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Post by apteryx on Dec 20, 2010 22:05:33 GMT 12
I hope this isn't too far off the topic of New Zealand's civil aviation history, but I thought some readers might be interested in the story of a New Zealander being responsible for kick-starting civil aviation in the Philippines in the 1930s: blogs.mfat.govt.nz/andrew-matheson/kiwis-can-fly/The story was an opportunity to put in a plug for today's aviation industry in New Zealand  Andrew |
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Post by chinapilot on Dec 20, 2010 22:55:18 GMT 12
Interesting...
Non-aviation but I find it slightly unusual that he was sent to HK by the Japanese and 'not heard of again'...
The internment camp was at Stanley and very good records were kept...there were some deaths from natural causes and several civilians were executed for having a radio but generally the main problem was undernourishment. Nobody that was there would be 'unaccounted for'...
Intriguing...Have a few days off so will try to find out about it...maybe he didn't make it from Manila to Hong Kong for various reasons...
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Post by corsair67 on Dec 20, 2010 23:04:05 GMT 12
I'm wondering if he was on a Japanese ship that was torpedoed on it's way to Hong Kong, or maybe he never made it to the ship at all?
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Post by chinapilot on Dec 20, 2010 23:20:48 GMT 12
No ships torpedoed with civilians on board in that time frame...the 'various reasons' I mentioned could be the 'never left the PI scenario'..
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Post by errolmartyn on Dec 21, 2010 11:28:44 GMT 12
According to Wikipedia his full name was Laurie Reuben Nielsen and he was born in New Zealand.
However, a search of the index to New Zealand registered births for Nielsen (or under Nielson/Neilson/Neilsen) fails to bring up his name.
Errol
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 21, 2010 11:58:37 GMT 12
Laurie would be short for Lawrence wouldn't it?
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Post by Peter Lewis on Dec 21, 2010 18:13:07 GMT 12
A most interesting discussion.
When I was in Manila I tracked down the location of this airfield, now a city office area, and had a good look around the area. At that time of course I had no idea of any Kiwi connection.
As the article states, the terminal building was still very obvious though from memory not in the best of condition. The runways are now dual carriageway roads with central median strips. They are very busy roads. I got the impression of an airfield that could cope with DC-4 size aircraft. I do have photographs of the area, but finding them now would be a big ask.
The Ayala family are one of the half-dozen or so old-money families that pretty much own the Philippines including large tracts of land in Manila and date back to the arrival of the Spanish in the 1600s.
It's not until you are in the Philippines that you realise their death toll from Word War II. Apart from the heavy military casualties on both sides, it is estimated over a million Filipino civilians died. The many memorials and cemeteries are very sobering. I am not surprised that Laurie Nielson disappeared in this holocaust, many were just taken to the waters edge and shot. Any record keeping would have been marginal.
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Post by chinapilot on Dec 21, 2010 20:23:29 GMT 12
Interesting and intriguing.. Having just moved back to HK in the last week I've left a copy of an excellent book back in the UK that would have mentioned Nielson...damn! All the same I am sure that while he was instrumental in aviation there, many 'pioneers' had preceded him despite the Ambassador's 'puff' for NZ aviation interests. I am hoping to hear from a friend in the next few days that will clear up the HK internment [or lack of it] side of things... Yes, the PI did suffer badly, especially in the largely forgotten Battle of Manila when the Americans had to take it virtually house by house...worth Googling. The internment camp at Santo Tomas wasn't exactly a health camp and the civilians there came very close to being killed during the battle. |
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