Operation: Ferry Flight

Date: 13th February 1945 (Tuesday)

Unit: Air Transport Auxiliary

Type: Spitfire XVI

Serial: TB329

Code: -

Base: RAF Lasham, Hampshire (1)

Location: Opbrakel, Belgium

Pilot: Third officer Basil Frederic Wrightson Age 23. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

During the delivery flight to Reception Flight B60, Belgium crashed in terrible weather conditions.

Report stated that pilot appears to be to blame for the accident, having persisted too far in bad weather. The conditions at the time of the accident being 100yds visibility with cloud on the ground.

Burial details:

Third officer Basil Frederic Wrightson. Burial Place Ronse Communal Cemetery (Renaix) (2) Row A. Grave 10. Born on the 13th Feb 1922, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Ed.ucated at Barton on Humber Grammar School and St Johns College in North Yorkshire. (now a university) Joined the RRAFVR in Janusr 1942 and seconded to the ATA in October 1943. Son of George Heath Wrightson (deceased 1941, and Laura Wrightson (née Tiede) , of 78 Blundell Ave, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. The ATA Insurance provided his widowed mother £2,000 (Equivalent to £85,200 today) Epitaph: 'Treasured Memories Of A Dear Son And Brother. A Staunch And Loyal Friend'.

(1) RAF Lasham, Hampshire, EnglandThe airfield was built on farmland in 1942, causing the A339 (Alton-Basingstoke road) to be diverted to the west from Lasham village. Initial RAF operations (from November that year) were by 38 Wing, Army Co-operation Command. In mid-1943, the airfield was transferred to RAF Fighter Command. Squadrons equipped with Hawker Hurricanes, Hawker Typhoons and Supermarine Spitfires operated from Lasham.

Later in 1943, it became a base for the bombers of No. 2 Group RAF, part of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. The squadrons of 2 Group used the de Havilland Mosquito and North American B-25 Mitchell. On 14 April 1944, at the request of resistance workers, six Mosquitos of 613 Squadron led by Wing Commander Robert Bateson bombed the Central Records Registry of the Gestapo in The Hague from a height of 50 ft (15 m). The accuracy was such that the incriminating records were burnt. There was loss of life amongst the Dutch and German staff, but there were few civilian casualties in the nearby streets.

On the nights preceding and following D-Day, the Mosquitos of 305 and 613 squadrons carried out low level attacks on enemy supply lines and armoured positions in Normandy to assist the allied landing forces.[3][4] The airfield ceased to be an operational Royal Air Force station in 1948, though General Aircraft Ltd continued testing military gliders there. On 14 September 2006, a memorial at the entrance was dedicated to those who served at Lasham between 1942 and 1948.

(2) Ronse (Renaix) Communal Cemetery 17 Casualties from WW2 with 2 from WW1 The British Expeditionary Force was involved in the later stages of the defence of Belgium following the German invasion in May 1940, and suffered many casualties in covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. Commonwealth forces did not return until September 1944, but in the intervening years, many airmen were shot down or crashed in raids on strategic objectives in Belgium, or while returning from missions over Germany. 1 X RAFVR, 1 x ATA, 17 x British Army 1 x unidentified.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to the National Archivess, Kew. The Ferry Pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary, 1939-1945

Other sources as quoted below:

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