© Philip Harvey; no reproduction without permission, please.
Account of Mr. Roland Wilson
Mr Wilson lived at Framptons Farm, near Nevendon Church during the war. It was his family who owned the field upon which a Hurricane crashed. Mr Wilson recalled that the Hurricane was laying on the surface, completely shattered, but still intact. He was able to remove the radio mast and an Engine Limitations plate from the Merlin II before the authorities were able to cordon off the area. He had been at school at the time of the battle and did not witness the aircraft crashing. Some time later, whilst out searching the fields to the North of the arterial road, Mr Wilson came across the complete tail section from a Spitfire. He was overjoyed by his discovery, but daunted by the size of his souvenir and how to hide it from the authorities. He was able to remove the stub aerial mast and mass balance weight from the rudder. A number of weeks later, Mr Wilson came across an unopened parachute pack in open fields North of where he had found the Spitfire tail section. The parachute and harness were stained with blood and the main webbing harness straps had been ripped apart. The parachute was marked "Webster". Mr Wilson took this parachute to Nevendon Police station and he was congratulated for his honesty. Mr Wilson kindly noted the locations of the other sections of the Spitfire which he had knowledge of and which had been cleared by the authorities shortly after the event.