By 1939 the prospects of another war with Germany seemed inevitable, and in accordance with a national policy the Rural District Council expenditure was increased by 2d in the pound, chiefly due to the Fire Brigades Act and Air Raid Precautions. Weighing nearly 3½ tons, the district’s quota of 18,000 sand bags then arrived on February 20th at the Council Offices – albeit to much head scratching as to where to find a suitable supply of sand. Yet although Winslow would escape the aeronautical attentions of the enemy, (except for a few stray bombs and land mines in the surrounding district), the town nevertheless suffered a tragic misfortune on August 7th 1943 when, engaged on a night training mission from Wing, a Hercules engined Wellington Mk. III, piloted by Sergeant W. Davies, came in at a low altitude from the surrounding countryside and, at 3.05p.m., struck a walnut tree just off the High Street. Ripped off in the collision, a wing plummeted onto the roof of the Bletchley Co-op Society’s butcher’s shop, and demolishing the Chandos Arms the remainder of the aircraft careered over some houses and smashed into Rose Cottages, with the rear gun turret and the rear gunner becoming lodged in the roof of no. 2. All the buildings caught fire, as also did the remains of the stricken plane when it came to a final rest in a potato field. With three of the crew found dead another member was taken to hospital, but tragically he would survive for only a little while longer. Despite the attention of six fire brigades, so fiercely were the buildings ablaze that no rescue of the occupants could succeed, and in the intense heat additional dangers were posed by exploding machine gun rounds, with a likewise danger from overheating roof tiles. Including members from five families, some 13 people perished in the tragedy, and amongst the victims was Thomas Cox, the landlord of the Chandos Arms, and, ironically, a husband and wife, (respectively aged 67 and 66), whose home had been blitzed in the East End of London. Nevertheless there were some lucky escapes, and none more surprising than that of an 80 year old tailor, Mr. J. Sawyer who, sleeping peacefully at the home of Mr. W. Phillips, at no. 8 Rose Cottages, was thrown out of bed when an engine hurtled through the roof, and smashed into a downstairs room. He crawled from the ruins unharmed. In the wake of the crash a mobile police canteen was soon offering an immediate comfort to the shocked survivors, who, with the remnants of their belongings stored in the High Street chapel, found temporary accommodation with friends and relatives. However, the burden of anguish was hardly relieved when, since the aircraft had not been engaged on an operational mission, it was made known that no compensation would be payable from war damage funds. Of the aircraft’s crew only the navigator, Sergeant Jeffrey Harrington, survived, and on regaining consciousness all he would recall was a bump, to find himself consequently lodged in a corner of a demolished cottage. Eventually the cause of the crash was attributed to the pilot having paid insufficient attention to his instruments, and so losing height, but the Flight Commander was also indirectly blamed, for having kept inadequate records of the pupils, and for having allowed them to fly solo at night, before completing their required daylight flying exercises. In the event the Air Officer Commanding agreed in general with the findings, although he considered that the Flight Commander had been innocent of the accusation. Soon local relief was being raised through the Winslow Aeroplane Disaster Fund and, with contributions received from as far away as Manchester, by the end of August £1,000 had been collected. A whist drive held at Mursley in November then generated a further sum, and at a total of £1,500, raised in 247 contributions, the Fund finally closed on November 15th. After the war, including all the salvageable materials the site of the Chandos Arms, fronting Winslow High Street, was sold at the Bell Hotel in 1946 by Wigley and Son, and being purchased for £140 by Mr. E.W. Kempe, a local resident, he would also buy the adjoining plot. On the site of the demolished pub a prefabricated building then came to be erected as the H.Q. of the British Legion, and with the new Royal Legion H.Q. then being built on the situation, a plaque was placed to commemorate the tragedy of the past event.