Spitfire crash remains recovered in Berwickshire

[jack973]

Spitfire crash remains recovered in Berwickshire

Police have begun a search for human remains at the site of a World War II Spitfire crash in the Borders. A group specialising in the excavation and recovery of WWII aircraft found human bones at Westruther near Greenlaw in Berwickshire last week.

A Spitfire crashed in the area in 1943 and the 20-year-old pilot, Sgt Malcolm Robertson from the Royal New Zealand Air Force, was killed. Det Supt Lesley Boal said forensic testing would identify the remains. “Our primary objective is to safely and securely undertake a dignified recovery of any other human remains present at the previously excavated site,” she said.

“While we are unable to confirm identification at the moment, the next of kin of the deceased pilot have been contacted and we will continue to keep them updated.” Trained body recovery officers from Lothian and Borders Police are working with anthropologists from Dundee University. An initial report has been submitted to the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Team of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Police also said they would continue to liaise with the Ministry of Defence.

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/feature ... shire.html

[muddyboots]

How does a crash site go unchecked for 70 years in England? Seems like they would have looked by now.

[WallyB]

How does a crash site go unchecked for 70 years in England? Seems like they would have looked by now.

It's a relatively remote area on the border between England and Scotland sparsely populated and visited only by dedicated hikers.

The young airman was the only person on board the single-seater aircraft when it crashed shortly after embarking on a training flight from Drem air base, East Lothian, which was used by the City of Glasgow 602 Squadron to guard the east coast.

An initial crash inspection in 1943 recovered parts of a uniform, dog tags and a single flight boot, which were interred at Craigton Cemetery in Glasgow, following a wartime board of inquiry.

So they looked, but not very hard it seems.

Some of the "facts" seem off. 602 sqdn were using the Mk Vc (not I) in 1943 and were based in the Orkneys which is some distance away.The only timeframe for Drem(base) and MkI Spitfires is October 1939 to April 1940 so could the crash date actually have been 1940 but the inquiry not until 1943?