The full story of how and why a war plane came down in the North East during a storm in 1917 has just been revealed - in the dramatic words of the pilot. Jim McTaggart reports.

There was great excitement when a two-seater aircraft, an RE8, made an emergency landing on March 31, 1917, in a field at Barnard Castle, County Durham, but its details were kept secret for security reasons.

But air historian John Yarker, who lives in the town, has received a letter sent shortly after the dramatic landing by the pilot, 28-year-old Lieutenant Thomas Gorman, of the Royal Flying Corps, to his family.

Mr Yarker, who has investigated dozens of air crashes, said yesterday: "I tried for years to uncover the facts behind this incident, but hardly made any progress until I got a sudden lucky break."

That came when he was contacted by the pilot's granddaughter Rebecca Gorman, from New South Wales, Australia, who produced the letter he wrote at the time, telling how he was flying from Glasgow to Croydon.

His letter says: "At 4,500 feet, I flew into a snowstorm and for 20 minutes was tossed like a feather, with snow in my eyes and unable to see a yard.

"The climax came when my machine stalled, ie stood on its tail and nearly turned over backwards. My feet left the rudder bars, but thank heaven my safety belt was strong and it tightened round my waist. I put all my strength on to the joystick, pushing it forward.

"Down we went in a nose dive for about 1,000 feet. I opened the throttle and the engine started. I eased her back and up we shot, doing about 200 miles per hour. When I came out of the storm, I was only about 1,000 feet off the ground.

"When I got into my stride again, I decided to land, as I did not know what damage was done to the machine. I landed close to a small town and, on inspecting the machine, discovered a broken oil reserve pipe."

He described how hundreds of people gathered. A guard was put on the plane until repairs were done next day and he was able to take off.

Mr Yarker said: "It is wonderful to have this first- hand account. I was able to give his granddaughter a number of details she did not know. But I'm still making inquiries to find out more about the aircraft."

He said the RE8 was a reconnaissance aircraft which was not popular with pilots, who nicknamed it the Harry Tate, after a popular comedian, as they thought of it as a joke.

Lt Gorman had travelled from Australia to help the war effort and served in France for a time.

He later died in Australia a few years after the war in a road accident.