The Border Forest Park

A small stream draining mainly extensive forestry in this part of the Kielder Forest complex. This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020/21/22.

An ascend from east with the magnificent seven to bag Martin Richardson's last HuMP in England and Wales. Chris Watson provided the wet weather which made the tough going even tougher. Name: Glendhu Hill Hill number: 3556 Height: 514m / 1686ft Area: 33: The Scottish Border to the River Tyne Class: Hu,5 Grid ref: NY 56838 86370 Summit feature: no feature Drop: 115m Col: 399m NY569848

Memorial honours airmen lost in Kielder Forest in 1944. The new memorial was made by Richard Maughan and erected on 5th November 2012. This new cross is much more substantial than the previous one. A fitting memorial. Link

Something we do in certain places leaving a plastic dragonfly hanging from a tree and hopefully visiting the same site at a later date. Actually we can't remember where we left some of the others. The top dragonfly was installed two years ago.

This wreckage is spread about in the wood and is quite hard to find.

The aircraft crashed into Glendhu Hill, Kielder, Northumberland killing the four remaining crewmen.

Untouched by the low winter sun, the 'floodplain' of the Lewis Burn remains heavily frosted in the early afternoon.

..is just around the corner!

The crash site on Glendhu Hill, which wasn't forested at the time of the crash on 15 October 1944. The crew of Halifax DK116 (1667 HCU) had taken off from RAF Sandtoft near Scunthorpe on a cross country navigation exercise when the port inner engine caught fire. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful and the crew prepared to bail out. However, only three of the crew managed to leave before the aircraft dived into Glendhu Hill in the Kielder Forest, Northumberland, barely a mile from the Scottish border. Various reports suggest the pilot put the Halifax into a dive in an attempt to put the fire out but from which it failed to recover and/or that the remaining crew tried to save the life of the rear gunner who was allegedly trapped in his turret. However, after the three men bailed out no-one knows for sure what happened. CREW Killed P/O Herbert George Haddrell (Pilot, aged 30) Sgt John Neilson (Flight Engineer, aged 24) W/O Maurice Fredrick James (Air Gunner, aged 22) W/O Geoffrey Symonds (Air Gunner) Survived Sgt John Mahony (Navigator, aged 22) [Killed in action six months later] Sgt Reid (Wireless Operator) Sgt Hammond (Air Gunner) One of the four Bristol Hercules engines was dug out from under 20' of peat in the 1970s.

An oil cooler from one of the four Bristol Hercules engines still identifiable at the crash site. Glendhu Hill which wasn't forested at the time of the crash on 15 October 1944. The crew of Halifax DK116 (1667 HCU) had taken off from RAF Sandtoft near Scunthorpe on a cross country navigation exercise when the port inner engine caught fire. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful and the crew prepared to bail out. However, only three of the crew managed to leave before the aircraft dived into Glendhu Hill in the Kielder Forest, Northumberland, barely a mile from the Scottish border. Various reports suggest the pilot put the Halifax into a dive in an attempt to put the fire out but from which it failed to recover and/or that the remaining crew tried to save the life of the rear gunner who was allegedly trapped in his turret. However, after the three men bailed out no-one knows for sure what happened. CREW Killed P/O Herbert George Haddrell (Pilot, aged 30) Sgt John Neilson (Flight Engineer, aged 24) W/O Maurice Fredrick James (Air Gunner, aged 22) W/O Geoffrey Symonds (Air Gunner) Survived Sgt John Mahony (Navigator, aged 22) [Killed in action six months later] Sgt Reid (Wireless Operator) Sgt Hammond (Air Gunner) One of the four Bristol Hercules engines was dug out from under 20' of peat in the 1970s.

An undercarriage wheel still is identifiable at the crash site. Glendhu Hill which wasn't forested at the time of the crash on 15 October 1944. The crew of Halifax DK116 (1667 HCU) had taken off from RAF Sandtoft near Scunthorpe on a cross country navigation exercise when the port inner engine caught fire. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful and the crew prepared to bail out. However, only three of the crew managed to leave before the aircraft dived into Glendhu Hill in the Kielder Forest, Northumberland, barely a mile from the Scottish border. Various reports suggest the pilot put the Halifax into a dive in an attempt to put the fire out but from which it failed to recover and/or that the remaining crew tried to save the life of the rear gunner who was allegedly trapped in his turret. However, after the three men bailed out no-one knows for sure what happened. CREW Killed P/O Herbert George Haddrell (Pilot, aged 30) Sgt John Neilson (Flight Engineer, aged 24) W/O Maurice Fredrick James (Air Gunner, aged 22) W/O Geoffrey Symonds (Air Gunner) Survived Sgt John Mahony (Navigator, aged 22) [Killed in action six months later] Sgt Reid (Wireless Operator) Sgt Hammond (Air Gunner) One of the four Bristol Hercules engines was dug out from under 20' of peat in the 1970s.

The crash site on Glendhu Hill, which wasn't forested at the time of the crash on 15 October 1944. The crew of Halifax DK116 (1667 HCU) had taken off from RAF Sandtoft near Scunthorpe on a cross country navigation exercise when the port inner engine caught fire. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful and the crew prepared to bail out. However, only three of the crew managed to leave before the aircraft dived into Glendhu Hill in the Kielder Forest, Northumberland, barely a mile from the Scottish border. Various reports suggest the pilot put the Halifax into a dive in an attempt to put the fire out but from which it failed to recover and/or that the remaining crew tried to save the life of the rear gunner who was allegedly trapped in his turret. However, after the three men bailed out no-one knows for sure what happened. CREW Killed P/O Herbert George Haddrell (Pilot, aged 30) Sgt John Neilson (Flight Engineer, aged 24) W/O Maurice Fredrick James (Air Gunner, aged 22) W/O Geoffrey Symonds (Air Gunner) Survived Sgt John Mahony (Navigator, aged 22) [Killed in action six months later] Sgt Reid (Wireless Operator) Sgt Hammond (Air Gunner) One of the four Bristol Hercules engines was dug out from under 20' of peat in the 1970s.

Debris just downslope from the main crash site on Glendhu Hill (which wasn't afforested at the time). 15 October 1944. The crew of Halifax DK116 (1667 HCU) had taken off from RAF Sandtoft near Scunthorpe on a cross country navigation exercise when the port inner engine caught fire. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful and the crew prepared to bail out. However only three of them managed to leave before the aircraft dived into Glendhu Hill in the Kielder Forest, Northumberland, barely a mile from the Scottish border. Various reports suggest the pilot put the Halifax into a dive in an attempt to put the fire out but from which it failed to recover and/or that the remaining crew tried to save the life of the rear gunner who was allegedly trapped in his turret. But really after the 3 men bailed out no-one knows for sure what happened. CREW Killed P/O Herbert George Haddrell (Pilot, aged 30) Sgt John Neilson (Flight Engineer, aged 24) W/O Maurice Fredrick James (Air Gunner, aged 22) W/O Geoffrey Symonds (Air Gunner) Survived Sgt John Mahony (Navigator, aged 22) [Killed in action six months later] Sgt Reid (Wireless Operator) Sgt Hammond (Air Gunner) One of the engines was dug out under 20' of peat in the 1970s.

The unsightly remnants of forestry operations make for difficult walking conditions, therefore the opportunity to follow a forwarder track makes progress a little quicker. This photograph was taken at 1546 hrs on the final day of 2019.

1524 hrs on the last day of 2019 on return from Glendhu Hill back to Matthew's Linn beside Kielder Water (eventually arriving in darkness at 1645 hrs). Much of the forest remained frosted all day, as displayed in this photograph beside the Lewis Burn.

A section of forest beyond this point has been clear felled.

At 514m in a moorland setting with a flush bracket number S7998.