When two Royal Air Force pilots crashed into Lake Travis and what happened next
In Terrell’s Oakland Memorial Park, there is a well-manicured plot containing 20 Commonwealth burials of World War II Royal Air Force trainees who died while training at Terrell’s Basic Flying Training School.
In 1941, Great Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany as Hitler’s deadly juggernaut roared through much of Europe. Greatly outnumbered, the United Kingdom was in dire need of all military personnel, but mainly pilots.
Desperate to supplement its Empire Air Training Scheme, Churchill looked to the United States for help. This led to Congressional passage of the March 1941 Lend-Lease Act, allowing establishment of British Flying Training Schools on American soil. As a result, seven schools opened. These were owned by American operators and staffed by civilian instructors but supervised by British flight officers.
Schools opened on June 9, 1941, in Terrell, Texas, and Lancaster, California; Miami, Oklahoma and Mesa, Arizona, opened on June 16, Clewiston, Florida, on July 17, Ponca City, Oklahoma, on August 23 and Sweetwater, Texas, in May 1942. This school closed three months later.
Each training class used the RAF’s own training syllabus. Aircraft was supplied by the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF).
RAF trainees coming to the USA were taught under The Arnold Scheme, developed and named for Flying Ace “Hap” Arnold. RAF trainees joined USAAF trainees and were trained at USAAF bases with the same standards, curriculum and examinations.
Before arriving in the US to begin Primary Flying School, RAF trainees were given 4 hours on Tiger Moths to weed out those who may not be suitable for reasons such as air sickness, people unusually susceptible to negative G, or simply discovering they hate flying.
The enrollees, many of whom had never been in an airplane or even driven an automobile before, mastered the elements of flight, attended ground school classes and were introduced to the mysteries of the Link trainer – a coffin-like rudimentary flight simulator. Once the cadets had made the grade, they would then take to the skies for solo cross-country flights.
When the British boys arrived in Terrell, hospitable residents organized swim parties, barbecues and dances at the American Legion Post with dates with area young ladies. Many families even opened their homes to the airmen for Sunday lunch and other homecooked meals.
On one weekend, when Miss Pearl Miller and Mrs. Virgil Wade invited six of the airmen for a week-end visit to Henderson, they received 20 acceptances. None of the fliers has ever seen an oil field in operation.
The students remained in the US from the time they started primary training until they won their wings, a period of about six months. All of their pilot training came from civilians under the direct supervision of RAF officers whose training procedures conformed with RAF regulations. The British also placed heavy emphasis on night flying, navigation and instrument flying.
In all, 18,000 RAF pilots were shipped to the U.S. for training. The better trainees were often offered a guaranteed commission if they stayed in the USA or Canada as Instructors, but the vast majority wanted to go back to the UK.
Unfortunately, some trainees had no choice. The following is the story of two pilots who lost their lives after crashing their trainer in Lake Travis:
As the Austin American-Statesman reported Tuesday, September 4, 1945: “The body of an RAF navigator was recovered from Lake Travis Monday and authorities are searching for the body of the pilot after their AT-6 two-seated plane crashed into the lake at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The advanced training plane crashed while on a cross country flight from Terrell to San Marcos.
“According to witnesses, the plane sank in 12 to 15 feet of water and a civilian who dived in an attempt to extract the occupants reported the body of the pilot was missing from the plane. The body of the navigator was taken to Cook's Funeral home, Austin. Bergstrom field authorities are making a full investigation.”
“The body of the pilot, thrown clear of the aircraft’s wreckage, was found Tuesday after the crash. The RAF students were identified as Sir Thomas Sim Beedie, 26, of New Deer, Aberdeen, Scotland, and Raymond Brinley Botcher, age 21, of Swansea, Wales, both aviation cadets, second class. Their bodies were transported to Anderson-Clayton Brothers Funeral Home in Terrell sometime Thursday.
The two men were buried in a special section for RAF personnel in the City Cemetery of Terrell, just as RAF trainees who had died at the other training facilities had been buried in local cemeteries -- and in each cemetery, these graves are carefully maintained and a ceremony of remembrance held each Memorial Day.
More advanced flight training took place on the North American AT-6 Texan.
On the international level, the British Flying Training Schools program was one of the greatest cooperative ventures ever undertaken between nations. Aircrew training, along with other collaborations such as lendlease, cemented an alliance that transcended national interests and continued after the war.
Note: The two RAF deaths in Lake Travis came after WWII had ended and only days before the training schools were closed.