Bravery in the face of death
Sergeant Smeaton was a young Lloyds Bank employee who joined the RAF Volunteer Reserves on the outbreak of World War II, gaining his pilot's wings in March 1941. During the early morning of 10th May 1941, Sergeant Smeaton took off from Church Fenton in a Mk1 Bristol Blenheim for night fighter training. Whilst flying over Castleford the plane suffered engine failure causing Sergeant Smeaton to become disorientated. He reported to base that he was abandoning the aircraft whilst over Cutsyke but failed to do so, crashing just south of nearby houses at 03:30am. It is widely believed that Sergeant Smeaton had the capacity and time to eject safely but took the decision to instead retain control of the aircraft for so long as was necessary to avoid the houses and the local school in the area, sacrificing his own life to save hundreds of others. |
Local tributes
Following his death, the Bruce Smeaton Memorial Shield was created in his memory and held by the local school who honour the memory of the pilot. Local roads, Bruce Smeaton Way and Blenheim Way, were both named in honour of the pilot. Lilac, a popular local blossom at the time of Bruce Smeaton's death, has been placed with the shield now at Ackton Pastures Primary School on the anniversary of his death every year as a tradition started by the late local resident and school caretaker John Albert Booth (1934-2020). This board was erected in 2021 following a local campaign established in 2020, in preparation of the 80th anniversary of the pilot's death, by a local committee of interested residents (Bruce Smeaton 80th Anniversary Memorial Group).
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