Burtonwood Gleanings

Murder at Burtonwood

17 June 202417 June 2024 Steven Dowd

LANCASTER SPRING ASSIZES. CROWN COURT, Friday, 13 March 1832. William Heaton, 27, was charged with the wilful murder of John Ratcliffe, at Burtonwood, on the night the 28th of October last. Dr Brown very minutely detailed the facts of the case, and called the following witnesses: James Andrews: I live at Burtonwood. On the morning of the of October last, as was going to my work, between five and six o’clock, with another man, we saw person lying dead. John Ratcliffe. had no hat on. There was a great quantity…

Six Airmen killed and Eighteen Injured

17 June 202417 June 2024 Steven Dowd

Sunday 6th June 1952. A board of investigation will sit at the American airbase at Burtonwood, near Warrington, to-morrow to determine the cause of the crash on Saturday night between a Neptune naval patrol bomber and a Dakota aircraft in which six airmen were killed and eighteen injured. A seventh airman is missing, believed killed, and last night the wreckage of the burned-out planes was still being searched for his body. The eighteen injured are in the base hospital suffering from burns and shock and one of them is stated…

Burtonwood Air Crash U.S. Airmen Killed

16 June 2024 Steven Dowd

Friday 11 January 1952 Seven U.S. airmen were killed, and one seriously injured when two planes collided at the U.S. air base, Burtonwood on Saturday evening. The planes crashed on the runway, with the result that both planes were set on-fire. One plane, a Neptune. was just returning to the base after a trip to Iceland, and the other machine a Dakota was just leaving for a flight to Manston, Kent. After the crash there was a series of explosions, which was believed to have been ammunition aboard the Neptune.…

Burtonwood Dahlia Queen Crowning Ceremony

16 June 202416 June 2024 Steven Dowd

Friday 08 August 1952 Threatening clouds affected the crowds attending the annual Burtonwood Dahlia Queen celebration on the Chapel Lane field on Monday afternoon. Up to 2 p.m. the arrivals were very thin, but afterwards when the clouds dispersed, the crowds began to arrive though not in sufficient numbers to create a record. As usual all the fun of the fair was available, and everything went according to plan. The procession through the village was just as colourful as ever, with gay tableaux, mounted characters and decorated horses. The streets…