RAF Transport/Ferry Command – Wireless Radio Operative
William Snailham was born in 1903 at his family’s farm on Kellett Lane, Bamber Bridge. He had two sisters and was the eldest of four boys. As a boy William attended Saint Saviours Primary School. It s noted in the school register that he was a “clever lad”.
Aged 17, William left England for Canada to pursue a future in wireless operations. According to his mother’s account, he began onboard a C.P.R (Canadian Pacific Railway) liner, a position which he continued for several years on ships traveling between Canada and Bermuda.
Ship’s crew records show William employed onboard the RMS Lady Nelson for several years preceding 1932. Later, he was employed as a wireless operator within the Air Service department of the C.P.R.*
William married in Canada and had three children.
Home for Christmas
Twelve years later in December of 1939, William came back to Bamber Bridge to see his family for Christmas. He had travelled over as a wireless operator onboard an oil tanker. It was his first trip back since leaving for Canada twelve years previously. Williams parents, James and Ruth had left Kellett Lane and were living on Station Road in 1939.
William made his second visit to Bamber Bridge the following Christmas in 1940. This time he made his Atlantic crossing by air as a wireless operator onboard an American built bomber for the R.A.F that was being ‘ferried’ across the Atlantic.
“See you again Mother, shortly after Christmas“. – Parting words, 1940
Plane Crash
On February 20th, 1941, William was part of a crew onboard a Lockheed L-414 Hudson III T9449. The aircraft was headed for England via Greenland and Iceland on a delivery mission from Gander Airport, Newfoundland*. William was serving as the wireless operator.
A couple of days later newspapers reported that the T-9449 had gone missing. Shortly after that, it was discovered that the plane had crashed at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. William’s mother had seen an article in a newspaper detailing the disaster. Following this coverage she was officially notified of the accident and the death of her son William on the 26th February 1941. The news came in the form of a cablegram from the Canadian Pacific Railway Air Service Department.
The cablegram also described plans for a funeral in Newfoundland. Mrs. Snailham decided to leave the funeral arrangements to the C.P.R. They also reassured her that Williams children, although she had yet to meet them, were in good hands where they were in Nova Scotia with their aunt. William’s wife Viola had died in 1936.*
Engine Failure
It was reported that the plane had set off from Gander, Newfoundland traveling towards the Atlantic with England as its destination. On board were three crew members: William Snailham, William Bird (navigator) and pilot Captain Joseph Creighton Mackey. There was also one passenger on board, Sir Frederick Banting, the famous Canadian medical scientist and co-discoverer of insulin.
Approximately 50 miles out from Gander the plane developed starboard engine trouble. Captain Mackey made the decision to turn back and instructed William to wireless for directions back to Gander over the radio. It was later confirmed that directions had been received, but the plane didn’t make it back. The wireless onboard faded, and the second engine failed. Captain Mackey gave the order to “bale out!”.
Captain Mackey cleared the plane along with Sir Frederick Banting, but William and navigator William Bird did not jump. Both men died on impact when the plane crash landed on a snowbank close to Seven Mile Pond Lake, Newfoundland.
Frederick Banting survived his exit from the plane, but died the next day from wounds and exposure.*
Captain J.C Mackey was the sole survivor.
Probable cause of the crash according to an online source was, ‘Engine Failure’ caused by an oil leak.
Resting Place
William is buried next to his late wife Viola at Halifax Fairview Cemetery.
Fairview is also the final resting place of William’s young cousin, Dinah Taylor.
Book of Remembrance
William Snailham served as a wireless operator on the following ships during WWII and is commemorated in Canada’s second world war book of remembrance.
- MV Victolite, Canadian Motor Tanker Vessel – Sunk by a U-Boat -1942
- SS Tetela – Small Cargo Ship selected to be commodore ship of the convoy – Torpedoed in the north sea, 1941
A photograph of William can be seen on the Canadian Veterans virtual memorial, linked below.
Sources & further reading
- Ancestry
- British Newspaper Archive
- Lancashire Record Office
- Wikipedia – Frederick Bunting
- ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 74088
- The Wartime Heritage Association
- The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives
Map Boundary Lines – Kellett Lane, Bamber Bridge was recorded in 1903 as being within the area of Clayton Brook/Clayton-le-Woods.
An article featuring the story of a Radio Operator in Gander in 1943 can be found on the following link. The page contains interesting details of the RAF Ferry Command in Gander, as well as the Radio Operators personal recollections.
http://www.ganderairporthistoricalsociety.org/_html_war/RMasse.htm
Also featured – The Banting Saga, which includes further details of the T4994’s crash.
http://www.ganderairporthistoricalsociety.org/_html_war/Sir.Frederick.Banting.htm