In November 1944 when I was just 5 months old, six
crewmen of a Wellington bomber lost their lives when their aircraft
crashed high in The Brecons.
August 2009.
My friend Ed and I parked at the Dan yr Ogof caves and started the 4
mile trek through the hills to the site.
Here is what the official web site says of the
incident.
'MF509, a Wellington MK10 took off on Nov.20th 1944
for a training exercise. The plane experienced engine troubles
and as they descended over the mountains of the Brecon Beacons
their aircraft flew into the south west slope of Carreg Goch.
Six RCAF crewmembers perished. A memorial was erected
by the Welsh people and has since assumed a place of honour
within the Brecon Beacons.'
Its a fair old climb from the car park
taking us the best part of two hours, although we did stop en route as
it's an area familiar to Ed as he has been here many times in connection
with his past work.
The Rowens are bright with red berries.
The colours and textures of mosses and
lichens are always fascinating in a close up kind of way.
As we climb higher, the tree line becomes a
singularity.
The way the rock strata spills out of the
ground reminds me of the Yorkshire Dales near Malham.
Flora and fauna?
A peat bog. The remains of a post glacial
lake from about 8000 years ago.
Lots of different grasses,
all fascinating in their own right.
I
like the cotton grass.
With Ed's incredible knowledge, it has
turned into a field trip for me!
Ed seems to have found our food drop.
Peat, peat and more peat.
Can you see a sort of Humpty Dumpty face
here?
Just one more hill and we arrive at
the site where MF 509 met its fate all those years ago.
