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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

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“Two Fliers Killed In Crash,” Kingston Whig-Standard. June 11, 1942. Page 1. ---- (Special to The Whig-Standard by Staff Reporter) GANANOQUE, June 11— When two planes from the RAF Gananoque station a branch of the Norman Rogers Airdrome collided in mid-air near Gananoque at 11:30 this morning, two airmen crashed to their deaths and another bailed out to safety.

Remains of the planes, one a shattered, twisted heap, the other in ashes, were found on farms about a mile and a half apart.

One plane landed on the farm of John Kidd, exploded into flame, and was reduced to cinders. The other plane hit a rock on the farm of Clark Loney and was smashed to pieces Airmen in both planes were beyond recognition when rescue parties arrived. It was not determined which plane the flier bailed out, while the names of the dead fliers could not be announced.

Clark Loney was working in the field when he saw the plane hurtling to earth. He said he had to rush to get out of the way. When the plane landed, he said it was too late to rescue the occupant.

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

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“LAC. G.F. Clark, 23, Loses Life With Toronto Companion in City Accident,” Kingston Whig-Standard. January 27, 1942. Page 1 & 13. ---- One Kingston and one Toronto aircraftman, who were stationed at Uplands' airport, Ottawa, lost their lives in plane crash at the head of Earl street on Monday afternoon.

The dead fliers are LAC. Gordon Francis Clark, 23, son of Francis Joseph Clark. 37. Pembroke street. Kingston. and LAC. A. C. Cornell, Toronto.

An investigating board composed of officers of the R.C.A.F arrived in the city on Tuesday morning for the purpose of investigating the accident/

The senior officer in charge told The Whig-Standard that he was not in a position to make any statement until his report was submitted to the authorities at Ottawa.

A Whig-Standard reporter accompanied the members of the investigating board to the scene of the accident. The wreckage of the plane was guarded by men from the Norman Rogers Airdrome.

The plane was a complete wreck in fact with the exception of the wings there was hardly a square foot of the plane remaining intact.

Praise for Convicts Members of the investigating board praised the courageous act of four inmates of the Kingston Penitentiary in charge of Keeper David Reason who rushed to the scene of the crash and were successful in releasing the body of one of the fliers which was trapped in the wrecked plane.

The Whig-Standard was informed that the four inmates who were working in the prison stone quarry about 500 yards from the scene of the fatality saw the plane in apparent difficulty close to the ground. They also saw it strike the ground with a terrific force.

In company with Keeper David Reason, they ran across the field between the quarry and the Queen’s ground, and were able to get to the plane in time to get the body of one of the fliers clear of the burning plane. The inmates stated the man was dead and he looked as though he had attempted to jump from the plane before it struck the ground. It was stated that the dead flier had one hand on the release string of his parachute.

After the body of the flier was taken from the plane, it was placed in an R.A.F ambulance which had been dispatched to the scene of the crash.

Warden R. W. Allan, of the Kingston Penitentiary, stated that he had been informed that the four inmates, who are young men, after getting one of the fliers out of the burning plane, attempted to move the tail of the aircraft in the hope that they could rescue the other flier, who was trapped in the rear seat. The prisoners found, however, that the heat was intense they simply could not do so.

Born In Kingston The late Gordon Francis Clark was born in Kingston on Oct 13, 1918, and attended the public schools of this city .He graduated from the K.C.V.I. and entered the faculty of Commerce at Queen's University. He had completed his third year when he joined the R.C.A.F. in the spring of 1940.

Members of the R.C.A.F. board refused to comment on the cause o the fatal crash. During the day they interviewed several citizens, who are reported to be eyewitnesses to the tragedy. They also talked with the inmates from Kingston Penitentiary who took part in removing one body from the plane.

Eye-witnesses state that the plane appeared to be in difficulty. Audrey Doyle, who resides at 604 Earl Street, a short distance from where the crash took place, said she saw the plane overhead and the engine appeared to be missing.

They terrific “We were able” said sponded Assistant Chief Lawlor told The Whig-Standard that it was impossible to do a great deal as also

“Without the slightest warning the large Harvard plane,” said Assistant Chief Lawlor, “appeared to crash to earth, and before any person could do anything it burst into flames.”

Mrs R S Skinner Johnson Street told a Whig-Standard reporter told she heard a noise which sounded like a bump, and when she went out of the house and looked up the street she saw a plane ablaze in a field.

Hundred of citizens rushed to the head of Earl Street and watched the plane burn. The Kingston fire department, under Assistant Chief Thomas Lawlor, and the fire engine from the Norman Rogers Airdrome, which was manned by Air Force men, responded.

Assistant Chief Lawlor told The Whig-Standard that it was impossible to do a great deal as the heat of the fire was simply terrific. ‘We were able,’ said Assistant Chief Lawlor, ‘to remove one of the bodies which had been jammed under the wing, while the fire was burning quite badly. This body was not very badly burned but it was apparent to us that the man had received injuries sufficiently serious to cause his death. The body of the second airman was jammed in the cockpit and was badly burned.

"After the flames had died down, we were able to cut the body clear of the wreckage," said Assistant Chief Lawlor.

One man who saw the crash remarked to a Whig-Standard reporter at the scene: "It all happened in the matter of a second. The plane hit the ground with a bang and then there was a terrible fire, and if the airmen were still alive, and this was very doubtful, they hadn't a chance in the world of escaping.

The funeral of the late LAC. Gordon Francis Clark will take place from the family residence, 37 Pembroke Street, Wednesday morning at 11 o’clock to St. James Church, where the service will start at 11.15 o'clock.

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