Open Country

The Dark Peaks


Listen Later

On the 22nd July 1937 the 6 man crew of Heyford K6875 were briefed to carry out a night cross country exercise from RAF Leconfield in east Yorkshire, the weather that night was poor, with low visibility. The crew were seen to fire flares to illuminate the ground beneath to hopefully see a feature they could recognise, this proved fruitless as the aircraft flew up the Vale of Edale striking Broadlee Bank Tor just below the summit.

Jim Watson's Uncle Jim Barker was one of the crewmen lost that night and in 2002 Jim set out to find the site where his Uncle had lost his life. He was aided by Douglas Rowland who had witnessed the crash as a young boy in 1937 and could clearly remember the spot which he had clambered up to the next day. Douglas was able to present Jim with a brass plaque which he had rescued from the Heyford all those years ago.

Jules Hudson joins Jim and Douglas as they retrace the journey they took to the crash site.

Nor is the Heyford the only plane which lost its way in these treacherous peaks. Pat Collins has written about the many hundreds of wartime crashes and the invaluable lessons they have taught airline pilots who have come after them. He and National Park Ranger John Owen take Jules to one of the largest sites, the Super Fortress on Bleaklow.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Open CountryBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

83 ratings


More shows like Open Country

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,420 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,810 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,671 Listeners

Scotland Outdoors by BBC Radio Scotland

Scotland Outdoors

242 Listeners

Farming Today by BBC Radio 4

Farming Today

66 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

482 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,747 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,078 Listeners

Ramblings by BBC Radio 4

Ramblings

156 Listeners

Gardeners' Question Time by BBC Radio 4

Gardeners' Question Time

277 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

271 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,076 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,043 Listeners

Last Word by BBC Radio 4

Last Word

45 Listeners

The Kitchen Cabinet by BBC Radio 4

The Kitchen Cabinet

104 Listeners

Gardening with the RHS by Royal Horticultural Society

Gardening with the RHS

256 Listeners

The Plodcast by Our Media

The Plodcast

103 Listeners

Wild Tales | Nature Podcast by National Trust

Wild Tales | Nature Podcast

98 Listeners

Folk on Foot by Matthew Bannister

Folk on Foot

67 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

709 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,960 Listeners

BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast by Immediate Media

BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast

289 Listeners

As the Season Turns by Ffern

As the Season Turns

202 Listeners

Limelight by BBC Radio 4

Limelight

263 Listeners

A Life More Wild by Canopy & Stars

A Life More Wild

17 Listeners