Advertiser readers share their stories of the 1944 Laguna plane crash: photos

RARE PLANE CRASH PHOTO AMONG COLLECTION - January 28

Unlike these days – when even a basic mobile phone is capable of taking photographs – not many people carried a camera with them in the 1940s.

Cessnock resident Ted Gray, 85, was one of a rare few.

Mr. Gray was about 15 years old when he heard a plane had crashed at Laguna – and when he and a couple of mates decided to ride their bikes out from Cessnock to take a look at the wreckage, he brought his prized “box brownie” camera along for the journey.

He remembers guards surrounding the plane that had crashed into a field.

Two men had died jumping from the plane – a US DC-3 – while the pilot survived but broke both of his legs.

With the camera hidden inside a paper bag, Mr. Gray was able to snap a few photos of the wreckage.

Where today’s wanna­be paparazzi might try to sell the photos, Mr. Gray simply kept them for himself.

“I was interested in cameras and photography,” he said.

“Not many people had cameras back then.

“I can’t believe how cheap it is to get photos printed these days.”

According to Peter Dunn’s military history website Australia at War www.ozatwar.com, the plane was a USAAF Douglas Dakota (also known as a C-47 or DC-3) that was bringing US troops from New Guinea to Sydney, Australia for R&R during World War II.

An article on the website from 2001 quotes well-known local resident Harold Sternbeck as having witnessed the crash.

It also says that the Australian War Memor­ial bought a parachute from the plane in 2001.

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MORE PHOTOS OF LAGUNA PLANE CRASH UNCOVERED - February 4

Ted Gray’s photo and account of the American plane that crashed at Laguna during World War 2 had former Advertiser editor Bruce Wilson searching through some family archives relating to the event.

He recalled how his father, the late Stan Wilson, visited the crash site and took photos of the crashed plane after making the trip from the family home at Greta Main.

Stan Wilson, who worked as a blacksmith at Maitland Main Colliery, was an avid amateur photographer and this was just one of many scenes he photographed around the district.

The account below was located through Trove under a section on Cessnock’s history. It refers to the some of the American servicemen wanting to stay in Cessnock to complete their furloughs.

Bruce Wilson recalls, but cannot be certain, that Cessnock Rotary Club members were partly responsible for the warm welcome they received in the city.

The article from Trove, goes on to say:

“It was the 6th March 1944 and Mrs G Andrews (that would be Mrs Greg Andrews, the former Ellen Harris, in the way married women’s names were written at the time) was at her post scanning the skies as a member of the Volunteer Air Observers Corp. 

“She was watching a Douglas troop transport plane flying over when she saw the airscrew come off and smash into the wing of the plane. The plane dropped quickly as metal rained down from the plane and smoke began to billow from the engine. People began to jump from the plane using parachutes as phone calls were made to Cessnock for the urgent dispatch of Doctors and ambulances. The plane was carrying American fighter pilots coming to Sydney for leave from their assignments in New Guinea. 

“Fifteen men jumped from the plane but two of the last three landed with unopened parachutes. Incredibly only two men were killed. The pilot and co-pilot managed to crash land the plane and both survived. A couple of the men were caught up in trees and had to be rescued by locals. One man hit a tree and was catapulted into a deep part of the creek.

“There were remarkably few injuries amongst those who survived -a few broken bones, bruises and some shock. They were all taken to Cessnock Hospital where they were treated and given a hot meal.

“The men were entertained so well that some of them wanted to stay in the area to complete their furloughs, but they were all loaded on to two US bombers sent to pick them up and taken back to Sydney. 

“Harold Sternbeck remembered the night of he crash well—he was a boy at the time living at Laguna. His recollection was that the crew of the plane were RAAF pilots and that the passengers were all American, although the newspaper reports indicate that they were all from the USA.”

“A memorial was unveiled in the 1980s in the grounds of Laguna School at a ceremony attended by representatives of the US military from the consulate in Sydney.”

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MORE MEMORIES OF THE PLANE CRASH - February 11

Advertiser readers have continued to share their memories of the 1944 DC-3 plane crash near Laguna.

Cessnock resident Robert Groves still possesses a memento from the crash – a piece of rope from one of the parachutes.

Mr. Groves, who was 15 at the time, received a piece of rope from his aunty, Marie McCord who was also working in Cessnock Hospital at the time of the crash.

Mr. Groves had a keen interest in aircrafts, and remembers when war planes would fly out around Pokolbin.

He also remembers a crash that occurred behind Cessnock Hospital during the war, where a passenger had to somersault over a fence.

Nance Ekert’s aunty also worked at the hospital, and she recalls a piece of parachute being used for a rather practical purpose.

Mrs. Ekert (nee Orchard) was 10-years-old at the time and her aunty Gladys Passfield was working as a matron at Cessnock Hospital when the crash happened.

She said after the crash, some Americans went into the hospital and gave Gladys a parachute from one of the people involved in the crash.

Mrs. Ekert said her Aunty Gladys took the parachute to her sister-in-law (another of Nance’s aunties) to make into silk underwear.

The plane, which was carrying American fighter pilots, crashed near Laguna on March 6, 1944, killing two people. The 13 survivors were taken to Cessnock Hospital.

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PARACHUTE WAS TURNED INTO A BALL GOWN February 18

Following on from the Laguna plane crash story published in previous weeks, The Advertiser has received a report of another re-creation of one of the passenger’s parachutes.

Cessnock resident Joan Kibble (previously Ang­win, nee Harris) is the niece of Ellen Andrews, a member of the Air Observers’ Corps who witnessed the plane crash in 1944 and took the passengers in afterwards while they waited for an ambulance.

Mrs. Kibble said one of the passengers gave her aunt their parachute, much like Nance Ekert who The Advertiser spoke to last week.

While Mrs. Ekert’s aunt had the parachute made into silk underwear, Mrs. Kibble had the material made into an evening gown that she wore to the Church of England Ball in Wollombi the next year.

Mrs. Kibble has held onto the skirt of the dress for 70 years and even said her granddaughter has considered wearing it for her own wedding.

Meanwhile, the second person in Stan Wilson’s photo of the plane crash has been identified.

Wayne Craft said the man in the photo with his father Ken Craft was Colin Brennan of Millfield. He discovered this after speaking with Colin’s sister Elsie Orr.

ANOTHER MEMENTO FROM PLANE CRASH February 25

Another piece of memorabilia has emerged from the Laguna plane crash of 1944, with local resident Joan Brown possessing a memento from the plane.

Mrs. Brown’s mother Flo Woodbury lived at Watagan, and somehow came to possess a small plastic heart that made it through the crash.

Mrs. Brown said she is unsure how her mother came to possess the token,  just that she was always told it came from the American plane that crashed at Laguna during the Second World War.

Mrs. Brown also said her aunt, Jean Morris, has a blouse made from the parachute of one of the soldiers involved in the crash, similar to local residents Joan Kibble and Nance Ekert who have recently shared their stories about the clothing they had made from the parachutes of the crash.

See the collection of stories and photos on The Advertiser’s website, at the bottom of our home page under ‘Multimedia’.