Coroner rules on spitfire pilot’s death after 76 years
A DISTINGUISHED RAF pilot died accidentally when his Spitfire and another crashed in midair during a training exercise, a coroner has found 76 years on.
Squadron Leader Daniel Cremin, 25, of 66 Squadron in Portreath, was killed while testing new Spitfire planes over Cornwall on March 24 in 1942.
His family were sent a sealed coffin purportedly carrying his remains and he was buried at Wardour Roman Catholic Cemetery in Tisbury, Wiltshire.
But in June last year, metal detectorist Stuart Palmer discovered the Australian pilot’s bones after digging down four feet at the crash site near St Erth, Hayle.
Mr Palmer called Devon and Cornwall Police, who worked with the Ministry of Defence and archaeologists to recover the remains.
They were confirmed as those of Sqn Ldr Cremin following DNA testing with his son Mark, now 78.
A second service was arranged at the Wiltshire cemetery and Sqn Ldr Cremin’s remains were interred in his original grave with military honours in November.
Barrie van den Berg, assistant coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, described the inquest as “very interesting” and “unusual”.
“Daniel Edward Cremin died as a result of a mid-air collision with another Spitfire,” the coroner said.
He said the cause of death was an accident.
The inquest heard Stuart Palmer, who researches crash sites from the Second World War, contacted Devon and Cornwall Police at 10am on June 26 last year.
Mr Palmer, a metal detectorist, had dug down four feet at the farm on Long Lane in St Erth when he found human remains including a part of a pelvis.
Detective Sergeant Nigel Green said records showed Sqn Ldr Cremin, in Spitfire AB462, took off from Portreath at 9.20pm on March 24 in 1942 and he collided in mid-air with another Spitfire.
Dr Cremin’s eldest son was named Daniel Mark Cremin, in memory of his fallen grandfather.
Speaking before the inquest, Dr Cremin said: “It has somehow come to a conclusion for me.
“It’s now all in one place and drawn together.”
The conclusion was that death occurred from an accident.