AIR COLLISION
FLYING OFFICER F.W. KELLY
&
PILOT OFFICER F. EDWARDS
14th JULY 1949
As Remembered By John McKenzie ex: 128 MU Abu Sultan 1949-50
In 1949 John McKenzie was stationed near Fayid. One day he received tragic news. Two young pilots had been killed when their planes collided. One came down in the Bitter Lake, the other nearby at Abu Sultan. Some RAF men, including John, were sent to guard the crash site until the investigating team could get there. It was a sad vigil s never forgotten it.
Last year John had the opportunity to return to Egypt. The most moving part of the trip was a visit to the military cemetery at Fayid, beautifully kept and bright with flowers. Almost as soon as he went through the gates he spotted a gravestone bearing the RAF insignia and the name of a Flying Officer F.W. Kelly who died aged 22 on July 14, 1949. Close by was that of Pilot Officer F. Edwards, aged 25, who lost his life on the same date. Realising he was standing by the graves of the two men killed in the crash he was deeply moved, and,cannot get over the fact that, when he entered the cemetery, these were the two graves to which he was immediately drawn.
He would like those who still mourn the passing of those two airmen to take comfort from knowing that their graves are still so beautifully cared for and that their final resting places are, fittingly, surrounded with the fragrent geraniums, lavender and roses that also grow in the gardens of a homeland they were never to see again.
What I don’t know about the above story was the make and model of the
planes that crashed, someone from RAF Deversoir may be able to provide the answers
please.