On Sunday 4th June 1967 a Canadair C-4 Argonaut aircraft owned by British Midland Airways, en-route from Palma de Mallorca to Manchester crashed at Hopes Carr, a small open area off Hillgate. Local people rescued 10 passangers, a stewardess and the pilot before flames engulfed the aircraft. The remaining 72 people aboard perished in the flames.
A memorial plaque at the corner of Hopes Carr and Waterloo Road was unveiled by two survivors of the crash in 1998. It reads:
IN MEMORY
OF THE
SEVENTY TWO PASSENGERS
AND CREW
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES
IN THE
STOCKPORT AIR DISASTER
4th JUNE 1967
A second memorial dedicated to the rescuers was unveiled in 2002. It reads:
This memorial
is dedicated to those involved
in the rescue and who gave aid at the
Stockport Air Disaster
4th June 1967.
All were faced with the true horror
of tragedy and did not turn away.
Their courage saved
twelve lives.
The area has remained virtually untouched since the disaster but an area regeneration plan conceived in 2008 planned the creation of 350 apartments and 5000 sqm of commercial space with the memorials being moved to a "peace garden" overlooking the Hempshaw Valley. So far only 46 new homes have been built in the area and the memorials remain where they are.
For ABC Wednesday.
It's amazing how well we can remember some tragedies, frozen in our minds.
ReplyDeleteROG, ABCW
It's always so sad to hear of things like this. But it is great that the people put up a memorial for those lost.
ReplyDeleteLeslie
abcw team
I agree with Roger that some major tragedies like Lockerbie and the one mentioned here are forever stamped in our minds.
ReplyDeleteWil, ABCW Team.