Easby Moor


Easby Moor is a hill located in the civil parish of Little Ayton in the North York Moors national park within the Cleveland Hills, North Yorkshire, England. At the peak, above sea level, is a monument to Captain James Cook, who was native to the area. The Cleveland Way runs over the moor. The moor overlooks the villages of Easby and Great Ayton and Little Ayton.

History

The moor was the scene of an air crash during the Second World War. At 4:10 a.m. on 11 February 1940, a Hudson aircraft took off from Thornaby airfield, to search for German minesweepers operating off the Danish coast. Five minutes later the plane crashed on Easby Moor, killing three of the four crewmen and injuring the fourth. As ice had formed on the wings, the aircraft failed to gain sufficient height to clear the hill. The aircraft ploughed through a larch plantation before coming to rest. The gap in the plantation corresponds exactly with the Hudson's wingspan of 65.5 feet.
The aircrew who died were Flying Officer Tom Parker, Sergeant Harold Berksley and Corporal Norman Drury. Leading Aircraftman Athol Barker survived but was later shot down whilst flying over Germany. The four unexploded bombs that the Hudson carried were later detonated by the RAF, resulting in a pond.

Captain Cook's Monument

Erected on Easby Moor in 1827 by Robert Campion, a Whitby banker, the high monument bears a plaque with the following inscription:
This inscription was added later and written by George Young also from Whitby. Young died in 1848 so the current inscription must have been placed on the monument between 1827 and 1848. Campion died in 1866 so would have approved the new inscription. The read:

Restoration

In 1895 after a campaign by the North-Eastern Daily Gazette the monument was fully restored by repointing and the fitting of a lightning conductor.
The monument's lightning conductor was stolen, and in 1960 the monument was struck by lightning occasioning severe damage, splitting it the height of the stonework. Work was quickly carried out to restore the monument.