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Post by lemuel on Sept 10, 2020 23:08:13 GMT 12
Does anyone know if there are any events, memorials, flypasts or other commemorations planned anywhere in New Zealand? We've sometimes had a flypast down here in Dunedin but I haven't been able to find anything advertised.
With this being a notable anniversary I was hoping there might be something happening.
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Post by lemuel on Sept 10, 2020 22:48:20 GMT 12
Does anyone know who i should contact if i do find that it is nz5544? also would the plane be recovered, i know it would be a war grave but it would be such a shame for it to be left there. no doubt people will take parts from it and ruin the wreck. Great work and hope you are successful! Please be very careful who you tell regarding the location, if you tell anyone at all initially. As you say if word gets out souvenir hunters could cause dramas. Maybe a call to the police for advice regarding possible body/war graves? And maybe RNZAF museum, NZ Warbirds or Motat about recovery, preservation and display if that's what you wish? I would be happy to donate towards recovery or even help, as I'm sure many others on here would! Best of luck.
Agreed, remember what happened when the Daring shipwreck was found. Despite the remote location, people went at it with chainsaws before it was able to be recovered.
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Post by lemuel on Jun 22, 2020 21:12:46 GMT 12
Thank you Dave for organising this and to all the speakers. Really enjoyed this and I look forward to the next one.
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Post by lemuel on Jun 9, 2018 20:01:01 GMT 12
I've heard of at least one example of a New Zealander who went to New South Wales and joined one of the units that they sent to the Sudan. It wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't the only one. However, I'm certainly not aware of any New Zealanders being sent as official representatives.
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Post by lemuel on Dec 3, 2017 15:30:40 GMT 12
I note that the aircraft captain was P J O (Peter) Buck, DFC, a well-known name in NAC and probably also Air NZ. However he only uses his first two initials here. He served in WW2 in the European theatre as a Wellington and Stirling captain with 75(NZ) Squadron over period Sept 1942 to May 1943, first as a Sgt, then as a P/O; died in Wanganui 1992. His general appearance was so similar to one of Christchurch's mayors (Vicki Buck, 1980s or 90s?) that I immediately suspected she was his daughter, but I stand to be corrected! The First Officer I am having a bit more of a problem with, but his initials (D W) are very clear, looks like Bowen or Bower or similar. Interesting to see that the "prefix" RMA is still used in connection with the aircraft name. I always liken these prefixes to the honorifics used for people holding official positions, or even the ones used by polite society in addressing other people privately, as in "Hullo Mister Brown", or "Good bye Miss Caruthers" (not heard very often these days, too formal, but still often used in letters, etc.) David D This is great info - thank you very much!
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Post by lemuel on Dec 2, 2017 18:27:35 GMT 12
This is my first attempt at creating a thread here so apologies if I screw it up. I collect historical ephemera and thought this find might be of interest to some of you. This is an inflight information sheet from a NAC flight. I presume this was before there was a reliable inflight intercom system. The flight crew filled in the details and the passengers handed it to each other. I'd love to hear from anyone who has any similar inflight info sheets. I suspect most ended up in the bin at the end of the flight. I found this one in a secondhand bookshop in Dunedin. It survived all these years by being used as an ad hoc bookmark! Image: Lemuel Lyes Collection Image: Lemuel Lyes Collection There is no date on the sheet but I used the cricket score at the bottom to figure out that this must've been used on 21 March 1955. I'm sure there are experts here that will know a lot more than I do about the Pakara, but from what I understand it was a DC-3 that was transferred from the RNZAF to NAC and registered as ZK-AOZ, flying for NAC through until 1963 when it was given an overhaul and leased to Polynesian Airlines. It was later in Darwin and was effectively destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. The undercarriage doors are at the Queensland Air Museum. There are plenty of photos of the Pakara around, I've seen some posted on these forums before. Here is another photo in the National Library. The MCC went on win their cricket match by 187 runs.
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Post by lemuel on Mar 6, 2017 19:26:43 GMT 12
Author Errol Freeman Brathwaite enlisted in the RNZAF in mid- or late 1943, as NZ4310534, so it is quite possible that he could have been in the Home Guard in 1942. Errol was posted to the Reserve post-war but on 26 Feb 47 he re-enlisted, as NZ47040, and was renumbered in January 1948 as 71743. It is reported elsewhere that he spent 12 years in the RNZAF. (Antoher) Errol Thank you very much, Errol and others. I wonder if he was known to be in Wellington during his teen years. Funnily enough I have a couple of his books in my library. Thank you also Dave, I did have a good trawl of Papers Past while researching for my article and as always it proved to be an extremely useful resource. That's where I came across the mention of the amusing skinny-dipping incident, and also the report of Peter Fraser speaking to the Makara Battalion a week before Pearl Harbor and the speech given to them after the end of the war by Colonel L. W. Andrew, V.C. At the bottom of my article I've listed the other sources that I found useful.
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Post by lemuel on Mar 5, 2017 13:23:06 GMT 12
Hey all - I'm the author of the article and as luck would have it also recently joined this forum. Thanks for sharing the link! I'd love to be able to send high-resolution copies of the photos to the families of the guardsmen featured, so would really appreciate hearing from anyone who recognises any names or faces. Now that they are on my website I'm hoping that someone will come forward.
The photo of the young guardsman, Braithwaite, is dated 1942. Not all the photos have dates on the back but the ones that do are all from that year. I've included the names whenever they were written on the back - but they were scrawled in pencil and in some instances are difficult to read, so they may not always be correct.
It has been a fascinating journey researching some of the history of this Home Guard unit. I expect that there are many similar stories waiting to be told from other HG units up and down the country (my grandfather used to tell me some great yarns!), however I don't think I'll be so lucky to find a collection of photos like these ones again.
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Post by lemuel on Jan 29, 2017 18:29:49 GMT 12
What's your name? Lemuel Where are you from? South Island. Spent a lot of time in Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin. How old are you? In my 30s What is your main interest in aviation? I have a broad interest in aviation history, both military and civilian. I'm a historical researcher, blogger and documentary filmmaker, and occasionally get to explore my interest in aviation history through those mediums. I'm also a collector of historical ephemera, which sometimes includes items relating to aviation history. Tell us about your background in aviation? I'm just an enthusiast. Likely inherited much of my interest in aviation from my two grandfathers who both worked in the aviation industry. Do you belong to any aviation groups, like the NZ Warbirds, RNZAF Association, Royal Aeronautical Society or CAF, etc? No. Are you an aircraft modeller? Not at the moment but enjoyed it when I was a kid. Have too many hobbies at the moment but might get back into it when I find the time. What are your favourite aviation books? I've got a lot of respect for Errol Martyn's works on NZ aviation history. I see that he is an active member of this forum. What are your favourite aviation films or TV programmes? Like most others here, Battle of Britain is a favourite film. I also enjoy the Czech film 'Dark Blue World', and the old BBC series 'Wings'. Do you frequent other aviation forums? No
I've happened across many threads on here over the years and felt it was about time that I registered to try and contribute back to the community when I can.
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Post by lemuel on Jan 29, 2017 18:12:22 GMT 12
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