A roadside monument on the southeastern slopes of Heishival Beg in Vatersay (Western Isles), the Catalina Memorial commemorates the crew of an RAF Catalina flying boat which crashed here on 12th May 1944 while on a training mission from its base in Oban. A navigation error brought them far to the north of their intended course and the aeroplane crashed close to the summit of the hill while the pilot was trying to gain height. Three of its crew of nine were killed, including the captain, Flight Sergeant David Clyne, wireless operator Sergeant Fred Basset (wrongly recorded on the memorial as R. Basset) and rigger Sergeant Patrick (Pat) Hine. Those surviving were second pilot Sergeant Edmund (Eddie) Kilshaw, navigator Sergeant Peter Lee, wireless operator and mechanic Sergeant Graham Calder, engineer Sergeant Roy Beavis, wireless operator Sergeant Ron Anstey, and flight mechanic Sergeant Richard (Dick) Whiting. Clyne and Kilshaw were notable football players; Clyne had played for Queens Park Football Club and in 1948 Kilshaw became one of the most expensive players in the English league, transferring to Sheffield Wednesday for £20,000.
A twelve-man unit from Inverness were sent to clear the crash site, and were able to recover the engines, armament and electronic equipment. They broke up the remainder of the wreck and dragged it down the hill from the crash site. Significant sections of the wing and tailplane still remain today below the road and next to the memorial, which was erected in 2007.
The 75th anniversary of the crash was marked in 2019 by an early-day motion in the House of Commons tabled by Angus MacNeil MP.
