Pilot Officer Herbert George Haddrell
- Rank
- Pilot Officer
- Name
- HERBERT GEORGE HADDRELL
- Regiment
- Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
- Date of Death
- Died 15 October 1944
Pilot Officer Herbert George Haddrell was born in 1913 and grew up in Derry Hill, Wiltshire.
On 15th October 1944 he was at the controls when his Halifax aircraft took off from Sandtoft on a night cross-country training flight.
While flying at 12,000 feet, the port inner engine caught fire and the crew were unable to quell, or control, the flames as they spread towards the fuselage.
Three crew members managed to bale out from the aircraft but four of the crew (including Herbert George aged 30) stayed with the aircraft as the rear gunner who had difficulty in escaping from his turret.
The Halifax smashed into the heavily wooded Copreston Fell on Glendhu Hill in Kielder Forest - a wooden cross marks the spot. Herbert's body was returned home to Derry Hill and buried at Christ Church. George’s name is engraved on the Derry Hill war memorial.
Loading map…
Support Our Charitable Foundation
Your donation helps us deliver projects like For Evermore, which educate and inspire future generations to remember those who gave their lives in the two World Wars. With your support, we can keep their stories alive and ensure they are never forgotten.
As well as making a donation today, you might also consider leaving a gift in your will to the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation. Legacy gifts, large or small, help us preserve this vital heritage for generations to come.
Thank you for helping us honour their memory so we can tell Every Story. For evermore.