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Post by ringatu4 on Oct 11, 2015 15:14:04 GMT 12
Hi freshfields, sorry for the late reply. Have been overseas for a long time. After looking at the Tewai images, I cannot place him on any of the 14 Squadron ATC images from 1941 forward, nor 30 Squadron. Neither has his name come up in 14 Squadron research. This doesn't prove there was no connection however, it may simply be my research is incomplete. I see you've accomplished what you set out to do, and can only applaud your efforts.
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Post by ringatu4 on Oct 11, 2015 14:50:35 GMT 12
Hi Dave, in preparing to give King's Crew it's first public Gisborne screening next week, (to our CO Andy King who's now in Leighton House); I came across a 1993 VHS cassette which I'd meant for years to digitise. It dubbed across nicely this week into a 55 minute mpg file. It opens with a Movietone report on 30 Squadron Avengers in the islands, then covers their final parade on their 50th anniversary in 1993. The Wallis Avenger flew in. Rowley, a US Avenger squadron leader who trained the Kiwi pilots up there, came down for interview. Noel James, their WWII CO has a lot to say as they clamber over the Avenger. There are sundry interviews and lots of infill shooting. The news crew apparently handed the compilation to someone on 30S who later passed it to the 14 sqn CO who passed it to me in 2011.
At the time, I was finishing the KC film and strove for months to winkle out the 4 cut minutes of this compilation, as screened by the news channel. Unlike other civilised countries e.g. Oz and UK; the wretched channel demanded I pay a full commercial licence fee to access the 30 seconds of ATC footage for KC...and I was working pro bono! After negotiating for months and appealing to the ombudsman, I eventually gave up and simply inserted the news shooting script into KC, with a tag.
Now I wonder whether, as this compilation was gifted to the Squadron...anyone outside 30S has ever seen the footage. What do you think Dave? I could perhaps access parts of the footage under fair dealing, and go around the niggardly TV channel, if there's any interest.
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 25, 2014 18:05:57 GMT 12
OK, I'll send you a link to the latest PDF file on Amazon Cloud. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 25, 2014 18:04:39 GMT 12
Thanks to all above. Bruce's section in the Distinguished Airman chapter of 'The King's Crew' is now reasonable. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 25, 2014 18:00:07 GMT 12
Got that. Will chat to Matthew.
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 25, 2014 17:49:20 GMT 12
No, he passed on soon after our MayDay2 Reunion in 2011. He came to the first one in 2010 where I interviewed him. BTW the TKC book is still growing and if you've not yet read the link I sent, then I'll send you one to the latest version. Just let me know. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 14, 2014 13:11:18 GMT 12
Agreed Dave. Fieldair used to get the coastal kudos vs Nicholls. Nicholl's bombing track record in WWI marks him. In the inter-war years his repeated commercial airline start-ups introduced commercial and aero club aviation to the Coast. He followed that with senior WWII service to the RNZAF and his post-war aviation focus continued. A remarkable guy. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 14, 2014 13:02:04 GMT 12
Hi Dave, you may Morrie Skeet flew with 200 Sqn B24's in Gambia and later B25's in the CBI. Here are a coupla pics from the book.
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 13, 2014 20:49:35 GMT 12
Hi Dave, a noteworthy addition must be GPCAPT George Nicholls from Gisborne who flew with a night bomber squadron on the western front according to his bio, and of course later became the founding commandant of the ATC in NZ. He is in my view the leading airman the East Coast ever produced, and is now sadly forgotten....which is why I highlighted him in The King's Crew book. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 13, 2014 20:29:48 GMT 12
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 13, 2014 20:29:18 GMT 12
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 13, 2014 12:13:57 GMT 12
Thanks for the advice Adam. I'm now sure he was not with 487 or 488 Sqns. After running through the RAAF service record of C.P. Prentice I also conclude the ASN acco report is in error at aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=20199 CP Prentice was an air gunner with 460 Squadron at the time. Our Prentice was with 105 Squadron RAF as Errol advises above. The 1655MTU reference needs further digging as this unit had recently moved to Marham at the time of the prang. We have from Gisborne one isolated reference to Campbell as an instructor and it's possible he was seconded to 1655MTU at the time of the crash. This week I expect to have photos and family records on this crash and will include these data in the book. Given yours and Errol's help, I'm sufficiently confident to commit this to the unit history. Thank you both. The book has recorded its first sales and I'm finalising the last errata and updates. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 12, 2014 18:46:57 GMT 12
Hi Dave, As you'll recall I included some of these illustrations in the 2012 film unit history King's Crew. Since then i found George Nicholls the first ATC Commandant was in fact from Gisborne and thus I'd like to include his statement above and also the three page article above on the ATC, as an appendix to the new book in the next update. Can I have your permission to cite you and reproduce these two pieces please? I'll also seek NZCF permission as they may have inherited copyright on these unless its lapsed. Thanks, Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 12, 2014 18:35:28 GMT 12
PS: In the book is a special package offer to purchase the "King's Crew" multimedia film at a 50% discount off the $49.95 price. This is only for purchasers of the 2014 book "The King's Crew". The package price for the new book plus companion film on a direct sale basis then is $NZ70.00. This package is to the best of my knowledge, the only such squadron unit history package. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 12, 2014 18:28:15 GMT 12
Hi and thanks for your enquiry. The Amazon price is USD34.95 (NZD44.74), versus the only other 2014 ATC publication i.e. the UK Kidd history at NZD71 (GBP35). My Amazon publishing contract prevents me discounting, so the price is $NZ44.74. The book is sold in Kindle format i.e. it can be read on any Kindle ebook reader and any PC or laptop, tablet or Mac, via the free Kindle Reader download. I'm prepared to supply a PDF format version to you on a single-user licence basis if that helps. Any Acrobat reader will read that and nearly every PC has that these days and it's a FOC download too, if you need it. Proceeds go the cadets. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 8, 2014 18:18:42 GMT 12
A short post to flag the publishing of the ebook edition of The King's Crew. This 417 page ebook finally covers the complete 1941-2014 unit history of an ATC squadron in NZ. To my knowledge it's the first unit history published in this country since Neal Frances's short work 20 years ago. The book follows my 2012 multimedia film history of this squadron. The new book is only available sofar as an ebook. It is available on Amazon at www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00OT2S0B6?*Version*=1&*entries*=0 and direct from the author. In the abscence of any published ATC national development history in NZ (apart from Wayne Henderson's unpublished cadet manuscript), I included coverage of the corps development in the UK and NZ. The book has 325 photos, charts and illustrations and is the most comprehensive ATC unit history published to date. The combination of a squadron unit history in book form plus matching film version is unique. Proceeds go to the cadets. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 8, 2014 18:04:40 GMT 12
Hi Dave, I wonder if on the formidable resources of WONZ...there is anyone with first or secondhand accounts of my decorated old schoolmate Bruce Donnelly in SVN? I have pics of him from school forward and his US DFC citation but know little of his attachments and combat history. I need more data on Bruce for the Honour Roll in our new book The King's Crew, the unit history of 14 Squadron ATC. Thanks all. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Nov 8, 2014 12:08:58 GMT 12
According to the 1943 volume of Bill Chorley's outstanding 'Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War', the then Pilot Officer Campbell Prentice was flying Mosquito IV, DZ318, on a training flight with 105 Sqn, RAF on 25 July 1943 when he 'crashed while approaching Marham, Norfolk, thus [his aircraft] becoming the first Mosquito written off by the Squadron since joining 8 Group. Accepted on 9 June 1943, following lengthy repairs, the Mosquito had flown 52.45 hours.' Both Prentice and his navigator, Pilot Officer J. L Warner were injured. Curiously, Stuart R. Scott's 'Mosquito Thunder - No. 105 Squadron RAF at war 1914-5' when describing the event writes of 'their 1655 MTU [Mosquito Training Unit] Mosquito'. The relevant Air-Britain aircraft serials volume records DZ318's history as 109/105/1655MTU - 'crashed on approach, Marham, 25.7.43: DBR [Damaged Beyond Repair]'. Errol Many thanks Errol. I've been in transit and just picked up yr post. Hans Houterman, a Dutch researcher also sent me the Chorley reference and noted that reference was later revised to be attributed to an RAAF pilot also named C. Prentice. However, I now have a photo coming from Campbell's estate showing DZ318 crashed and conclude it is our Campbell Prentice who was flying that day on 105 Squadron. He went on to have another crash in early 1944 and his service record recently to hand shows he was repatriated to Gisborne in 1944, where we cadets pick up his story. It's useful to know he was training on a Pathfinder squadron and I'll keep digging to fill in the 1943-1944 story for our unit history The King's Crew, published recently on Amazon. Again, thanks for your assistance. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Oct 28, 2014 15:33:47 GMT 12
Hi Dave, having exhausted the leads, I wonder if this previous CO of 14 Squadron ATC Gisborne...may ring a bell with anyone. Campbell was a pilot who served in the RNZAF in the UK between ~3-6/1942 and 7/4/1944, when he was repatriated after a crash. He most liklely flew Mosquitoes which seems to place him in 487 or 488 squadrons. All I'm seeking is to link him with a Squadron. I have his service record and knew him before he passed. Thanks. Rex
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Post by ringatu4 on Sept 10, 2012 20:40:02 GMT 12
King's Crew proves to be only the fourth ATC unit history ever written, and the first published in the past 20 years.
Preceding unit histories are:-
1/ UK- No. 104 (City of Cambridge) Squadron air training corps: "The first fifty-six years, 1939-1994", Arthur Marshall.
2/ NZ- "A Short History of 21 Squadron 1942-1992" , Neil Frances 1992.
3/ Oz-"City of Mildura Air Training Corps : a history of no. 8 Squadron No. 23 Flight" , by Barbara A. Mansell. 1991
ATC musical publications include:-
1/ 1943, English, Printed music edition: “The March across the Sky” : the official song of the Air Training Corps / words by Colin Simpson ; music by A.F. Lithgow. [music] :
2/ 1941-1950, English, Printed music edition: “Aircrew Tomorrow” / words by Campbell Milne ; music by Campbell Egan. [music] / Egan, Campbell.
3/ 1990-1994, English, Printed music edition: “We are the A.T.C.” chorus / words and music by Laurence Macaulay. [music] : Macaulay, Laurence.
Readers have commented on the sheer amount of detail in this unit history. This reflects the two years research that went into it: the joint resources tapped by "A Flight", and not least that of the nineteen unit commanders: I met, knew or interviewed twelve. RB
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