Leonard Medforth

In Jan 1943 an enemy Dornier 217 plane was brought down in a nearby field near Skessling, and the crew of four surrendered to Private Medforth after setting fire to their plane. It was still burning the following day and exploding shells and bombs prevented any approach. One of the air crew wore the Iron Cross.

According to the Chief Constable’s official report to Northern Command headquarters in York “a German plane — Dornier 217, carrying a crew of four, after being struck by Anti-Aircraft fire, tried to fly out to sea, but returned inland and crashed landed in a field in a sparsely populated district in the neighbourhood of Out Newton, a short distance from the coast leading from Withernsea to Spurn Point. No one was present when the aircraft landed and the plane was completely burnt out presumably after being set on fire by the crew. Private Leonard Medforth, Home Guard, a farmer residing at Southfield Farm, Out Newton, was off duty at his home, and, on seeing the crash in the distance, he immediately put on some of his military uniform and turned out alone, unarmed, to search for the members of the crew. In a lonely country lane about half a mile from the burning plane, he met the four German airmen whose ages ranged from 21 to 26 years, each armed with a 7.65 automatic pistol fully loaded, a spare loaded clip for each pistol, jack knives, and verey pistols. No resistance was offered by the German airmen and he promptly arrested them and took them to the farmstead of Tom Findlay, Southfield Farm, Out Newton, where in the presence of the farm foreman, Charles Blythe, he detained them until the arrival from Withernsea of my Inspector Burton, who took charge of the prisoners”.