S/L Jim Sheddan DFC

[pjw4118]

One of our few remaining Fighter Aces took his last flight at 1pm today.
Jim had become a good friend connected through NZBCA as his only brother Alex was killed on his first operation with 166 Squadron. Jim was also a great home brewer, allied to our business, he was not only the oldest but one of the best beer makers in the country. We were spending time to get his whiskey up to the same standard.
Jim’s career was recorded in Norman Franks “Tempest Pilot” and later he featured in an episode of Kiwis at War.
Jim was always determined to be the best. Credited with 7 ½ VI rockets and 4 destroyed 3 shared Luftwaffe aircraft he was a great shot. His specialty however was ground attack, trains, transport, and aircraft, lots of them. A copy of his gun camera footage I have shows why he was an ace. The pair of JU87 shot down on April 6 1945 showed just the cross and wing root and the firing time maybe three seconds. With railway steam engines, the image fills the frame, no long distance aiming for Jim, and all at 300mph.
Jim had a number of favourite stories, he never claimed a Fi156 storche which he gave a quick tickle up from his cannons one April day in 1945 ‘I felt so sorry for the poor bugger left flying in a winglers engine less frame’
After VE day another Fi56 featured in his logbook when with G/C Johnnie Johnson, W/C Mike Ingle- Finch (hyphen) they took a captured aircraft goose shooting. No doubt a few beers were involved and Jims log for 29/9/45 shows ‘6 geese destroyed in the air’. We landed to pick up the plunder but once we were down I found it a bit tight and too rough to take off again. There would have been an awful to do if Johnnie The RAF’s Ace of Aces, the Wingco and the 486 CO had amongst them buggered up a take off! Imagine three fighter pilots with loaded shotguns in a Storch knocking down airborne geese, where have such characters gone?
Jim had a German Military band surrender to him as the local O/C. Having no use for an umpah band after a few days he negotiated a swap with the local Army Brigadier who was very put out. But 486 ended up with an arsenal of military and sporting arms.
Jim was one of the lucky few, remustered from pilot to gunner then back to pilot (see Kiwis Do Fly) He didn’t fit into 485Sq. And went on to ferry flights and discovered the Typhoon and 487 Sq. One of the very few to ditch a Typhoon and live, he spent 16 hours alone waiting rescue. Finally saved the ASR Walrus was damaged and Jim spent more hours as a counter weight on the wing. A Kiwis at War documented this some years back.
Goodbye my old friend, an honour and pleasure to have you as a mate. I do hope they carry good supplies of malt and yeast beyond the pearly gates. If they don’t ring me.
Here are a few of my favourite photos of you. Rest now, you deserve it.


1. Jim at home


2. Ditching in the Channel



3. With Jack Stafford and 486 scoreboard, a centre board from a lifeboat dropped from a Hudson to a B/C crew


4. Occupation Europe F/L McDonald, Jim and Tubby Ross



5. Fighter Ace SA-M SN129

Lubeck
6. Squadron Inspection Copenhagen prior to the flypast



7. Ground attack April 45 running troops


8. Jim call this Tiny Freybug Big Day



9.Sq Leader Jim Sheddan DFC CO486 Sq

[Dave Homewood]

I am so sad to hear poor Jim has lost his battle and passed away. I feel incredibly privileged to have been able to sit down with him and interview him earlier this year. Out of all the WWII veterans I have interviewed, he remains in the top five as a stand out personality, not just because of his courage, toughness and skill, but also because of his huge sense of humour, fun and cheekiness that came through in his stories. I visited him at his home, with my good mate Steve Rowe. We very much enjoyed our visit and afterwards Steve and I talked for ages about the many stories he'd told us. In fact we have talked often about Jim since too. We are both convinced that Jim's story would make a bloody awesome film or min-series. Just the number of scraps and scrapes he got into, surviving several crashes (the first person to successfully ditch a Typhoon into the sea for example).

I really liked Jim, he was a true, dinkum kiwi bloke, with a big heart and a big smile. Some of the stories his fellow 486 Squadron chaps have told about him are wonderful too.

So sad. RIP Jim. We'll never see your likes again.

[Dave Homewood]

Is that Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) behind Freyberg?

Ian 'Tubby' Ross was from Cambridge.

Jim looked as old in that last photo as when I met him this year!

[Andy Wright]

A sad day. One of the great Kiwi wartime flyers (and they are all great IMHO) and a brilliant exponent of the Tiffie and Tempest. I hope many a pint is downed in his honour. RIP.

Tempest Pilot is a good read. About time I read it again - been at least five years.

[johnlanham]

RIP Jim, one of the finest!

For interest, in photo No3 the pilot on the left is Des Scott (Gp Capt, DSO, OBE, DFC) not Jack Stafford

[pjw4118]

John, thanks for picking that up as I am doing new captions for Jims photos. I shall look more closely at them as there are quite a few errors.
At this stage Jims service will be on Tuesday with the RNZAF being present.

[Dave Homewood]

Welcome to the forum John.

It was nice to see that 3 News just paid tribute to Jim Sheddan with a short but nice piece about him.

[obiwan27]

I saw the TV3 piece, what an awesome guy!! Incredible he managed to ditch the Typhoon, or was it a Tempest? They said Tempest on TV# but I'm not always convinced that they get their facts right. RIP.

[Dave Homewood]

No, they said correctly that it was the Typhoon he ditched in the Channel, but also said correctly that most of his flying was in Tempests.

A great story he told me that doesn't seem to be in his book, was he wanted to join the RAF before the war. When the RAF were recruiting for Short Service Commissions he applied, but was very nervous because he had no experience of flying and his academic levels were not quite up to the standard so he thought the only way was to make a really good impression in the personal interview. On his way there, in his best suit, he was walking along past a cattle truck that was on te side of the road when a cow let rip and crapped all over him!! The truck driver hosed him down, and so he turned up for the appointment smelling of cow shit and rather damp! Poor bugger. Consequently he did not pass the interview. ;D

[angelsonefive]

"Is that Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) behind Freyberg?"

That will be Lady Freyberg, I think.

[smithy]

I am saddened to hear this news.

I first read his wonderful "Tempest Pilot" not long after it came out and it is one book which I have picked up many times since and enjoyed just as much.

He seemed a very colourful character and one who lived life to the full. He obviously had a naughty streak from reading his memoir and it is probably the pilot autobiography I have laughed from the most whilst reading.

Very sad news indeed.

[Dave Homewood]

Jim told me that writing his memoirs was one of the easiest things he ever did, it took him about two weeks he reckoned, with him writing at night and then discussing it on the phone with Norman Franks every couple of days. The impression I got was Franks did not write it, as you've put, Peter. He merely assisted and encouraged.

Jack Stafford told me a great story off-camera about Jim. He said there was a do on for Christmas and he saw this great story unfold in front of him. To begin with, he explained that in the squadron all pretty women were simply referred to as frippets, which is a real word for pretty girl apparently.

He said that the CO of the squadron, Wing Commander Des Scott, or "Scotty", turned up with a very pretty young frippet on his arm. He then saw Sheddan saunter over, and as you may know he and the Scotty didn't often see eye to eye because Sheddan was such a tearaway. Sheddan walked up and introduced himself and Jack could see that Scotty was a little uncomfortable but he tolerated it as his frippet didn't seem to mind him. Anyway Scotty decided to go to the bar and get drinks for himself and the frippet. He said to Sheddan, "Look after my frippet while I'm away." Jim and the frippet continued to chat.

However up walks another squadron pilot, Wo Wilson. He said Wo knew, like everyone else, that the fippets usually didn't go near Sheddan so he said, "Who's is the frippet Jim?" Sheddan replied, "This is my girlfriend, we've been going out for some time." The frippet played along and Wo believed it. Jim then said, "Why don't you give her a kiss for Christmas?" and Wo was in like flynn. Jack's exact words were, "He was practically munching her!" At that precise moment there was a huge hand on his shoulder and Scotty's voice booming "What the hell are you doing with my frippet!!?? Wo was stunned and stammered out, "Sheddan, he said to." They all looked around and there was no sign whatsoever of Sheddan, he was gone!

Hilarious, you can just imagine it eh. Jim Sheddan is such a hard case, he's an utter legend.

[11SQNLDR]

How very sad. whilst I never had the pleasure of meeting him Jim and the many others who served in WWII were all heroes to me.

After some lobbying by locals the diecast model company Skymax (who produced the nice 1/72 diecast Blunty) produced a Tempest in Jim's markings earlier this year.

A nice tribute and a model i'll always treasure. I'm not sure if he was ever presented one but a mate in Auckland was going to give one to Jim a few months back & I need to check to see if he indeed did so.

RIP sir.

[pjw4118]

Jims service will be at St Josephs in Helenville, 1pm Tuesday.
I was with Jim a couple of days before he went to hospital ( setting up a new whiskey still ) and !!sqnldr I didnt see the model, I am sure he would had it on the main table.
Regarding the presentation, note the different trousers. By that time 46/47 Jim was back contracting and had already worn out his Air Force blues. Jim said that he had probably put up another black over that but they were all too polite to comment.
Jim was a great inventer and hoarder, his nickname , saddlebags apparently coming from a 486 mate who said that Sheddan you have so much gear you need saddlebags to carrry it all.
Certainly his workshop was /is full of gadgets, many powered by black powder including a log splitter ( successful) a fishing line rocket ( bl...dy dangerous ). He often handed me tins of powder for my cannon , hoping we would fire it in his back yard. He must have had a bulk supply as it was always packed in Maltexo tins left over from brewing.
And so it goes on, and I agree that we loose characters too often that arent being replaced.
In the past week I have farewelled Bob Barron (Nav 101 Sq, ) a chain saw demon and able to cook a whole sheep in a 44 gallon drum, Murray Rolfe ( Mossie etc ) who on Sunday mornings would start up his Harvard in surburban Auckland and ran the Lancs Merlins on MOTAT live days, and now Jim. Bless them all.

[Dave Homewood]

Indeed, bless them all. I spent a lovely morning with Bob Barron and his family too, interviewing him, on a different filming trip up that way. He was unwell then but still managed to be interviewed. We are sadly witnessing the end of a an era, and in my opinion the greatest generation.

[Andy Wright]

I agree that we loose characters too often that arent being replaced

We are sadly witnessing the end of a an era, and in my opinion the greatest generation

Never have truer words been said.

[oggie2620]

Will still be awake at that time here so will think about him. RIP shine on bright star!

[McFly]

S/L Jim Sheddan's funeral was attended by quite a number of personnel from RNZAF Whenuapai and HQ 485 Wing including Group Captain Tony Davies (current OC 485 Wing) who read an eulogy on behalf of the RNZAF.

The contingent helped swell the small church in Helensville to overflowing and fittingly an Air Force bugler sounded the Last Post following the formalities and to close the service.

An honour guard was formed outside to farewell S/L Sheddan from the church to a private cremation.

A fine send off for a fine man.







(Photos - Roy Brooks)

[oggie2620]

RIP Jim. You sound a real character and I wish I could have met you.

[pjw4118]

Thanks for the photos McFly, it was a fitting send off. Jim would be really pleased that we all had a few beers on him at the RSA afterwards.