Wing Commander Grant-Dalton

[Dave Homewood]

The name Wing Commander Grant-Dalton comes up a lot when looking into the early days of the Air Force, but I never knew much about his background. This article fills in a lot.I had no idea he'd lost a leg, for example. From the OTAGO DAILY TIMES, 29 SEPTEMBER 1931

NEW ZEALAND AIR FORCE

WING-COMMANDER GRANT DALTON

EXPIRATION OF APPOINTMENT

(Special to Daily Times.) WELLINGTON, September 28.

Having taken charge of New Zealand aviation at a particularly difficult time and maintained a wise and progressive administration for two years. Wing-commander S. Grant-Dalton, D.S.O., A.F.C., will relinquish his position as Director of Air Services on Wednesday, his appointment having expired. He will be succeeded, it is understood, by Squadron-leader T. M. Wilkes, M.C., who returned from England, where be had been engaged as liaison officer at the Air Ministry earlier in the year.

Wing-commander Grant Dalton came to New Zealand in October, 1929, when the aero clubs had been formed throughout the Dominion, but were in many cases unable to establish themselves, and to him fell the lot of organising them in such a way that the scheme would be able to work successfully, a task which required a great deal of tact and ability, and the success which the clubs have achieved is itself a tribute to the way in which the task was carried out. The public enthusiasm for aviation which had been stirred up by the Tasman crossing of Kingsford Smith and his crew had not abated when he assumed office. Controlling both civil and military aviation, he embarked upon a progressive programme.

Along with the expansion of civil aviation he developed the air base at Hobsonville, and brought about the use of the air force rank titles, an indication that the Air Force had to be regarded as a separate service from the army. Last year he organised the air force into a wing comprising four squadrons, an arrangement which has facilitated the administration of the force.

He introduced a number of new types of machines into the Air Force, and proposed that a super-marine Southampton flying boat might be purchased and flown from England to New Zealand by one of the officers at Hobsonville Air Base, but the scheme was negatived, as were many others which he suggested, on the score of expense. With the slump coming on the estimates were cut so heavily that progress was rendered almost impossible.

Wing-commander Grant-Dalton was educated at Uppingham and Sandhurst, and received his commission in a Yorkshire regiment at the age of 20. With them he served in Cyprus, Egypt, Khartoum, and India, and was adjutant of the Fifth Battalion when he was wounded at Ypres in April, 1915. He was then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and qualified as a pilot in January, 1916, and going to Egypt, where he was severely wounded and lost a leg, besides gaining mention in despatches, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Air Force Cross, and the Order of the Nile.

After the war he commanded the 64th naval wing in the Middle East, and in 1920 was promoted to the command of headquarters of the Palestine group, later holding many important appointments, including the command of the Armament and Gunnery. School at Eastchurch, Kent.

Squadron-leader Wilkes, M.C., who is expected to fill the position which will be vacated, has been closely associated with post-war aviation in New Zealand since its inception. A brigade-major with the 2nd Infantry Brigade in 1916, he was employed with the Royal Air Force in September, 1917, to June, 1918, and after holding a number of staff appointments, both in France and New Zealand, was officer commanding a special expedition to Fiji in 1920. He again became connected with aviation in July, 1920, when he was appointed general staff officer for the Air Services and secretary to the Air Board. At the beginning of 1924 he was staff officer of the Air Services, and in 1925 Director of Air Services, a post which he vacated to take up the position of liaison officer, at the London in 1929. While there he did particularly good work and his recall when the office was shut as an economy measure was regretted by many in official positions.

[davidd]

Dave,
There is an excellent summary of GD's career in Colin Hanson's By Such Deeds - no doubt Errol M will be contributing this in the near future.
Dave D

[Dave Homewood]

This article from 1961 has a biography too. From The PRESS, 15 December 1961:

Aviation Pioneer Revisits N.Z.

A man who was reesponsible for much of the development of civil and military aviation in New Zealand during the early 1900’s left Christchurch for Wellington this week after spending nearly a month touring the South Island. He is Mr S. Grant Dalton, of Exeter, Devon. Mr Dalton was born at Bournemouth in 1886. and was educated at Uppingham school and Sandhurst Military College. He served in the Yorkshire Regiment in 1914, transferring to the Royal Flying Corp after he had been wounded at Ypres - in 1915.

He first came to New Zealand in 1929 as Director of Air Services, and it was during this time that he did much for aviation in New Zealand. Mr Dalton, by then a wing commander, assisted in the formation of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and also in the formation of several aero clubs. About 1931 be was instrumental in the formation of East Coast Airways, and was appointed chairman of directors of the company after his retirement from his position as Director of Air Services.

On April 16, 1935, two-way daily air services between Napier and Gisborne were inaugurated wish two twin-engined aircraft. Union Airways took over the East Coast Airways service in 1938, by which time the aircraft of the company had covered more than 400,000 miles and carried 14,723 passengers. During the early 1930's, Wing Commander Dalton, who was known to most of the aviation pioneers of the day as "G.D.,” also examined flying pupils for their “A” licence.

L. White, in his book. ” Wingspread,” the history of aviation in New Zealand, says of Wing-Commander Dalton at this time ”... his gruff manner was habitual, but underneath he had a very human understanding of young pilots. His sense of humour too, was a most lovable trait, and he not infrequently referred to his wooden leg, a souvenir of the First World War, as hie ‘undercart.’ ”

Wing Commander Dalton returned to Britain to 1932 for a year, coming back to New Zealand in 1933 and remaining for two years. During this time in New Zealand he lived in many Places, including Geraldine and Lower Hutt. When he returned to Britain be joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and was later responsible for units of the reserve in London, Cambridge and Exeter.

The country had changed a great deal since he saw it last, he said, and everything had grown. Before coming to the South Island he and his daughter, who is travelling with him, had spent a month touring the North Island. In the North Island they will stay with friends until they leave for the United Kingdom at the end of February. The hospitality of New Zealanders was still there, but it did not surprise him because he knew it of old, Mr Dalton said. When he attended the passing out parade at Wigram yesterday he had been very impressed.

[fwx]

“And speaking of aplomb, our then Director of Air Services, Wing Commander S. Grant-Dalton, displayed plenty one day when, in his dual capacity of Director of Civil Aviation, he was checking pupils of the Canterbury Aero Club for A Licences (at Wigram).

Their figure-of-eights at 1000 feet were too high for “G-D” and hurt his neck as he craned upwards. Each succeeding student was told to come lower and closer until one lad, in a misguided effort to please, stalled off his turn and finished in an ignominious heap on a hangar roof.



”He’s failed”, said “G-D”, “Next man.”

- "Still Looking Back", recollections of the old-time RNZAF, RNZAF News, No. 39, Aug 1962.

[Dave Homewood]

Harsh, hahaha.