The C-47 took of on July 24th 1945 on a routine supply trip from Leicester
East to Renfrew in Scotland. The pilot, First Lieutenant George L. Johnson,
had been warned of bad weather along the flight path up central England.
So he decided to take the more direct route and risk the high ground.
The rest of the five man crew consisted of co-pilot, First Lieutenant
Earl W. Burns; navigator, First Lieutenant Beverly W. Izlar; Crew Chief,
Sergeant Theodore R. McCrocklin and the radio operator, Sergeant Francis
M. Maloney. There were two passengers, Corporal Grover R. Alexander, USAAF
and RAF Leading Aircraftsman J. D. Main.The crash was found two days later at 5 o'clock in the afternoon when Sergeant Pridgeon, an RAF cypher clerk, and his girl friend came upon the wreckage of a Skytrain whilst out walking. He knew of the Lancaster bomber that had crashed at some point on the mountaintop they were on, just nine weeks earlier, and he thought that he had come across the scene of the Lancaster bomber wreck. It was only when he came upon the dead bodies of the crew that he realized that he had come across a new crash scene. It appears that the Skytrain hit the high ground, when the hills were shrouded in low cloud as they so often are. When I was at the site in May 2003 there was a plastic Memorial plaque, which was placed there during 2002 by the brother and
sister
in law of the co-pilot First Lieutenant Earl W. Burns, Glen and Elsie
Burns when they visited the site both aged 69 years. Unfortunately this
plaque has now disappeared, probably due to high winds. To continue the
walk, follow a grassy path which contours in a Northeasterly direction
along the base of James's Thorn, until you arrive at the saddle between
James's Thorn and Lower Shelf Stones, where you pick up a path which crosses
the peat haggs and heads in the direction of Lower Shelf Stones. From
Lower Shelf Stones walk along the top of the crags until you reach the
trig point on Higher Shelf Stones. At the trig point set your compass
to 60 degrees and keep walking for about 250 yards, when you will come
over a low hill and find the wreckage of the Superfortress scattered about
the clough before you.
