Accident Report
My thanks to Alex who found a newspaper report of the accident to the Gloster Grebe in the Times Archive.
Witnesses said that the plane was flying "fairly high" but got into a spin. It happened just before midday while the children were in their classrooms, and missed the school by "50 yards". The aircraft had already flown for about two hours that day, and was 10 minutes into its flight.
There were two men on board and both were removed unconscious from the wreckage. The pilot, Flying Officer Ernest Leonard Wilson RAF was the pilot was taken to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham, where he later died, and PJ111484 Telegraphist James Ronald Armison, Royal Navy, who died in Eashchurch Hospital.
I presume that the Telegraphist was in the more damaged front seat. The pilot was taken to Chatham which would have taken quite a time, perhaps an hour, so perhaps he was seen as having a better chance of surviving? Eastchurch Hospital was more of a cottage hospital for those that remember such things, and would have had only rudimentary A&E facilities.
The report also confirms Archimedes discovery that the aircraft was used by the Armaments and Gunnery School at RAF Eastchurch.
Many thanks to both Alex and Archimedes!
Kind regards to all
Adrian