List of Airmen Names by Service Number

[bbrookie]

My father Ewan Brooking was in the "Course 9" Observer School that trained at Levin/Ohakea and graduated October 1940 - there were 20 airmen in the course and from their signatures on a graduation dinner menu I have identified 17 of them - I am working on a history of what happened to the group of 20, where they served, who made it back, who did not etc. Does anyone have a list of RNZAF personnel by Service Number? They would be Service Numbers before 401500, most likely in the 390000 -- 401500 range - with such a list, I might be able to ID the remaining three - one signature looks like it might be something like Ian Sanders, one might be something like W. James, and one ends in ---ill

Any help, much appreciated

Cheers

bbrookie

[errolmartyn]

bbrokkie,

This is a list of those who enlisted at Ground Training School, Levin as Air Gunner under training on 4 Jun 40:

NZ prefix Service No Name First names
A 401454 Brooking, E Ewan
A 401455 Broughton, J C Jack Carrick
A 401451 Busby, W William
A 401457 Connolly, D A David Aubrey
A 401458 Dennes, C L Charles Lionel
A 401459 Dunn, T Tom
A 401518 Jackson, J James
A 401499 Kerrisk, A W Albert Williams
A 401460 Lewis, A P T Anzac Piripi Tamihana
A 401463 Malcolm, B A Basil Autridge
A 401461 McGregor, I Ian
A 401462 McKay, N H Noel Horace
A 401464 Penrose, N E Noel Edgar
A 401519 Peters, E J Errol James
A 401465 Sampson, R W Richard Webb
A 401466 Smith, C Charles
A 401467 Turner, H O Herbert Owen
A 401468 Wallace, K C Kennedy Charles
A 401469 Watkins, H R W Herbert Reginald Walter

Note: 'A' prefix was replaced in August 1940 with 'NZ'

Brooking must have remustered from Air Gunner to Air Observer at some stage. Those who were awarded their Air Observer badge on same date as he were:

NZ prefix Service No title Name First names
NZ 401429 LAC Armstrong, T E Thomas Edward
NZ 401454 LAC Brooking, E Ewan
NZ 401432 LAC Carey, D K Dennis Keeble
NZ 401433 LAC Cole, W D L William Dudley Linter
NZ 401457 LAC Connolly, D A David Aubrey
NZ 401434 LAC Duignan, W H William Harry
NZ 401459 LAC Dunn, T Tom
NZ 401435 LAC Edwards, J A John Alfred
NZ 40977 LAC Jenkinson, C L Christopher Lewis
NZ 401437 LAC Killgour, W T Walter Thomas
NZ 401438 LAC Luke, S J Samuel John
NZ 401441 LAC Morris, V G Valentine George
NZ 401442 LAC Pipe, K A S Kenneth Alfred Sidney
NZ 401445 LAC Reid, R P Robert Paterson
NZ 401215 LAC Rudge, C J Cyril James
NZ 401468 LAC Wallace, K C Kennedy Charles
NZ 401450 LAC Williams, A G B Albert Gordon Boswall

Errol

[bbrookie]

Hi Errol - many thanks for the info! - looks like you listing might be the Observer Course 9 cadre, as opposed to what I have on the signed dinner menu - Not at the dinner were:

NZ 401434 LAC Duignan, W H William Harry
NZ 401459 LAC Dunn, T Tom
NZ 401441 LAC Morris, V G Valentine George

I have quite bit of info re Harry Duignan - Dad bumped into him a number of times in North Africa and they served together in Burma, but wondering what info you might have re the other two?

At the dinner, but not on your list were:

Alan Stevens-Jordan NZ401304
Robert William Pennington NZ35169
Maurice Richard ("Morrie") Clarke NZ391824

Alan Stevens-Jordan went onto Canada for further training, I think the other two were likely course instructors or "sitting in" on courses to become instructors - I have some info about all three.

That leaves the three that I still cannot ID - do you have a W. James in your lists at all?

Cheers .... Bryan

[Dave Homewood]

"Digger" Duignan was from Cambridge. Here is his page on my website.
www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/William%20Duignan.htm

[errolmartyn]

Bryan,

Robert William Pennington NZ35169 - enlisted in 1935, but no info on apart from him being renumbered as 70370 in Jan 1949.

Maurice Richard ("Morrie") Clarke NZ391824 - a pilot, see page 125 of Colin Hanson's By Such Deeds.

Alan Stevens-Jordan went onto Canada for further training, I think the other two were likely course instructors or "sitting in" on courses to become instructors - I have some info about all three.

That leaves the three that I still cannot ID -

do you have a W. James in your lists at all? - no, nearest is A39746 W. H. James - no further info on; and NZ39323 William Henry James (renumbered as 70487 in Jan 1949) - some bio info on page 273 of By Such Deeds but mostly re postwar.

Errol

[bbrookie]

Thanks Errol - I will check out the James info that you have provided

Cheers

Bryan