Help please - first name of RNZAF wartime officers

[Dave Homewood]

I decided early on in my research for my book to try to include the full names of anyone I mention, because I hate that old fashioned impersonal way that books only use initials. To me its outdated and only causes confusion.

Some however are proving difficult to find first names for. Can anyone help fill in the full names of the following officers please?

Wing Commander W.A. Cameron (was CO of No. 2 Squadron)

(I will add more names as I go)

[Dave Homewood]

Some more:

Flying Officer E.W.J. Milton (possibly Millton) - 3GR Adjutant

Flying Officer R.A. Preston - 3GR Adjutant

Pilot Officer C.H. Hyde - 3GR Equipment Officer

Warrant Officer W.H. Palmer - 3GR Engineering Officer

Flying Officer L.F. Poore - 3GR Operations Officer

The Following were all 3GR pilots in 1941
Flight Lieutenant E.S. Henderson

Pilot Officer D.J.S. McKay

Pilot Officer J.T.E. Matheson

Pilot Officer S.S. Obery

Pilot Officer J.L. McPhail

Pilot Officer A.N. Arnott

Sgt A.A. Beer

Sgt V.K. Cairns

Pilot Officer V.R. Eady

Pilot Officer C.H. Gunn

Pilot Officer L.E. Ladlow

Pilot Officer L. Hood

Flying Officer D.W.E. Keesing

Sgt I.S. McGechie (is this Ian?)

Pilot Officer H.C. O'Loughlin

Sgt G.S. Trewick

Sgt W.K. Wilby

[Dave Homewood]

Flight Lieutenant I.C. Horton - NZGR Sqn Liaison Officer

Pilot Officer M.C. Patterson - NZGR Sqn Adjutant

Flying Officer F.A. Reeves - NZGR Equipment Officer

Pilots
Flight Lieutenant A.E. Willis

Flight Lieutenant K.G. Smith

Flying Officer D.A. Gillanders

Flying Officer A.G. Lowe

Flying Officer G.K.D. 'Mac' Mackenzie aka ‘Broken Arse’

Flying Officer S.G. White (known as 'Doggie')

Pilot Officer G.P. Keller (maybe C.P.?)

[Dave Homewood]

NZGR Squadron non-pilots

Flight Lieutenant G.H. Douglas - Sen. Equip Officer

Flight Lieutenant The Reverend A.G. Gardiner - Chaplain

Lieutenant E.G. Lynch - Dental Officer

Lieutenant N.H. North

Flight Lieutenant J.S. Webster - Education Officer

Flying Officer R.J. Bartle

Flying Officer R.C. Carter - Accountant Officer

Flying Officer N.G.L. Scott

Flight Sergeant A.V. Anderson

Sergeant Hodder

Sergeant C. Kennedy

Sergeant I. Pearson (maybe L. Pearson)

Corporal W.F. Bracken

Corporal J. Buchan

Corporal H. Mullenger

Corporal A.S. Price

Corporal W. Ryan

Corporal R.F. Wilson

Corporal W.H. Howe - NZ539012 Armourer

A/Corporal C.A. Bartlett

LAC N.V.A. Hadrup - Armourer

LAC J.W.F. Holden - Wireless Op

LAC H.J. Murray

LAC R.W. Reid

LAC L. Rhodes

LAC E.G. Rippon

AC1 J.H. Brady

AC1 C.G. Clarke - Armourer

AC1 R.S. Hawke

AC1 G.S. Martin

AC1 F.G.M. Clark

AC1 K.F. England

AC1 R.F. Harrison

AC1 R.J.W. Hughes

AC1 H.M. Kellas

AC1 R.D. Langston

AC1 Eric (?) F. Moncur

AC1 D.C. Morris

AC1 E.G. Norton

AC1 N. Painter

AC1 K.E. Parnell

AC1 B.D. Pope

AC1 C.L. Rhodes

AC1 K. Thompson

AC1 R.C. Tomkies

AC1 R.A. Wales

AC1 M.R. Ward

AC1 S.A. Wilson

AC2 C.W.R. Crowther

AC2 L.W. Hensley

AC2 H.W. Hooper - Armourer

AC2 R.A. Goudie

AC2 H.R. Lewis - NZ391973, Wireless Op

AC2 G.H. Rose - Wireless Op

[Dave Homewood]

No. 8 (BR) Squadron members

Squadron Leader L.J. Ransom - Pilot, Flight Commander

Pilot Officer R.E. Tripe NZ421406 - Adjutant

Flight Lieutenant A.J. McIvor - Adjutant

Flying Officer A.S. Don - Operations Officer

Flying Officer J.E. Wood - Operations Officer

F/O F.R. Traill - NZ415301, pilot

F/O J.H Coulam - pilot

F/O J.M. McCready - pilot

F/O T.D. Benge - pilot

F/O O.W.G. Lewis - Navigator

F/O T.E. Shaw - Air Gunner

F/Sgt J.W. Green NZ436151 – Air Gunner

F/O R.J. Howell

F/O E.G. Leatham

F/O P.J. Wilson

[30sqnatc]

Dave,

You need to read www.archives.govt.nz/docs/pdfs/Ref_Guide_War.pdf
On Page 12 RNZAF personnel files are detailed.

National Archives Wellington has RNZAF staff lists file AIR 118/71. Unfortunately there are 31 volumes!

Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945 AIR 118/62/ vols 1-11 (at least they are alphabetical).

Having done similar research for two Army units it took months and I was only trying to get full details of those on the unit Roll of Honour (died) and those that received decorations. Even for that small group it was not possible to get even close to 100% result due to multable names with same surname and initials.

You might try Auckland Museum as they provide some research information on CD. Try also local genological society.

Paul

[Dave Homewood]

Paul, yes the Archive would be a good place to start, but I have found all the records I have accessed in the National Archives so far have only had initials so don't help in this case.

Can you assuredly say that the file you quote has full names?

I thought I'd try here on an offchance that someone sees a name they recognise. It has worked before when I was looking for station commanders' first names.

The dead airmen are easy to find as they're all in Errol Martyn's 'For Your Tomorrow' books and they're also on the CWGC website (as are all the army and navy people who died in WWII). I also have those biographies for all the dead Cambridge airmen.

I do hope to get to Wellington sometime in the future and do some more research in the archives. I know how long it takes and how little you can get done per day, and as I have dozens of ORB's and other documents to get through, the personnel files will be lower on the list. So in the meantime if anyone can fill any gaps here, I'd apppreciate it. Some of these guys may well have still been in the RNZAF up till the 1970's.

[30sqnatc]

Jun 22, 2008 21:44:22 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Paul, yes the Archive would be a good place to start, but I have found all the records I have accessed in the National Archives so far have only had initials so don't help in this case.

Can you assuredly say that the file you quote has full names?

I can't guarantee the names are in full but by pure coincidence I had a chance to look at the Army equivalent records in Waiouru today and the names are in full.

See PM.

Paul

[g1e9o4r3ge]

Posted by George Shaw

I am happy to advise that F/O TE Shaw, air gunner, was my father, Thomas Ernest Shaw. He was in fact a WAG, trained in Canada.

[wanganui]

No 8 Sqd member F/O OWG Lewis, navigator, is Owen William Gladstone Lewis. He unfortunately died this year the 5th March aged 92.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks George and Kerry.

[davidd]

Dave H
I have access to wartime RNZAF officer lists, so finding given names for these chaps is easy. I will see if I can work my way through your men in the near future,. NCOs are not so freely available, but I can probably get most of them in due course. You will have to be just a little bit patient as I have several porjects "on the go" at the moment, which is normal.
David D

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks very much David.

It's a bit bizarre as this is a really old thread and yet I came across it yesterday during a search, and then today it has burst back into life again. Haha

[Dave Homewood]

By the way in the ensuing years I have solved many of these. What I will do David is send you the lists of names I have and see if you can fill the gaps perhaps. Cheers.