A little bit of History
DH Mosquito DD753 on The Curr.
(Distance covered = 11.5
mile/Ascent +822m)
Although this wasn't the first crashsite I visited it was the one that sparked my interest in Aviation Archaeology, specifically the High Ground wrecks.
When I was younger (a lot younger) I used to
read a comic every week called 'The Victor'. The Victor contained characters
such as Alf Tupper-The Tough of the Track and Sergeant Matt Braddock-World
War two Pilot. Once I'd read it I would pass it on to a friend who would
eagerley await my arrival every saturday when I would give him the comic. I
can still remember the dissapointment on his face when I turned up one
saturday with a copy of Aviation News instead of The Victor.
I remember
seeing a column on the back page of Aviation News, written by David J Smith and called
wreckology, it described how a Museum Group had found two craters 100yards
apart full of De Havilland Mosquito wreckage on a hill called The Curr in
the Cheviots. I found it fascinating that remains of World War II Aircraft
could still be found in the hills so started buying the publication every week,
just to read that one column, rather annoyingly though it was not included in every
edition. I decided I was going to go and have a look at the wreckage on the
Curr but back then there was no Interweb and no readily available
publications where I could find out the location, and Museum Groups would not
give me any information in case I was a souvenier Hunter. Another hurdle I
had to overcome was the fact that I couldn't drive at
the time, as I was a few years off being old enough, so I had no way of
getting there either.
Sharni, the most laid back and well behaved Dog ever at the English/Scottish Border fence
on Stob Rig above Trowupburn. On the Scottish side of the Stile.
It wasn't until a couple of years later
when I acquired a book called High Ground Wrecks and Relics(HGWR) that I was
able to commence my wreckhunting activities, the first crashsite I went to
look for was Lancaster KB745 on the Cheviot and I had to persuade my Dad
to go with me as I still had not passed my driving test and needed a lift.
HGWR
was also written by David J Smith, it listed quite a few crashsites along
with grid references and an indication of how much wreckage could be
found and it included the location of the Mosquito I had read about in the
Aviation News column. For one reason or another however it would be about another 10 years before I
finally got around to visiting The Curr.
On the Peninne Way near the top of White Law.On the English side of the Stile.
On this occasion I walked in from the north east, parking near Elsdonburn Farm. The first two miles of the walk was in England then the border fence and the Peninne Way was joined and followed about 3 mile to the south where they passed between Corby Crag and the eastern side of The Curr. The summit of The Curr is only half a mile into Scotland so it wasn't far from the Peninne Way which follows the Border Fence for quite a way south.
