James',
You refer in your first para' to a Cranfield graduate, should that perhaps have been Cranwell? As someone who bashed' the circuit as an Oakington 5FTS Varsity QFI more times than I care to remember there is no doubt that Bar Hill was relatively speaking a "lump" on the 05' approach. I cannot recall any student frightening me getting too close to it, though plenty of others! The village of Dry Drayton is on a ridge and is almost in line with the 05' approach, so the aircraft striking the tree/ground there would tie-up. Perhaps he "ducked-under" a standard three degree approach? Oakington had a nasty habit of "fogging-out" early in a narrow band at right angles to 05 runway about 300 yards up the runway from the 05 threshold. This was due to a strip of very wet ground which was originally a drainage ditch in-filled during the construction of the grass runway. (As an aside, drainage for the planned new-town' of Northstowe on the site has been a major problem and has produced an extensive ring of balancing ponds, so the site is very "wet") I assume this was a 7 Squadron Stirling, in which case the Squadron Form 540, (Squadron Record Book') may be of help, also the Pilot's Notes for the Stirling which I believe are available in "repro" form.
AD'