Carol in tears as she learns her father died on same flight as wartime artist

‘We just stood in silence for a few minutes’

nlillitos@thekmgroup.co.uk She was only eight weeks old when her pilot father’s plane disappeared off Iceland in 1942, but with the help of his log book Carol Lockwood has discovered that famed war artist Captain Eric Ravilious was also on that ill-fated plane.

Capt Ravilious was commissioned by the then War Office to paint and sketch images of the Second World War – only last month one of his earlier works from before the war was bought by a dealer for £312,700.

Until recently it was unclear on which plane Capt Ravilious had been when he died.

But unrelated references to the artist led 72-year-old Carol to scrutinise the log book of her pilot father, Flt Lt Alfred “Ginge” Culver. It’s one of the cherished possessions relating to him that she keeps at her East Farleigh home.

The log reveals, in her father’s own handwriting, that Capt Ravilious was a passenger on his plane.

It is regarded as the first concrete link between the artist and the Hudson plane.

Alfred was only 25 when he made his last entry on that fateful day just hours before taking off on September 2, 1942. In one column he wrote the names of his co-pilot and two other members of his crew.

In the next column is the name of Capt Ravilious. Their mission had been to search for another missing Hudson aircraft that had disappeared the day before.

Alfred’s plane suffered the same fate – and written across the columns of his last log entry, completed by a base officer, were the words “Failed to return”.

Three days later, a Hudson aircraft wheel and its strut were washed ashore on Eyrarbakki beach in the south of the island.

Carol’s discovery has brought her in touch with Capt Ravilious’s daughter Anne Ullmann.

“We’ve not yet met but have corresponded and she was happy that my husband and I planted a tree of remembrance at the former airfield at Kaldardames from where they had taken off,” said Carol.

During a visit on the anniversary of the incident, accompanied by husband Derek, Carol saw many of the places her dad would have seen when on leave, including the bar in the art-deco-style Hotel Borg overlooking historic Asuturvollur Square in central Reykjavik.

On her return journey to England she looked out of the plane window and cried.

“I thought somewhere down there in the sea is the wreck of an aircraft with five people in it.

“I feel very proud and honoured to have seen some of the places where they spent the last days of their lives.” The Icelandic airfield at which Carol’s father was based has reverted to agricultural land – just bits of concrete show through the soil that once hosted runways.

To mark the spot, a memorial stone stands dedicated to the RAF’s 269 Squadron.

It is flanked by 15 fir trees planted in 1999 by former members who served at the Kaldardames airfield.

Now they number 16, thanks to the one planted by Carol and her 76-year-old husband Derek.

The couple also placed flowers and two small white crosses at the memorial, one bearing the names of her father and his crew, the other that of Eric Ravilious.

“It was an emotional time standing on the spot where my father’s wheels once took off. The landowner has a preserved hangar that serves as a museum. Inside is a plane, military vehicles and plane engines,” said Carol.

“The owner was so very kind and arranged for us to fly over the area in a private plane, piloted by his son.

“Without the help of the local people, the experience of what we felt and saw would not have been possible.”

The couple also visited Eyrarbakki beach, where the wheel of the Hudson was washed up just days after her dad’s plane disappeared.

“The beach is renowned for its sunsets. The tide was out and it was covered in seaweed,” said Carol. “There was a wonderful aroma of the sea’s ozone.

“The whole day was bathed in sunshine. We just stood in silence for a few minutes.”