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Post by camtech on Dec 1, 2019 18:00:44 GMT 12
Email sent
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Post by oj on Jan 7, 2020 21:15:45 GMT 12
Great collection here guys. In photo 10, I recognise Roy Thomas, armourer and Bruce Bernard, electrician. I worked with them at Ohakea from 1963 in the Ground Equipment and Electrical Section respectively.
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 11, 2020 14:38:14 GMT 12
Hi oj,
Thank you for posting your information, it is much appreciated. Would you be kind enough to say where each gentleman is located ... as we are trying to put names to faces for the surviving family members that have kindly provided these images for us to share with everyone ?
Also, could you provide some more information about the men and the names of their wives, as we are still trying to find as many of these servicemen and women as we can, in order to pass on the photographs to them, or their surviving family members ... ?
Did you also recognise any of the names in the rather long list of ex-RNZAF personnel that we are hoping to contact ?
Thank you.
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skyman
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 82
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Post by skyman on Jan 11, 2020 20:36:02 GMT 12
While several faces seem familiar, I can recognize Roy Thomas, armourer, in photo 9 (seated 2nd from right) and in photo 10 (centre in back row). Also in photo 10, Bruce (Bernie) Bernard is at right in the back row. In photo 11, Warren (Jim) Eades, armourer (and WW2 Pacific ex-Corsair pilot) is 2nd from right in the front row. In photo 15, the gent 2nd left in the front row looks very much like Des Underwood, but I may be wrong.
Al
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Post by shorty on Jan 11, 2020 20:44:39 GMT 12
Photo 08, 2nd from the right kneeling looks like Gordon Moller? THat also looks like him photo 16 front row, far left
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 12, 2020 22:01:01 GMT 12
Thank you Skyman, for Bruce (Bernie) Bernard in photo 10, did you mean the man standing at far right in football kit, or were you meaning the uniformed officer ?
Would you know where Roy Thomas, Bruce Bernard, Jim Eades and Des Underwood were serving and when, or any other details about them, or how we might find them ?
Thank you Shorty, what can you remember about Gordon Moller, in terms of how you knew him, where and when he served and how we might be able to find him ?
Thank you both for your help and did either of you happen to recognise any of the many names in the above list of RNZAF personnel from the 1950s and 1960s, from when our parents knew them ?
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Post by baronbeeza on Jan 13, 2020 7:39:19 GMT 12
Some of those names will be very familiar to the members here. Gordon was S&S and they are like the Armourers, very cliquey. Dave H here and his mates will have the answer to that one. I think there is a good chance Dave worked at Wigram with Gordon.
Des Underwood has been mentioned in threads here. He was a long serving Engineering Officer but may well have retired to Tauranga. I think it was one of the Classic Flyer threads that mentioned him. I think Des was CFR, as a Corporal.
The RNZAF was a small outfit and we generally knew a large proportion of the crew.
I know of one point where I could put a face to every junior Officer in the mob, Flt Lt and below. We had access to the 'stud book' though that listed details to help out, name, rank, seniority, trade and possibly even age. All you needed to do was determine Base and visualise who they were. I was at Wigram for some time and as it was a training base most seemed to drop by for some course or another. That would hold true for other ranks as well so Wigram was the place to get acquainted. Te Rapa not so much.
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Post by shorty on Jan 13, 2020 8:19:26 GMT 12
Gordon Moller lives in the Christchurch area and is a member of the Canterbury Air Force Assosciation and they should be able to supply contact details, probably for a lot others on your list as well. Secretary is Ian McWha, Ianmcw98@gmail.com
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 13, 2020 14:17:57 GMT 12
Thank you baronbeeza,
With any luck, Dave H and others here will soon come to our assistance, as we do feel a certain degree of pressure to find these people on behalf of our 84 year old father, while we still can ...
If any of the 'tens' of names in the list of ex-RNZAF personnel of the period, that we are still hoping to find, mean anything to you, or if you have any other information or contacts that you think might be able to assist us, please let us know ...
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 13, 2020 14:22:43 GMT 12
Hi shorty,
Thank you for getting back to us ... and for Ian's contact details ... we have just sent him a message ...
We are in Christchurch, so hopefully we will soon be able to get in touch with Gordon Moller ... fingers crossed ...
Here's hoping that the good people at the RNZAF Association will be able to help us find some of the other 'eighty-odd' people that our mother and father knew, while serving in the RNZAF and that our father can get to know a little more about the young men that he played football with, all those years ago ... !
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 13, 2020 14:25:49 GMT 12
I cannot help sorry, as I don't know. These people are all LONG before my time. But follow Shorty's lead.
Des Underwood is a member of this forum by the way, and he runs the RAeS Bay of Plenty Branch, as well as being part of the team working on the Avenger at Classic Flyers Museum.
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 13, 2020 14:31:43 GMT 12
Thanks Dave,
Not to worry ... and we are still extremely grateful for all your help in recent months ...
Hopefully Des Underwood will get to see these comments before too long ... in the meantime, we will try to find him through your suggestions ...
Thanks.
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skyman
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 82
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Post by skyman on Jan 13, 2020 14:35:29 GMT 12
Hi kiwikerr,
All the gents I have mentioned are wearing sports gear, those in uniform or civvies I don't recognize. Roy Thomas and Warren (Jim) Eades are both deceased; and as other members have posted, Des Underwood does live in Tauranga.
Al
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 13, 2020 15:00:57 GMT 12
Thanks Al,
Your comment about the gentlemen in 'sports gear' makes complete sense ... and we appreciate the clarification ...
We'll try to make contact with Des Underwood, through the Royal Aeronautical Society in the Bay of Plenty, unless he gets to us first here ... ! he he !!!
Incidentally, how did you know that Roy Thomas and Warren (Jim) Eades had passed away, as we'd still like to contact their surviving family members, in order to pass on the photographs that we have of them, now that we have confirmed their identities in the images ... ?
Thank you.
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skyman
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 82
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Post by skyman on Jan 14, 2020 19:20:19 GMT 12
In answer to your question kiwikerr;
Roy Thomas died on 6 December 2015. I believe he was living at Whangaparoa so still may have family in the area.
Warren (Jim) Eades died on 19 May 2018, a notice was in the NZ Herald 23 May. He had been living in Tauranga for some time and I believe there may still be family there.
The names of both of these armourers appear on the RNZAF Armament Roll of Honour board which is held at RNZAF Woodbourne.
Al (ex-armourer)
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Post by camtech on Jan 14, 2020 19:39:03 GMT 12
I doubt very much that Des Underwood would feature in any of these photos - he didn't join until 1966 or 67.
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 14, 2020 19:45:22 GMT 12
Hi Al,
Thank you ...
Any clues about a wife's name or initials, or of any children, to help us narrow down the search for the families of Roy Thomas and Warren (Jim) Eades ... ?
We have made contact with Des Underwood, which is great ... though, please see next message ...
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Post by kiwikerr on Jan 14, 2020 19:48:14 GMT 12
Hi again Camtech,
Thank you for the information ...
We have made contact with Des Underwood and he played badminton apparently and not football (soccer) ...
Though all is not lost as he will try to put some names to the faces of the men he might have known at RNZAF base Whenuapai, all those years ago ...
This is great news ... as we contiue our search for these wonderful ex-servicemen and women, or their families ...
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Post by bpgauckland on Apr 30, 2020 13:27:03 GMT 12
Hi Paul Saw this post and just to add Photo 07. RNZAF Football Team - Winter Inter-Services Sporting Tournament - Wigram - August 1959 Back Row L to R at the end is Paul Douglas Gatcum (Ex Royal Navy joined at 15yrs old Nov'1939 to 1954 Then Joined RNZAF in England 1957 (aged 33 and arrived same year finishing 1967 at Hobsonville as a Fireman due to being crash rescue on an Aircraft Carrier. I did email you another Football photo taken September 1959. Cheers Brent
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