“Because You Were Here, We Are Enriched”: British and Americans Fly, Fight, and Rest Together
They rest in an Oak Ridge, an American cemetery tucked in the middle of the green fields, houses, and networks of busy roads that crisscross Wayne County, Michigan. They came from “England, the “green and pleasant land,” that William Blake described in his poem Milton, in the lines that later became part of the song “Jerusalem.” They died doing their part in defending their country and others fighting the Axis powers of World War II.
During the 1930s and World War II, the Naval Air Station on Grosse Ile, an island in the Detroit River about 26 miles from Detroit, operated as an important testing and training ground for aircraft and pilots. Over the course of World War II, more than 5,000 pilots trained at Grosse Ile Naval Station, including Navy cadets and more than a thousand British RAF pilot trainees under the Lend Lease Act provisions. Consolidated PBY Catalina Voght, FU Corsairs, Curtiss SB2C Helldivers, and Grumann TBM Avengers were the primary airplanes used at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile during the War, and trainers used SNJ and Boeing Stearman airplanes.
On August 28, 1941, Grosse Ile Naval Reserve Air Base expanded its mission to include training British aviation cadets in primary flight operations. The cadets who did not wash out after a month’s basic training would move on to Pensacola, Florida to finish their flight training.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor propelling the United States into World War II. By the end of 1942 there were more than 3,000 personnel at NAS Grosse Ile, with an increasing British aviation presence. The Naval Ferry Command also used the base as a refueling point. Two side wheel excursion steamers, the USS Wolverine and USS Sable were commissioned, converted, and used as training aircraft carriers. Most of the carrier qualification exercises in World War II took place on the Wolverine and able and countless landing signal officers and ground crew successfully trained on the decks of these two ships. The training exercises produced at least 120,000 successful landings and approximately 17,000 qualified naval aviators.
The British air cadets practiced the same training routine as their American counterparts, using the same equipment, and the same teacher. By January 1, 1944, the Adrian, Michigan Daily Telegram noted that Captain Caspar John, British Naval Attaché for air, stationed in Washington D.C. noted that one third of all British pilots in the fleet air arm were being trained by the United States Navy with the goal of joining Anglo-American fleet operation against Japan.
For two years the British have been preparing their naval aviators to work with American fliers to crush Japan in the Pacific. British naval air pilots have trained on American bases, learning how to use American planes and equipment from American instructors. They have been trained and organized into fighter, dive bomber and torpedo bomber squadrons and sent back to Britain on carriers built for Britain in the United States. This is Lend Lease clear to the bottom line.
The newly trained British pilots already saw action against the Germans in the North Sea along with some American carriers operating there. They operated jointly and were anticipating the defeat of Hitler and Hirohito.
The volume of training exercises increased the probability of accidents and they did happen frequently. Between 1942 and 1945, more than 122 airplanes were lost and there were more than 200 deck accidents. Although most accidents produced just minor injuries, at least eleven naval aviators died. Naval Air Station Grosse Ile also supported 16 airfields radiating through the Downriver area, and the Navy continued to operate some of them into the 1950s.
The eleven Royal Air Force student pilots from England who were killed during the Second World War in training accidents at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile:
Keith Maurice Hoare was born about 1923, the son of Maurice Arthur and Doris Irene Hoar of Egham, Surrey, England. He was the Leading Aircraftman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died on November 18, 1943 in a training accident.
Richard Giles Ingouville, born about 1923 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the son of Peter and Marta B. Ingouville. He was a Leading Airman of the H.M.S. Saker, SAKER I and II were accounting and administrative centers tracking officers and men from the Royal Navy who were in the United States for training or waiting for ships to be built. He was killed in a training accident.
David Scott Parker was born about 1923 in Yorkshire, England, the son of George W. and Dorothy Parker. He served as a Leading Airman in the H.M.S. Saker II program. He died on May 21, 1943 in a training accident.
William Thomas Pridmore was born about 1918, in Kilburn, London, England to Thomas John and Margaret Pridmore. He served as a Leading Aircraftman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and he died in a training accident on September 23, 1942.
Reginald Joseph Stephens. Reginald Joseph Stephens was born about 1922, the son of Eward Joseph and Lucy Alice Stephens of Gloucester, England. He was the Leading Airman on the H.M.S. Saker and he was killed in a training accident.
Derek Robertson Stewart was born about 1925, the son of John Robertson and Dorothy Stewart, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. A Leading Airman, he served as part of the H.M.S. Saker, Royal Navy and he died in a training accident.
Albert Creighton Summers was born about 1926 in Hoveringham, Nottingham, England, the son of George Albert and Gladys Kathleen Summers. He was a Leading Airman of the HMS Saker and he died in a training accident on January 13, 1944.
Harry Threadgold was born about 1921 in Winsford in Cheshire, England, the son of Harry and Caroline Threadgold. He served with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve He died on September 23, 1942, in a training accident while a student pilot with the RAF.
Arnold Hall Tulloch was born about 1924 in Liverpool, England, the son of Arnold and Helen Tulloch. He served in the H.M.S. Saker, Royal Navy, and he was killed in a training accident on June 28, 1943.
Arthur Raymond Turner, born about 1924 in Manchester, England, was the son of Arthur and Lucy Turner. He was as casualty of World War II, on May 22, 1943, serving with the H.M.S. Saker II.
Robert Walker was a Leading Airman in the H.M.S. Saker program. He died in December 1943, as a World War II casualty.
Thirteen years after the end of World War II, six more British airmen died in an aviation accident.
On October 24, 1958, six members of British Royal Air Force squadron No. 83 flying an Avro Vulcan B.1 XA908 crashed in Grosse Pointe Park, near Detroit after a total electric system failure at about 30,000 feet. The backup system should have provided 20 minutes of emergency power to allow the jet to divert to Kellogg Airfield in Battle Creek, Michigan, or one of the several airports in the Detroit area.
The backup power lasted three minutes, until a short circuit occurred in the busbar. The short circuit permitted the busbar to provide only three minutes of power before the aircraft controls locked and the jet went into a 60-70 percent dive. Then it crashed, leaving a 40-foot crater in the ground, which workers later excavated to a depth of 70 feet trying unsuccessfully to find the jet’s cockpit.
The co-pilot ejected from the plane, but he and his five crew members were all killed. Searchers found the co-pilot’s ejector sea in Lake St. Clair, but his body was not recovered until the following spring. There were no ground fatalities, and only one person on the ground needed hospitalization. The crash caused extensive property damage.
All six crewmembers were killed and they were laid to rest alongside the graves of the eleven RAF student pilots killed in training accidents during World War II. The crew of the Vulcan jet was:
Harvey John Scull Royal Air Force, Squadron leader, age 35. Squadron Leader Scull,Service Number 165638 was based at RAF Waddington and was 35 when he died whilst serving with the Royal Air Force. His epitaph reads: Treasured memories of a husband and father. Loved and remembered always
Brian Peacock R.A.R., Flight Lieutenant, age 27. Flight Lieutenant Peacock was born in Hull, Service no.3513565. He was 27. He was based at RAF Waddington and died whilst serving with the Royal Air Force. His epitaph reads: He will live on in the hearts of those who loved him.
James Donald Watson R.A.F., Flight Lieutenant, age 34. His epitaph reads: Dearest husband rest in peace the Lord bless thee and keep thee. Flight Lieutenant Watson, born in East Grinstead and stationed at RAF Waddington, died whilst serving in the Royal Air Force. His Service No. was 167695
John Willoughby Moore, AFC R.A.F, Flight Lieutenant, age 34. His epitaph reads : Darling daddy of Judith and Nigel. Loving wife Julia Flight Lieutenant Moore, Service No.576961, was the holder of the Air Force Cross-he was based at RAF Waddington and died whilst serving in the Royal Air Force; he was 34.
Anthony David Baker Royal Air Force, Flying Officer, age 23. His epitaph reads: Cherished memories of my beloved husband, death will be a pause. Flying Officer Baker, Service No.4130310 Royal Air Force was stationed at RAF Waddington. He was 23
Edward C. Evison R.A.F. 648566 Chief Tech, age 39. His epitaph reads: Because you were here we are enriched.
Because they came to America, we are enriched.
They rest in an Oak Ridge, an American cemetery tucked in the middle of the green fields, houses, and networks of busy roads that crisscross Wayne County, Michigan. They came from “England, the “green and pleasant land,” that William Blake described in his poem Milton, in the lines that later became part of the song “Jerusalem.” They died doing their part in defending their country and others fighting the Axis powers of World War II.
During the 1930s and World War II, the Naval Air Station on Grosse Ile, an island in the Detroit River about 26 miles from Detroit, operated as an important testing and training ground for aircraft and pilots. Over the course of World War II, more than 5,000 pilots trained at Grosse Ile Naval Station, including Navy cadets and more than a thousand British RAF pilot trainees under the Lend Lease Act provisions. Consolidated PBY Catalina Voght, FU Corsairs, Curtiss SB2C Helldivers, and Grumann TBM Avengers were the primary airplanes used at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile during the War, and trainers used SNJ and Boeing Stearman airplanes.
On August 28, 1941, Grosse Ile Naval Reserve Air Base expanded its mission to include training British aviation cadets in primary flight operations. The cadets who did not wash out after a month’s basic training would move on to Pensacola, Florida to finish their flight training.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor propelling the United States into World War II. By the end of 1942 there were more than 3,000 personnel at NAS Grosse Ile, with an increasing British aviation presence. The Naval Ferry Command also used the base as a refueling point. Two side wheel excursion steamers, the USS Wolverine and USS Sable were commissioned, converted, and used as training aircraft carriers. Most of the carrier qualification exercises in World War II took place on the Wolverine and able and countless landing signal officers and ground crew successfully trained on the decks of these two ships. The training exercises produced at least 120,000 successful landings and approximately 17,000 qualified naval aviators.
The British air cadets practiced the same training routine as their American counterparts, using the same equipment, and the same teacher. By January 1, 1944, the Adrian, Michigan Daily Telegram noted that Captain Caspar John, British Naval Attaché for air, stationed in Washington D.C. noted that one third of all British pilots in the fleet air arm were being trained by the United States Navy with the goal of joining Anglo-American fleet operation against Japan.
For two years the British have been preparing their naval aviators to work with American fliers to crush Japan in the Pacific. British naval air pilots have trained on American bases, learning how to use American planes and equipment from American instructors. They have been trained and organized into fighter, dive bomber and torpedo bomber squadrons and sent back to Britain on carriers built for Britain in the United States. This is Lend Lease clear to the bottom line.
The newly trained British pilots already saw action against the Germans in the North Sea along with some American carriers operating there. They operated jointly and were anticipating the defeat of Hitler and Hirohito.
The volume of training exercises increased the probability of accidents and they did happen frequently. Between 1942 and 1945, more than 122 airplanes were lost and there were more than 200 deck accidents. Although most accidents produced just minor injuries, at least eleven naval aviators died. Naval Air Station Grosse Ile also supported 16 airfields radiating through the Downriver area, and the Navy continued to operate some of them into the 1950s.
The eleven Royal Air Force student pilots from England who were killed during the Second World War in training accidents at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile:
Keith Maurice Hoare was born about 1923, the son of Maurice Arthur and Doris Irene Hoar of Egham, Surrey, England. He was the Leading Aircraftman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died on November 18, 1943 in a training accident.
Richard Giles Ingouville, born about 1923 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was the son of Peter and Marta B. Ingouville. He was a Leading Airman of the H.M.S. Saker, SAKER I and II were accounting and administrative centers tracking officers and men from the Royal Navy who were in the United States for training or waiting for ships to be built. He was killed in a training accident.
David Scott Parker was born about 1923 in Yorkshire, England, the son of George W. and Dorothy Parker. He served as a Leading Airman in the H.M.S. Saker II program. He died on May 21, 1943 in a training accident.
William Thomas Pridmore was born about 1918, in Kilburn, London, England to Thomas John and Margaret Pridmore. He served as a Leading Aircraftman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and he died in a training accident on September 23, 1942.
Reginald Joseph Stephens. Reginald Joseph Stephens was born about 1922, the son of Eward Joseph and Lucy Alice Stephens of Gloucester, England. He was the Leading Airman on the H.M.S. Saker and he was killed in a training accident.
Derek Robertson Stewart was born about 1925, the son of John Robertson and Dorothy Stewart, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. A Leading Airman, he served as part of the H.M.S. Saker, Royal Navy and he died in a training accident.
Albert Creighton Summers was born about 1926 in Hoveringham, Nottingham, England, the son of George Albert and Gladys Kathleen Summers. He was a Leading Airman of the HMS Saker and he died in a training accident on January 13, 1944.
Harry Threadgold was born about 1921 in Winsford in Cheshire, England, the son of Harry and Caroline Threadgold. He served with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve He died on September 23, 1942, in a training accident while a student pilot with the RAF.
Arnold Hall Tulloch was born about 1924 in Liverpool, England, the son of Arnold and Helen Tulloch. He served in the H.M.S. Saker, Royal Navy, and he was killed in a training accident on June 28, 1943.
Arthur Raymond Turner, born about 1924 in Manchester, England, was the son of Arthur and Lucy Turner. He was as casualty of World War II, on May 22, 1943, serving with the H.M.S. Saker II.
Robert Walker was a Leading Airman in the H.M.S. Saker program. He died in December 1943, as a World War II casualty.
Thirteen years after the end of World War II, six more British airmen died in an aviation accident.
On October 24, 1958, six members of British Royal Air Force squadron No. 83 flying an Avro Vulcan B.1 XA908 crashed in Grosse Pointe Park, near Detroit after a total electric system failure at about 30,000 feet. The backup system should have provided 20 minutes of emergency power to allow the jet to divert to Kellogg Airfield in Battle Creek, Michigan, or one of the several airports in the Detroit area.
The backup power lasted three minutes, until a short circuit occurred in the busbar. The short circuit permitted the busbar to provide only three minutes of power before the aircraft controls locked and the jet went into a 60-70 percent dive. Then it crashed, leaving a 40-foot crater in the ground, which workers later excavated to a depth of 70 feet trying unsuccessfully to find the jet’s cockpit.
The co-pilot ejected from the plane, but he and his five crew members were all killed. Searchers found the co-pilot’s ejector sea in Lake St. Clair, but his body was not recovered until the following spring. There were no ground fatalities, and only one person on the ground needed hospitalization. The crash caused extensive property damage.
All six crewmembers were killed and they were laid to rest alongside the graves of the eleven RAF student pilots killed in training accidents during World War II. The crew of the Vulcan jet was:
Harvey John Scull Royal Air Force, Squadron leader, age 35. Squadron Leader Scull,Service Number 165638 was based at RAF Waddington and was 35 when he died whilst serving with the Royal Air Force. His epitaph reads: Treasured memories of a husband and father. Loved and remembered always
Brian Peacock R.A.R., Flight Lieutenant, age 27. Flight Lieutenant Peacock was born in Hull, Service no.3513565. He was 27. He was based at RAF Waddington and died whilst serving with the Royal Air Force. His epitaph reads: He will live on in the hearts of those who loved him.
James Donald Watson R.A.F., Flight Lieutenant, age 34. His epitaph reads: Dearest husband rest in peace the Lord bless thee and keep thee. Flight Lieutenant Watson, born in East Grinstead and stationed at RAF Waddington, died whilst serving in the Royal Air Force. His Service No. was 167695
John Willoughby Moore, AFC R.A.F, Flight Lieutenant, age 34. His epitaph reads : Darling daddy of Judith and Nigel. Loving wife Julia Flight Lieutenant Moore, Service No.576961, was the holder of the Air Force Cross-he was based at RAF Waddington and died whilst serving in the Royal Air Force; he was 34.
Anthony David Baker Royal Air Force, Flying Officer, age 23. His epitaph reads: Cherished memories of my beloved husband, death will be a pause. Flying Officer Baker, Service No.4130310 Royal Air Force was stationed at RAF Waddington. He was 23
Edward C. Evison R.A.F. 648566 Chief Tech, age 39. His epitaph reads: Because you were here we are enriched.
Because they came to America, we are enriched.
