Frederick James Bassett
Having joined the RAF, Fred Bassett was assigned to 302 Ferry Training Unit operating from RAF Oban.
On the evening of 12th May 1944, Catalina JX273 and its crew of nine took off on a night training exercise. Fred Bassett served as the Wireless Operator / Air Gunner under the command of pilot David Clyne, who had been a successful footballer in the Scottish League before the war.
The intended route was via Barra Head. However, the aircraft flew well off course. Realising the navigational error, the pilot endeavoured to gain height, but as he reached approximately 213m (700ft), the Catalina crashed into the side of Heishavel Beag on the island of Vatersay, killing three crew members including Fred Bassett.
The Crash Site
RAF recovery teams later broke up the plane and salvaged the engines, but much of the wreckage remains intact on the hillside to this day.
Island Memorial
A memorial has been erected close to the crash site on Vatersay, although it interestingly records Fred’s initials incorrectly.
Local Remembrance
Fred Bassett is buried in Leominster’s Moravian Burial Ground. His wife, Nora, was laid to rest alongside him in 1994.
The Explorer Scouts have established an annual tradition of quietly paying their respects to Fred Bassett immediately following the annual Remembrance Sunday Parade. The Moravian faith does not embrace elaborate ceremonies and is strictly non-militaristic; to this end, a particular point is made of leaving the standards outside of the burial ground—no poppies or standing to alert, it is a simple reflection with 9 pebbles placed in the traditional "Gone Home" symbol ($\odot$).