The location quoted is for a trig point
This cache has been placed to mark the spot where a Horsa glider
crashed on 17 September 1944, killing the 2 pilots and 21 embarked
troops of the 9th Airborne Field Company Royal Engineers.
The glider started its journey towed by a Short Stirling bomber
of 299 Sqn RAF from RAF Keevil near Trowbridge - a point marked by
this cache GCHHCQ A Cache Too
Far, bound for the bridges at Arnhem as part of
Operation Market Garden. Unfortunately the glider broke up
following an explosion after just 17 miles, with the debris,
including motorcycles, strewn over a large area on a meadow
known as Double Hills near the village of Paulton.
The casualties, the first of Operation Market Garden, were
buried in Weston-super-Mare with full military honours.
The point was marked by a memorial erected on September 23 1979,
and a service is held annually to commemorate the event. More
details are available here; 2007's commemoration
was on 9 September.
There is ample parking close by and there are two easy routes
through dairy pasture to the memorial which is located close to the
trig point - kissing gates and a stile mean no wheelchair access -
sorry!
This cache features some interesting history, a trig point and
stunning views to the south - need I say more!
The cache is not at the memorial, but you will need to visit it
to work out the offset which is based on the trig position. If you
inspect the memorial you will see that it was upgraded. Cache
location is at the trig point position minus the following decimals
of minutes:
- 0[(troop number)x(Sqn no)+(last digit of upgrade year)]N
- [(upgrade year)/(month of upgrade)]W (round up to nearest
001!)
The cache is a small 'lock n lock' container in a camo bag with
an unactivated geocoin for the FTF