Flying Officer Guy Nelson Wilkinson (51121) served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was born in 1920 in Edmonton, Enfield, London.
In June 1936, Wilkinson received his wings at Abu Sueir, Egypt. Following this, on 3rd August 1943, his first posting was to R.A.F. 201 Squadron at Castle Archdale, Co. Fermanagh. Their Short Sunderland Flying Boats supported shipping convoys and performed U-Boat patrols over the Atlantic Ocean.
Flying Officer Wilkinson died on 22nd August 1943 aged 23 years old when Short Sunderland DD848 came down on Mount Brandon, Co. Kerry. The experienced crew had come together that summer flying under Flight Lieutenant Charles Seymour Grossey. At 0600hrs on the morning of 22nd August 1943, the crew was on the return leg of a reconnaissance flight over the Atlantic Ocean. Wilkinson was the 3rd Pilot of a crew of 11 men. Of those on board, 8 died as a result of the crash on the Dingle Peninsula in neutral Éire.
Imperial War Museum Photo: CH 11080 (Part of the Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection). The pilot of a Short Sunderland of No. 201 Squadron RAF, scans the sea through binoculars while on patrol over the Atlantic from its base at Castle Archdale, Co. Fermanagh. Photo taken by Flying Officer H. Hensser Royal Air Force official photographer.
Remembering the crew of Sunderland DD848
| Last Name | First Name(s) | Rank | Role | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applegate | John Sidney | Sergeant | Flight Mechanic / Air Gunner | R.A.F. 647007. Survived. |
| Burton | Joseph William | Flight Sergeant | Wireless Operator / Air Gunner | R.A.F.V.R. 1287499. Killed. |
| Coster | John Robert | Flight Sergeant | Wireless Operator / Air Gunner | R.A.F.V.R. 1259732. Killed. Buried in Irvinestown. |
| Davies | George William | Sergeant | Flight Engineer | R.A.F. 952226. Survived. |
| Griffin | Arthur Charles | Flight Lieutenant | 2nd Pilot | R.A.F. 62311. Killed. Buried in Irvinestown. |
| Grossey | Charles Seymour | Flight Lieutenant | 1st Pilot | R.A.F. 45199. Killed. Buried in Irvinestown. |
| McLean | William | Flight Sergeant | Air Gunner | R.A.F.V.R. 996639. Distinguished Flying Medal. Survived. |
| Pickford | Norman Baron | Flight Sergeant | Navigator | R.A.F. 657043. Killed. Buried in Irvinestown. |
| Pitts | Walter Noel | Flight Sergeant | Flight Mechanic / Air Gunner | R.A.F. 749904. Killed. |
| Tilt | George Frederick Walter | Sergeant | Wireless Operator / Air Gunner | R.A.F.V.R. 1338702. Killed. Buried in Irvinestown. |
| Wilkinson | Guy Nelson | Flying Officer | 3rd Pilot | R.A.F. 51121. Killed. Buried in Irvinestown. |
A record card held at the R.A.F. Museum in Hendon, London, England holds the findings of the crash. In scrawled handwriting, it gives details of the disaster. Sunderland DD848 flew off-course too far south-east of its intended path. In darkness and low cloud, it crashed on the Irish hillside. The crash destroyed the Sunderland and as the incident occurred in neutral territory, there was no real investigation.
After the Crash
In recent years, Flying Officer Wilkinson’s daughter Mrs. Maureen Ingram and her son Steve Ingram visited the crash site. Some remains of the plane remain from 1943 although authorities listed it as damaged beyond repair. All four engines still lie in the heather on the hillside.
The crash of DD848 came less than a month after a British Overseas Airways Corporation Sunderland G-AGES crashed in the same range of hills. This incident made headline news while censorship and Ireland’s neutrality meant the story of DD848 remained almost unknown.
Flying Officer Guy Nelson Wilkinson’s grave is in Plot 1, Grave 11 of Irvinestown Church of Ireland, Irvinestown, Co. Fermanagh. A memorial plaque to the men graces the wall of O’Connor’s Bar in Cloghane, Co. Kerry.