No. 30 Squadron Gisborne Memorial Re-dedication

[Dave Homewood]

A special peice of news from the No. 30 Squadron and Servicing Unit Association secretary Wally Ingham was sent out today to members. I'm sure others here will find it of interest too if you're going to be down that way.

He writes:

"This special edition of news is to advise that the relocation of our 30 Squadron Memorial has now taken place, together with its embellishments and it is now situated at the entrance to the airport.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Mary Wakelin, Eric Kelly and the Mayor of the Gisborne City Council it has been decided that its re-dedication will now take place on Sunday morning 3rd June at 10.30 am and all are welcome to attend.

This will be followed by morning tea in the Gisborne hangar airport museum which houses our TBF (on loan from the Christchurch RNZAF museum) together with a display of memorabilia from 30 Sqn/SU .

It is advised that the total costs involved have now been covered by the $1400.0 remaining in our original funds, plus a donation of $500. from the Gisborne City Council and one from the Gisborne RSA. of $500.0, no further funds being required.

Any funds already donated towards the memorial together with the sugestion that a further $5.to $10. for contingency purposes be considered and be passed on to Wally Ingham for use in emergency and for ongoing expenses for operation of the newsletter would be appreciated.

For those intending to arrive the previous day, arrangements have been made for the Gisborne RSA to provide an evening dinner / get together on 2nd June.

Mary requests that all those intending to attend please advise her at least three days in advance in order that the RSA can make arrangements with the caterers etc..

Furthermore Mary advises that because of age etc she is only responsible for the dedication, morning tea and the RSA dinner however any of our other members wishing to extend their presumable final get together in Gisborne and debate on who will be the last to turn out the lights feel free to do so provided they make their own arrangements.

Please note that charges for the RSA dinner and their accomodation expenses etc will be at their own expense and furthemore as Gisborne will be full of visitors over the holiday Queens Birthday weekend please make your bookings as soon as possible.

Regretfully this information has come so close to the event however it has been beyond the control of all those involved best regards
Wally Ingham"

[Dave Homewood]

Here's an article form the Radio NZ site. I have interviewed Gerry Burton, a top bloke with a great sense of humour. I'm glad to see he made it to Gisborne.

www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200706051401/memorial_dedicated_to_world_war_ii_squadron_at_gisborne

Posted at 2:02pm on 05 Jun 2007

One of the last pilots from the RNZAF's 30 squadron in World War II has paid tribute to the people of Gisborne for their help 65 years ago.

In May 1942, a group of more than 300 air force men arrived in Gisborne by plane, train and bus to form a squadron initially charged with the responsibility of protecting the eastern coast of the North Island from Japanese submarines.

They were there for two years. Sixty-five years later, the last of 30 Squadron and their families gathered at Gisborne airport over Queen's Birthday weekend for the dedication of a memorial wall and plaque for those of the squadron who died in action overseas.

30 Squadron ended up based on Bougainville Island in the Solomons, where the pilots, accompanied by a navigator and turret gunner, flew Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers. Their mission was to bomb airstrips on the Japanese-occupied island of Rabaul.

One of the only two surviving pilots from 30 Squadron, Gerald Burton, 89, says the people of Gisborne opened their hearts and homes to more than 300 pilots and their crews and ground staff.

The driving force behind the memorial wall and plaque was Mary Wakelin, who met her late husband Ron in 1943 when he arrived in Gisborne as a navigator. She says the weekend dedication was an important and happy occasion, with members of 30 Squadron coming from all over New Zealand. However, it was also tinged with some sadness as it could be the last time many see each other again.

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