of PT (Physical Training) and went to funeral for Jack MacDonald from Belleville, buried near Upper Heyford.
A notable date is Monday 18 January 1943 where got crewed up with F/O Brayshaw, P/O Nichols, P/O Moss, F/Sgt. Burton (his spelling) in B Flight. One of his letters says he thinks they are nice chaps. His diary is an amazing record of their training in the days leading up to the fatal flight in Box.
Thursday 28 January mentions feeling airsick after 3 hours flying.
Sunday 7 February 1943 Went to Hinton. Did NFT (Night Flying Test). Pilot Sgt. Aldersley started to panic.
Monday 8 February Transferred to D Flight. Went to briefing room, nearly froze as it was cold. In intelligence library all afternoon. Saturday 20 February 1943. Did NFF (Night Flying Flight) in Wellington Bomber. Went to Oxford for party with my crew.
Wednesday 24 February 1943 Cross country over Scotland.
Thursday 25 February 1943 Cross country. Bulls Eye at 1900. Over London, Isle of Wight, Birmingham and back to Upper Heyford. Returned at 0400. 7½ hour trip, 12,000 ft., 150 miles per hour.
Friday 26 February 1943. Slept till noon, went to flights, not on detail so wrote letters, had bath and retired for the day.
Saturday 27 February [His last day alive] Log book reads STERT FLATS HEAVY BOMBING then simply written in small letters in another hand crashed.
It amazes me that with all the casualties at that time, the relatives were notified so quickly of the deaths of loved ones. My grandmother received the telegram the very next day from the RCAF Casualties Officer, followed a few days later by a letter from the office of the RCAF Chief of the Air Staff confirming his death. A few days after that was another confirmation letter from the office of the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief, RCAF Overseas. There are three letters from chaplains, one of whom apparently conducted the funeral service and also arranged for the photographic department to take a few snaps of the funeral which my grandmother received. There is a lovely handwritten letter from the RCAF chaplain of that district but he mistakenly has Uncle Cecil buried in Colerne Village Cemetery.
After the crash in Box, Cecil was buried in Bath where his headstone records: Think of him, Still as the same, I say, He is not dead, He is just away. Posthumously, he was awarded the Defence Medal, the War Medal, and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal. One more interesting thing before I end. When I visited my uncle's grave at Haycombe Cemetery, I noticed that the chap buried next to him is an Australian with the surname of Holmes a Court. This is a very prominent family name in Western Australia and of course I have the connection with Australia. Life is strange sometimes.
Cecil Edward Vyse was born on 4 September 1917 in Ontario, Canada; the son of John Benjamin and Emma Vyse (nee Johnston).[3] His family ran a farm at Beaverton, Ontario, which is where Cecil was born and, as soon as he left school, he started working on the family farm. Cecil enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on 6 August 1941 at Toronto, completed his initial training at No. 1 Manning Depot, RCAF Toronto, and moved to No. 4 Wireless School at RCAF Guelph on 23 August 1941. On 6 November 1941, he was promoted to the rank of Aircraftman 1st Class and was promoted to the rank of Leading Aircraftman on 6 February 1942. Cecil spent two periods in hospital, in August 1941 and October 1942. Cecil qualified as an Air Gunner on 9 October 1942, receiving his wings and promoted to the rank of Temporary Sergeant on the same day. He embarked to the UK on 5 November 1942, and was posted to No. 16 Operational Training Unit on 8 December 1942. It was there that he joined up with Graham Brayshaw as part of his air crew.
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Barry Charles Burton
By Robert Palmer Barry Charles Burton was born in Bromley, Kent, on 28 March 1922. In 1939, he lived with his parents at 14, North Street, Bromley, and he worked as a clerk with a local firm of estate agents. His service number indicates that he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve at either Uxbridge or Weston-Super-Mare at some date after November 1940. He is buried in Block G, Grave 274 of the Bromley Hill Cemetery, which is now within the London Borough of Bromley. Dennis Oswald Moss By Chris and Denise Moss Chris Moss was two-years-old when his father Dennis died in the Box air crash. Dennis Oswald Moss was born on 8 October 1912, in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, a director of Albert Mills (Morley) Company Limited who was born into a cloth-finishing family. Dennis went to Leeds University, and in July 1938, he married Ruth Briggs, eldest daughter of an Ossett mill owner and a graduate of London University. Dennis trained in South Africa and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on 10 October 1942. You can read more about Dennis and Christopher’s visit to Box to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the air crash at Dennis Oswald Moss. |
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Family Trees
Charles Henry Nichols was born on 13 September 1923 in Withypool, Exmoor. He had a sister Ruby May born on 27 December 1920.
Graham Brayshaw was born on 21 August 1917 in Yorkshire, the only son of George and Amy Brayshaw. He had two elder sisters, Margaret and Isabel.
Cecil Edward Vyse was born on 4 September 1917 at Beaverton, Ontario, Canada; the son of John Benjamin and Emma Vyse (nee Johnston). He had siblings Merlyn, Cecil, Agnes and Ken.
Barry Charles Burton was born in Bromley, Kent, on 28 March 1922.
Dennis Oswald Moss was born on 8 October 1912, in Dewsbury, Yorkshire. the son of Councillor Dennis Moss and Martha Moss (nee Holmes).
Charles Henry Nichols was born on 13 September 1923 in Withypool, Exmoor. He had a sister Ruby May born on 27 December 1920.
Graham Brayshaw was born on 21 August 1917 in Yorkshire, the only son of George and Amy Brayshaw. He had two elder sisters, Margaret and Isabel.
Cecil Edward Vyse was born on 4 September 1917 at Beaverton, Ontario, Canada; the son of John Benjamin and Emma Vyse (nee Johnston). He had siblings Merlyn, Cecil, Agnes and Ken.
Barry Charles Burton was born in Bromley, Kent, on 28 March 1922.
Dennis Oswald Moss was born on 8 October 1912, in Dewsbury, Yorkshire. the son of Councillor Dennis Moss and Martha Moss (nee Holmes).
References
[1] Unless stated otherwise, much of this research is courtesy Robert Palmer, assisted by Stephen Heal. You can read more of their research in a series of booklets they are publishing at www.BritishMilitaryHistory.co.uk
[2] Courtesy Robert Palmer, assisted by Stephen Heal
[3] Courtesy Robert Palmer, assisted by Stephen Heal
[1] Unless stated otherwise, much of this research is courtesy Robert Palmer, assisted by Stephen Heal. You can read more of their research in a series of booklets they are publishing at www.BritishMilitaryHistory.co.uk
[2] Courtesy Robert Palmer, assisted by Stephen Heal
[3] Courtesy Robert Palmer, assisted by Stephen Heal