New Memorial on the Stiperstones

On 22nd November this year a brand new memorial plaque was unveiled in Mytton Dingle, a small valley behind Stiperstones village. It commemorates five airmen who were killed there when their Whitley bomber crashed into the hillside on February 15th 1944. The bomber was towing a Horsa glider. The glider was released just before the crash however and landed safely in nearby Hope valley. Local people rushed to Mytton Dingle to do what they could but the men either died instantly or soon after the crash.

The event has attracted some interest in recent years especially as a lady from Hampshire has contacted a number of local people. Mrs Constance Hall was engaged to one of the crew which was killed that day, Sgt Jack Brownhill. She had received a bunch of flowers from him for St Valentine’s Day only the day before. My wife Julia and I initiated a fundraising effort recently to establish a permanent memorial. We were overwhelmed by the response, both from locals and from further afield. Supporters included people who had witnessed the crash (and never forgotten it) as well as others who had an RAF background and simply wanted to be associated with the project.

The plaque was unveiled on 22nd November by Senior Aircraftsman Duncan Macdonald who has lived all his life near the entrance to Mytton Dingle. Around sixty people attended the unveiling including Grp Cpt James, commanding officer of RAF Shawbury and Maj Hickman who is based at Shawbury and involved in a project to build a new Horsa glider there. Also present were standard-bearers from the RAF Association, the ROC and the Royal British Legion. The plaque is situated - with the kind permission of Natural England - on a stone cairn which holds an information board for visitors. It reads as follows:

A Whitley Bomber crashed into this hillside on
February 15th 1944
with the loss of its five crew members
Remember them as you walk these hills
Ft Sgt RR Brown W/O EA Creber
Sgt JT Brownhill Sgt RF Hodges Sgt H Little