Back in 1989 I was working as a security guard in a factory in Sandycroft. I usually worked 12 hour night shifts. At the time my mode of transport was a trusty old pedal cycle on which I would travel between work and my then home in nearby Broughton.
One cold November morning at 6am I was travelling home as usual on the bike from Manor Lane onto the main road between Hawarden and Broughton where it dips into a wooded area as the road crosses a small stream. As I travelled down into the dip I saw coming towards me in the gloom the dark shape of a man, which was unusual at that time of the morning.
As I neared the shape I found that I could not distinguish any of his features or clothing. When I passed the shape I felt a wall of heat hit me, not unlike that which engulfs you as you step off a plane in a very hot country for the first time. The momentum of the bike carried me further down the hill and I looked back but could see nothing at all.
I told the story many times over the next few years and one day in 1997 I recounted the story to a colleague of mine in the police who originated from the Hawarden area. On hearing the story I was told by him that during the war the nearby Hawarden Airfield had been used as a RAF base and a plane had crashed one day on take-off coming down near to the dip in a ball of flame, killing the pilot.
Whether or not this is true I have been unable to ascertain, however I do know that on that cold November morning in 1989 I came across something that to this day remains as fresh in my memory as though it happened yesterday. Has anybody else heard of such a story in that area? 
your comments
Glyn Bellis, Rhosllanerchrugog
At a seance near the officers' housing, a pilot came through and relived the last minutes before hitting a mountain side in a snow storm. The mountain was 20 miles south of Hawarden. This was in the early 70s, we normally sat for materialisation of spirit, but not on this occasion.
Wed Feb 4 10:49:37 2009
Pauline/Deeside
I have just started work at Airbus west side, the canteen at the bottom of the emergency run way. I have worked here for 10 weeks. I work 1pm til 7pm and the fist week I was there I saw what I thought was a shadow in the kitchen at the end of the cooker going over to a sink and now it is happening every shift. I see it all the time and it is freaking me out a bit. I only see the torso and and shiny buttons on the jacket. I have told my works mate and they have had things being thrown around the kitchen but I never have seen this til Friday when a spoon was thrown out of a deep pan on the stove - it flipped to the floor.
Mon Dec 22 09:12:57 2008
Kenny Jones, Chester
To Azul Harper, indeed your mother's brother lies at St Deiniols war cemetery. Harwarden pilot sgt, R/65358 of Nova Scotia Canada died on Oct 7th 1941 age 21. He is buried along with many others in the northside of the churchyard. If my facts are right he was killed along with another airmen when their lysander aircraft came down in Penymynnnyd woods 2 miles from the airfield. I know the crash site very well.
Fri Jul 4 08:26:55 2008
Kay, Hawarden
I am convinced I saw something in the dip. It was about 23.15, it was dark and wet, I was alone driving back from my boyfriend's. I can only describe it as a bright misty object which darkened the closer I drove towards it. It was on the opposite side of the road to me and shaped like a woman wearing a traditional wedding dress. I know that sounds stupid but I can only describe the shape that way lol! It really creeped me out. Has anyone else seen anything like this?
Fri Jun 27 11:56:31 2008
Azul Harper, Ottawa, Canada
My mother's brother, Robert E. Nickerson, was killed in a plane crash at Hawarden, I believe, and is buried in the cemetery there. I was trying to find some information on the cemetery.
Mon Mar 10 09:35:24 2008
Wayne, Broughton
I work on the airport and have seen a mk1 spitfire take off and vanish at approx 300 feet. There was no sound at all from the merlin engine. I know what I saw.
Thu Feb 28 08:54:01 2008
Karl from Blue Mountains, Australia
In relation to the old RAF camp, there were a few of us who used to fish the old raised ponds on the camp. There were a couple of ponds that had different types of fish in them (one even had gold fish in it). This would be on the way from Broughton to the bottom of Manor Lane to see friends whose parents were in the RAF and lived in the quarters down there. We also used to frequently see owls that were nesting in the old buildings (pretty run down). Fortunately, never encountered anything scary in terms of ghosts. We used to actually cross the fence and go over the field just before the dip in the road.
Fri Feb 8 13:38:23 2008
Fred Knox B.E.M, Carlisle, Cumbria
I certainly remember many plane crashes in the area, I lived in Hawarden opposite the Hawarden Institute from 1939. I was 5 at the time and I will always remember the funerals that used to come from the camp up to St Deiniols church for the service. In fact in the cemetery there are the white portland stone war graves of many of the RAF lads from the RAF Station. The one referred to in the article, if my memory is correct, just at the top of the hill from the Brought Lodge, there is a large crater which I belived was the site of a fighter A/C. crash. I lived in the village until 1957 and was an ATC Cadet at the base, then I enlisted in the RAF served for 32 years.
Thu Nov 29 11:46:47 2007
Lewis, Deeside
I've been reading all the comments left and I find them fascinating although I have never seen a ghost many of my family have. I would like to think that ghosts do exist but having never seen one I can't help thinking that as the mind is a fascinating and powerful instrument that can generate images and ideas that maybe people think they see what they want to see such as family members that have passed on and I believe that the environment that we're in plays a major part in these "paranormal sightings". Being in the dark, alone and the surrounds - often the imagination can interpret things and make us believe we have seen and felt things which probably the majority of the time aren't actually true/real. If any one would like to add to this I'd be very interested.
Mon Oct 29 08:48:41 2007
Paul from Flint
Fighter Pilot ghost? My next door neighbours recently bought a piece of airplane control panel in an antique auction. We think the panel is from a WWII RAF spitfire fighter plane, the panel is badly damaged and was probably taken from a plane crash site. Their house now seems to be haunted by a misty Polish speaking figure which also wanders through into my home. I have seen nothing yet but my 2 cats and my sister's dog all see and interact with something coming through the wall (from next door). Time to call the priest I think.
Thu Oct 25 08:56:22 2007
Rog Williams
I'm trying to find out details of De Havalland at Hawarden airfield prior to and just after the Second World War. Please help.
Thu Oct 25 08:45:48 2007
John James, Hawarden
Hello. I have lived in the village all my life. One very cold winter's day me and three pals were riding our bikes toward Broughton from the village when it started to snow or hail, heavily. The wind blew it hard in my face and I lost track of my mates. They must have been ahead of me. In my panic I sped down the hill much too fast and as I neared the bottom of the dip I lost control and the bike went from under me. I think I blacked out but woke up lying across the road. I remember the heat that surrounded me and opened my eyes to see a man in a pilot's uniform standing over me. The heat was too much to bear, it seemed wrong because I had half an inch of snow on me. My eyes were misted over and I was dazed but the heat burned the back of my head. I got too my feet and the man was gone. I was suddenly freezing and ran as fast as I could. My mates were waiting at the top of the hill for me and I told them what I had seen. We went back down the dip to where my bike lay and as I picked it up a shiver went through me. The hairs at the back of my head stood up and I didn't know why. I never rode that way again.
Mon Apr 23 08:14:53 2007
Joseph Gerald Morris
The cemetary at Blacon, Chester, has a Cross of Sacrifice and a wide expanse of white headstones signifying the resting place of the war dead of those brave men and women of the Commonwealth and British war dead and the numerous Polish pilots air crew and ground staff who were killed as their plane crash landed. The aerodrome had two Polish Spitfire Squadrons that flew in the Battle of Britain and also before the USA entered the WW11 a group of US pilots who flew in the Eagle Squadron with an angry looking eagle about to pounce upon its prey, the Poles had an Eagle rising out of flames looking very annoyed. So I wonder which language the ghost would speak? I never met any and I was around the Field a great deal until I was called up into the Royal Navy.
Thu Dec 28 11:30:51 2006
Sally Tilston, Broughton
Me and my partner have lived in Broughton Lodge (house in the dip) for 4 years and have never experienced anything out of the ordinary......
Fri Nov 17 08:17:04 2006
Chris Allman, Broughton
The place that is described in the story is 5 minutes walk from my house. I used to walk down that road many times and actually went down to the stream as I went to cadets. My mother who works at Airbus told me the story but I already knew it. She told me that the wife of the pilot came into the factory to lay down flowers and to see where the plane crashed. So there is some fact behind this.
Fri May 19 11:15:57 2006
Phil Tomaselli
Has anyone actually bothered to check RAF accident cards or the station records to see if any such event occurred in the vicinity or is that just a touch too obvious?
Wed Apr 12 08:12:15 2006
Margaret from Deeside
I have worked at Convatec on the industrial estate at Sealand for many years. It was common knowledge for the believers that the place had a ghost of an RAF man who supposedly crashed during the war.
Fri Dec 30 08:42:10 2005
kenny jones chester
Being wartime there where many crashes around the welsh/ cheshire border area but because Britain in 1940 was fighting for her very life, secrecy was the order of the the day, we could not give information out about crashes in case the enemy found out, which would enhance their morale and those sort of losses would destroy ours. So secret were crash sites you could only get information on them only in the last twenty or so years. I read on one crash site in shropshire that the next of kin where informed of their deaths 10 months later due to the nature of their mission.
Tue Nov 22 22:08:11 2005
Bhuta Decar Broughton.
Hello all, I am saying, I played all of my teens years on that old RAF camp, explored all the old buildings and pits, prior to it being made into an industrial place.
Nothing scary scared me no way, it's all urban myth if you be asking me.
Thu Nov 10 17:39:58 2005
Graeme ex Sychdyn
Well all I can say is a few years ago before the expansion of the industal estate me and about 8 mates use to go down to the old air field buildings at night (by the water tower) and one night all of us saw the figure of a raf pilot waking towards us and into the old mt? yard to the left of the water tower and when we followed him into the buildings he was not any where inside. We had someone by all the doors and sides of building so he could not of got out without one of us seing him. And me and a mate searched the whole building inside and saw nothing
Sat Oct 1 20:44:57 2005
Sam
I actually lived in the cottage (Broughton Lodge)that is actually situated within the Dip and in all the years I lived there I never saw a ghost. Although quite often when sitting in the front room of the house you would feel that someone was walking past the window. I think that there is and old Roman road that leads up to the castle from that point.
Sun Aug 14 09:45:46 2005
We're no longer accepting comments on this page but we're still interested in your ghost stories about NE Wales
