Easby Moor is a hill located in the civil parish of

Little Ayton Little Ayton is a village and civil parish in Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England and lies immediately south of Great Ayton. The population of this civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the ...

in the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a National Park in 1952, through the National Parks and ...

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

within the

Cleveland Hills The Cleveland Hills are a range of hills on the north-west edge of the North York Moors in North Yorkshire, England, overlooking Cleveland and Teesside. They lie entirely within the boundaries of the North York Moors National Park. Part of the ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. At the peak, above sea level, is a monument to

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

, who was native to the area. The

Cleveland Way The Cleveland Way is a National Trail in the historic area of Cleveland in North Yorkshire, northern England. It runs between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. History Development of the Clev ...

runs over the moor. The moor overlooks the villages of Easby and Great Ayton and

History

Aircraft Crash Site, Easby Moor - geograph

The moor was the scene of an air crash during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. 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 Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cl ...

banker, the high monument bears a plaque with the following inscription: :In memory of the celebrated circumnavigator

F.R.S. A man of nautical knowledge inferior to none, in zeal prudence and energy, superior to most. Regardless of danger he opened an intercourse with the Friendly Isles and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere. He was born at Marton Oct. 27th 1728 and massacred at Owythee Feb. 14th 1779 to the inexpressible grief of his countrymen. While the art of navigation shall be cultivated among men, whilst the spirit of enterprise, commerce and philanthropy shall animate the sons of Britain, while it shall be deemed the honour of a Christian Nation to spread civilisation and the blessings of the Christian faith among pagan and savage tribes, so long will the name of Captain Cook stand out amongst the most celebrated and most admired benefactors of the human race. This inscription was added later and written by

George Young (Presbyterian minister) George Young (15 July 1777 – 8 May 1848) was a Scottish divine, scholar and flood geologist. Biography George Young was born in Kirknewton south-west of Edinburgh to John Young and his wife Jean. George was born without a left hand and this ...

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. Th
Original inscription
read: :The foundation stone of this Monument was laid by Robert Campion esq of Whitby lord of the manor of Easby on the 12th day of July 1827 being his birthday in commemoration of that celebrated circumnavigator Captain James Cook who was born at Naston (sic) in the neighbourhood October 27 1728 and who served his apprenticeship to sea from Whitby

Restoration

In 1895 after a campaign by the

North-Eastern Daily Gazette TeessideLive is a regional news website serving the Teesside area of England. The website feeds ''The Gazette'' daily newspaper and the ''Sunday Sun'', England’s best-selling regional Sunday newspaper. Formerly known as ''Teesside Gazette' ...

the monument was fully restored by repointing and the fitting of a

lightning conductor A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducte ...

. 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.

References

{{coord, 54.483271, N, 1.090097, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(NZ590101), display=title Mountains and hills of North Yorkshire Moorlands of England North York Moors