Hi there,

I should really let Elliot Smock answer this, as he is the project
leader, and I am sure he will in the fullness of time. He is however
holidaying at the moment. The information I have is that:

1) A small amount of wreckage was removed, the items uplifted were items
required for the Whitley restoration currently underway in Norwich. The
parts were a small proportion of the remaining wreckage, and were the
only examples found at any of the Whitley sites (I'm from Scotland and
have visited the majority of the Scottish sites).

2) Landowner's permission has to be sought before a request to remove
wreckage is made. This was forthcoming, and an initial request was made
to teh MOD, this was initially granted and a date arranged for a
recovery. However, at the very last minute it came to light that the
site was in or near an SSSI, this led to an eleventh hour cancellation
until consultation could be made with the relevant archeological /
scientific / government people that was required by the law. When this
was eventually settled, the permit for removal of military remains was
granted. The RAF then were good enough to supply a Chinook from Odiham
to assist with recovery of the required wreckage. This was successfully
completed and the event was covered in an edition of "Flypast" Magazine.

3) Should be covered by answer two.

I was scheduled to attend the first aborted recovery trip, but could not
make the second, so cannot give more detail than this, thst would
require an answer from Elliot.

I gather from the wording of your mail that you have a specific interest
in this aircraft, might I enquire as to what it is? Always interested to
speak to anyone who has local knowledge or connection to a crash site,
as the people who were around at the time are getting fewer and fewer as
time passes.

Can I also add that in my dealings with the Whitley Project, I have
always found them to be very sympathetic towards the recovery site,
anyone with a personal connection to the site / aircraft and local
landowners. In terms of legality, they have always operated 101% within
the RAF rules, the Protection of Military remains act, and in this
instance other binding laws. They enjoy the support of the RAF
(obviously) and many of the few remianing people who had a real link to
the Whitley 60 yrs ago, including ex servicemen, and people who lived
near the Whitley bases and can remember them droning off into the night,
or often up here in Scotland off on training flights from which
tragically many did not return.

I hope this has helped answer your query, and perhaps allay any fears
you might have had about the operation. Should you require any further
info, as I said Elliot will contact you upon his return.

Regards,

Brian Dickinson


In message <ecmd81+ps15@eGroups.com>, brutalcannon66
<brutalcannon66@...> writes
>I have just heard about the removal of parts from the crash site of
>BD232 on Craig Y Dulan and I have the following questions,
>
>Why did the Whitly Project remove wreckage from the site?
>
>Was MOD and landowners permission granted?
>
>Was the local archaeologist informed prior to the removal?
>
>Matt.
>
>
>

--
Brian Dickinson