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75 YEARS AGO THE WALES RUGBY TEAM HAD JUST WON AN HISTORIC TRIPLE CROWN - NOW SIGNISTONE COMMEMORATES 83 DEATHS IN WHAT WAS THE THE WORST AIRLINE CRASH IN HISTORY 13:28, 11 Mar 2025 A Royal
Air Force flypast brought to a close a commemoration to mark 75 years since what was then the world’s worst air disaster devastated a Welsh village. On 12 March 1950, an Avro Tudor airliner
carrying Welsh rugby fans from a Five-Nations game in Ireland was coming into land at RAF Llandow. It crashed just short of the runway and all but three of the 83 people onboard were killed.
Marking the first time in nearly four decades that Wales had clinched the Triple Crown before Malcolm Thomas won Wales the Grand Slam in Belfast. That Sunday - triumphant supporters boarded
an Avro 690 Tudor V plane named Star Girl at Dublin Airport, having travelled there from Belfast after the previous day's match. But tragically the plane never returned the passengers
to home turf. Many of those killed that day travelled as part of trips organised by rugby clubs and pubs across Wales. Rugby clubs like Abercarn, Risca and Llanharan were left grieving the
loss of players, club officials and fans. Many towns and coal mines came to a standstill in the following week as thousands attended the funerals of the victims. An inquest subsequently
found that the airliner had been incorrectly loaded and became unstable as it came into land, causing it to crash. READ MORE: Heathrow Airport delays chaos after car bursts into flames
inside tunnel The event on Sunday in Siginstone, where the airliner crashed, brought together relatives of those who died, representatives of the rugby clubs affected and local dignitaries
including the Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, Morfudd Meredith and the Leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, Councillor Lis Burnett.The flypast was provided by the University of Wales
Air Squadron, based at MoD St Athan. Gathering at a memorial stone erected near the spot where the airliner crashed, Paul Thomas, who lives next to the memorial site and whose family lived
at Park Farm on the other side of to the crash site, read a poem by Cerrig Day from Abercarn RFC called 'Yr Hunllef' (The nightmare). Paul spoke of his Aunt Lydia, who witnessed
the crash. "She was asleep and woke to hear a plane. She stood at the window and the aircraft fell out of the sky in front of her: she saw the whole thing happen", he said. Article
continues below He added: "There was no telephone at Park Farm, so Bryn, who was 15, ran across the village to one house in the village which had a telephone to call the emergency
services." Air Officer Wales, Air Commodore Rob Woods said: "Personnel from Llandow and nearby RAF St Athan took a leading part in the rescue and recovery operation. It was their
sad task to recover the bodies from the Tudor and take them to the mortuary set up at RAF Llandow. RAF medical staff gave comfort to the relatives who came to identify the dead and the three
survivors, who were taken to the hospital at RAF St Athan, later spoke with warmth and gratitude for the care they had received there. "Today we give thanks for the efforts and the
service of those RAF personnel in caring for the wounded, the dead and their families". One of the units stationed at Llandow was Wales’ only Royal Air Force Reserve unit – No. 614
(County of Glamorgan) Squadron. Their Commanding Officer today, Wing Commander Lee Matthews said: "As today, the members of 614 Squadron served in their spare time and they were at a
training weekend when the Avro Tudor crashed and were first on the scene. They were horrified to find that one of the bodies they pulled from the wreckage was that of their then Officer
Commanding, Squadron Leader Bill Irving, from Cwmbran. He had organised a trip from his local pub to watch the game.He also served with the squadron during the war and had survived many
dangerous missions, only to die coming home from a rugby match". Article continues below JOIN THE WALESONLINE WHATSAPP COMMUNITY WalesOnline has launched a new breaking news and top
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