Mystery of RAF chopper which dropped in

But these pictures of a helicopter which has landed in a wintry landscape are puzzling Ron Gill of Buildwas, and he is hoping that Shropshire Star readers can solve the mystery.

As his late mother, who lived in Buildwas, is on one of the shots, the indications are that the incident was probably somewhere in the Buildwas area. However, Mr Gill does not recognise it, and can only speculate as to when and why the helicopter landed in the first place.

"I’m trying to find out where the two photographs were taken and wonder if the Shropshire Star readers may recognise the spot," he said.

"One of them shows my mother, Mrs Mabel Gill, standing close to the helicopter and the second, taken from a different position, shows a crossroads with housing in the background that may be identified by someone.

"A retired RAF helicopter pilot friend has identified the aircraft and has records of it mentioned in one of his log books, but there are none concerning this particular flight.

"He is of the opinion that the photograph was probably taken in Shropshire in 1963 because the squadron that this aircraft was being operated by at that time took part in supplying animal foodstuffs, and so on, to outlying farms in the county during the extremely hard winter of that year.

"The fact that my mother, who lived in Buildwas, is shown on the one photograph substantiates that possibility although, that fact doesn’t help identify the location. Thanking you and hoping that one of your readers can recognise the area.

"I hope that, by publishing the picture, the Shropshire Star will find an observant reader with a good memory."

The helicopter is a Westland Whirlwind and bears the serial number XP 398. Information on the internet points to it being built in 1962, which would mean if the picture shows the famously hard winter of 1962-63, the chopper would have been virtually brand new at that time.

Mr Gill said: "One thing we do know is that she doesn’t ever appear to have been operational from RAF Shawbury and while in service in this country seemed to have spent most of her time at RAF Odiham. She was also operational in Malaya, Brunei, Borneo and Cyprus through the latter 1960s."

Although Mr Gill's conjectures that the helicopter might have been involved in providing relief for remote farms in a hard winter, the weather in the picture does not actually seem that bad - the road is obviously passable, for instance - nor is there a background of snowed-in hill country.

He says he is puzzled too because there are no crew members about.

A Westland Whirlwind helicopter with the same serial number still exists, and according to information on the internet its last known location was Gatwick Aviation Museum near Crawley.

Can you identify the location or provide any information about this incident? If so contact Toby Neal on toby.neal@shropshirestar.co.uk or ring 01952 241458.