World War Two plane part found in Angus Glens
Part of a plane which crashed in the Angus Glens in 1944, killing eight airmen, is to go on display after being discovered exactly 80 years after the crash - by a Scottish Woodlands Regional Manager.
Neil White, Regional Manager (Central-East), based in Perth, was working at a peatland restoration site at Tulchan of Glenisla last September when he found a shiny smooth piece of metal buried in the turf.
“I was a reservist in the Parachute Regiment, and I’ve spent a bit of time around planes, so I knew instantly that it was part of an aircraft,” said Mr White.
Further inquiries revealed it was from a Handley Page Halifax LL414, a military plane which took off from RAF Sandtoft in Lincolnshire on 31 May 1944 for a training exercise - but never returned.
Eight airmen, six of whom were Canadian and two English, were in the plane when it crashed in Angus. There were no survivors, and the six Canadians were buried in a Commonwealth War Graves site at Sleepyhillock Cemetery, near Montrose.
After alerting the Ministry of Defence to the find, Mr White handed the part over last week to Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre.
The Heritage Centre is based on the site of the UK’s oldest operational military airfield, RAF Montrose, first used in 1913 - and during his investigations, Mr White discovered that it had a very close link to the aircraft.
Sian Brewis, Display Coordinator at the Heritage Centre, who received the part from Mr White along with Chair of the Centre, Stuart Archibald, said: “The mountain rescue team from RAF Montrose recovered the bodies of all the men from the 1944 plane crash and brought them back to the air station. The military funerals of the six Canadians would have been organised and held by the air station. Therefore, the museum has a very relevant link to what was found and was very pleased to accept the part.”
“We thank Neil White and Scottish Woodlands for the care and attention with which they have dealt with this find. We will set up a special display using the part to highlight this significant and tragic event in the history of RAF Montrose.”
Mr White said: “It was important to me to follow the proper procedures, so I contacted the Ministry of Defence for a licence to excavate the crash site. After obtaining the correct paperwork, we carried out further excavations, but no other parts were found, so we were able to continue with the peatland restoration project.”
“While the site was being excavated, I contacted the heritage centre and offered to donate the part to them. I’m delighted that the wreckage will be well looked-after and treated with appropriate respect to honour those who died in the crash - and allow future generations to understand more about this tragic story, and remember those who died.”
While at the heritage centre, Mr White wrote a message of remembrance on a poppy and pinned it to their memorial wall: “Remembering the Crew of LL414. We will remember.”
Ian Robinson, Managing Director of Scottish Woodlands Ltd, said: “This story illustrates how seriously and professionally we take all aspects of our work. It was an exciting find for Neil, and he was determined to go through all the right channels to ensure the site work proceeded appropriately.”
“Peatland restoration is an increasingly significant part of our work, which complements our forestry operations. We were the first mainstream forestry company to appoint a specialist Peatland Project Officer in Erin Stoll and her work as part of our wider carbon team is a very important part of our business.”
Peatland restoration is the process of restoring degraded peatlands to a healthy state. Peatlands are important for regulating the climate and water, and providing habitats for wildlife - but 80% of the UK's peatland are currently in a degraded state. The restoration project at Tulchan of Glenisla was supported by Cairngorm National Park and Peatland ACTION.
