Source: Leicestershire War Memorials Project.
Coalville Times Article - Friday August 25th, 1939

Hinckley R.A.F. Pilot Killed

Fighter Crashes in Mist in Yorkshire

Sergt. Donald Victor Peacock, R.A.F., was killed on Monday when his machine, a Supermarine Spitfire, crashed in a field at Hooton Roberts, near Rotherham.

Sergt. Peacock, who lived in Leicester Road, Hinckley, was apparently attempting to make a forced landing when the plane fell near a farmhouse. Help was quickly at hand, but Peacock had been killed instantly. Eye-witnesses said the plane emerged from the mist, narrowly missed farm buildings and nose-dived into the ground.

Coalville Times Article - Friday September 1st, 1939

Funeral Of A Hinckley Airman

Sergeant-Pilot Donald Peacock, of Hinckley, who was killed in an aeroplane crash on Monday, was buried at Hinckley on Friday. Thousands gathered on the route of the funeral procession.

The coffin, covered with the Union Jack, was borne on a R.A.F. wagon and R.A.F. men formed a guard of honour at the church. Fifty Hinckley firemen followed the procession to the graveside, where a volley was fired by men of the Royal Air Force.

Research undertaken and submitted by Andy Murby, 7/5/2019

Spitfire K4491 of 72 Squadron crashed near Rotherham on 21st August 1939 at 12.09. Sergeant Peacock died on impact, with a fractured skull and compound fractures to his legs and arms. Sergeant Peacock had been in the RAF since 1936. His father was Councillor Arthur Peacock, who owned an engineering company. The escort party at Donald's funeral was led by Flying-Officer David Sheen, whose Spitfire Donald had been flying. The crash site was found in 1980 via metal detecting.
(Information and images from P Allonby, 6th May 2022)