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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 15, 2011 23:46:54 GMT 12
Back during WWII, when people were being commissioned as officers from the ranks, and they were sent on courses to become officers, were the courses run with both airmen and WAAF's on the same course?
I have a photo of just such a course with around 40 men in the group shot plus one WAAF seated in the front row, identified as E.W. Bowman. She has officer's rank rings on her sleeve. i was wondering if she'd be a pupil on the course along with the men, or was she staff? Any ideas?
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Post by errolmartyn on Feb 16, 2011 9:07:39 GMT 12
W1827 Miss Elizabeth Wignall Bowman Enlisted Levin as a WA2 15 Sep 41 Commissioned as an assistant section officer 24 Mar 43 (if the photo dates from around this period it would suggest that she was a student on a officer training course)
Errol
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 16, 2011 12:08:55 GMT 12
Thanks Errol. The course was in early 1945, and the officers who passed it were gazetted on the 31st of May 1945 as promoted. So Elizabeth Bowman must have been staff I guess, as she was not on the Gazette sheet either. Perhaps she was an instructor. Actually I just realised she's in the centre of the front row and thus may well be an instructor as they normally sit there in photos I think. Totally unimportant subject, just idle curiosity really, it seemed odd to see a group of men and one women in a course photo. Here is the photo, split in two so it fits ok. it comes from Doug Vahry's collection, and I guess is Air Force Museum Official. Here are the full names that I have pieced together from the New Zealand Gazette page and from other sources in a couple of cases: Back Row, Left to RightBrian George Whitehouse Equipment OfficerWilliam James Brown Equipment OfficerBernard Frederick James Beu Equipment OfficerReginald Wilson Sadd Accountant OfficerMaurice George Catran Accountant OfficerH F Brown Thomas Edward Roff Accountant OfficerJohn Slingsby Barraud Douglas Haswell Vahry Photography Officer[/i (NZ391204) R A Johnson William Charles McGregor Jess Education Officer Adam Stein Equipment Officer
Third Row Colin George Kirkwood Equipment Officer Arthur Lionel Johnston Edward John Prendeville Accountant Officer Halford William Meyer Accountant Officer D M Anker S Toon D B Roberts David Benjamin Brook Engineer Officer J H Campbell Donald David Beattie Engineer Officer Noel Leo Field
Second Row Ivan Charles John Laughton Accountant Officer A J Carson H I Hawkins Neville Alan Millar A T L Smith Wallace Honeyfield J Rees B M Wilmshurst Norman Keith Davidson Donald Stuart Arkle Equipment Officer
Front Row Allan John Lockhart Engineer Officer Edward Hartley Everett Hubert Alfred Farrar Engineer Officer (NZ34156) D E Heron W P Ryan Elizabeth Wignall Bowman (WAAF) W1827 A Wilson W G Whitmore George Thomas Beban David Kirkaldie Accountant Officer James McArthur Anzac Grant Engineer Officer, then Education Officer (NZ37148)
I guess that Gazette page might be from the year after the course, thinking about it, as they all seemed to be going from Pilot Officer to Flying Officer. Only about half the names on the photo got that promotion in that Gazette too, which makes me wonder if it is a later date. Any thoughts? Doug had kept the Gazette page with the photo.
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