DID you know that two aircraft collided over the packed seaside resort of Warrenpoint, one summer Saturday afternoon, killing six, causing terror and destruction?

And the �Point also made the headlines, when local councillors were trapped in the local Town Hall, during a non-stop, 46-hour session to choose a new chairman. The marathon was compared in the media to the �Siege of Derry, Limerick or Troy.�

Crowds of spectators were being thrilled by dive-bombing manoeuvres, as two planes put on an aerial display, that fateful weekend in July, 1944. And as the local Civil Defence Unit staged its Air Raid exercises, one of the aircraft began to climb over the roof-tops at Church Street. Simultaneously, the other plane came flying in from Carlingford Lough, apparently on the same course.

Suddenly, one machine dipped under the other and, as it rose, the rudders collided. An explosion was accompanied by a blinding flash, followed by wreckage being strewn over a wide area. Pieces of fuselage and large chunks of the wings fell on to Church Street and Queen Street, as terrified onlookers raced for cover, or threw themselves on the ground.

Eye-witnesses described how one plane was split in two by the impact, - the major portion crashing into the yard of wine-merchant, Francis Hourican at Duke Street. Another section landed on the property of Patrick Curran at Church Street. Here, the cockpit was discovered, together with the bodies of the crew, which were taken to the morgue at Daisyhill Hospital in Newry.

Many women and children screamed in terror, while some fainted. There was a stampede towards the back-yards, into which some of the wreckage had fallen. But police and Civil Defence personnel kept the crowds back.

Miraculously, no civilians were killed or seriously injured. Among the narrow escapes was the caretaker of the local Town Hall, the roof being ripped off the cloakroom, just a few seconds after he had left. Stabling his pony in Hourican�s yard was Mr John Byrne from Burren. The animal bolted on hearing the explosion, saving its own and the owner�s life.

The second plane crashed into the sea, close to the Swimming Baths. The chairman of Warrenpoint Urban Council, Mr Edward Caulfield, was standing a few yards from the Baths, when a piece of wreckage landed at his feet. And Joseph Marshall from Newry was in his rowing-boat, close-by, at the time.

RUC Sergeant Denis Donoghue, architect Ernest McKibben and Constable Henry Rodgers recovered the bodies from the sea, conveyed them to Charlotte Street Morgue, and later to Daisyhill Hospital. Such was the force of the explosion that people on the Omeath shore were picking up pieces of wreckage, and the smell of petrol pervaded the water, for some time afterwards.

Personal possessions of the six victims were discovered along the route of the doomed planes, and taken to the local police station. One diary had an entry that the airman was about to go on leave, and was �eagerly looking forward� to seeing his wife and new-born baby. Close by was an attach�-case, containing a set of baby-clothes. Another airman had a telegram, congratulating him on his 21st birthday.

Spectators believed that the two pilots had heroically done everything in their power to steer the planes away from the crowds, massed below. Quickly on the scene had been Dr. T.A. O�Tierney and Dr. M. P. Gilsenan, along with Catholic and Protestant clergy. But they were unable to do anything for the luckless airmen.

Telegrams were sent to the Air Ministry in London by the M. P. for South Down, James Brown, proprietor of the `Newry Telegraph,� and also by the chairman of Warrenpoint Urban Council, Edward Caulfield. They expressed shock and sympathy on behalf of the local population with the relatives of the victims.

Due to wartime restrictions, it was not permitted to publicly identify the deceased. But for one person from the region, Samuel Black of Bessbrook, the crash had a poignant significance. While a Flight Mechanic with 290 Squadron, based at the Long Kesh aerodrome, he had struck up a friendship with one of those who lost their lives at Warrenpoint, Warrant Officer Albert Gill.

Meanwhile, �one of the greatest municipal comedies of all time,� was how the media described the marathon non-stop session of three days and two nights, spent by the `Point councillors, deadlocked in a bitter battle, including three futile attempts to choose a new council chairman.

The Press, local and national, gave full coverage to those unique proceedings. Betting took place on how long the �sit-down strike� would last. Citizens had a �dekka�, while children cheered their public representatives, as they passed the Town Hall on the way to school.

Seated in the Upper Chamber, - which the Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Choral Society used for rehearsals, and the Petty Sessions were later held, - the councillors took a total of 46 hours to choose between F.P. Connolly, J.P., (Independent) from the `Point, and a Newry solicitor, P. J. McMahon, a member of the National League Party. The saga had a sudden and unexpected ending!

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