Who is the author of this letter to Keith Caldwell in 1964?

[kesselrun]

Can anyone tell me who the signature to this letter belongs to? The first page has a “Civil Aviation Administration Air Department” letterhead and is dated “15 May 1964” and has been written in reply to a letter by Keith Caldwell regarding the international airport at Mangere. Any assistance in identifying this Civil Aviation Administration author is greatly appreciated.

[thomarse]

Lewis Francis Paul Taylor?

[Dave Homewood]

Yes my thought is also Lew Taylor.

[McFly]

Some additional info (Here)

And:

"Taylor, Lewis Francis Paul, 1907-1997. Born 1907. Educated at Wellington College. Entered the Bank of New Zealand in 1926. Attended the Brooklands School of Flying 1929-1931. Career as a pilot during the 1930s. Fighter pilot during the Second World War and Squadron Leader. After the war became a civil aviation administrator. Son of Edwin Thomas and Emma Taylor. Married Gladys Beatrice Turner in 1937 (who died in 1988)." (Link)

[oj]

Probably "Flash" Gordon, Minister of Civil Aviation at the time?

"... one-time Minister of Civil Aviation Peter (J. B.) Gordon,..."

[chinapilot]

That is Lew Taylor. A gentleman who used to visit the Wellington Aero Club and if I recall correctly still flew.
Unfortunate that his request in the last paragraph should be made public now.

[angelsonefive]

aviation-safety.net/wikibase/65374

[oj]

"Unfortunate that his request in the last paragraph should be made public now."

That was relevant at the time. Not so today. Be careful not to become one of those "deniers of history".

[chinapilot]

oj wrote …That was relevant at the time. Not so today. Be careful not to become one of those "deniers of history"…

Thanks for the advice - I will also be careful about pronouncements like the above, due to possible lack of comprehension, which miss the point entirely.

[kesselrun]

Thanks to everyone that helped solve this for me, much appreciated. Regarding the concluding paragraph of the letter it is important to remember context. The confidentiality is tied into the public sensitivities associated with the airport at the time, in other words some 60 years ago. Those concerns have been long concluded. In fact the airport officially opened less than a year after the letter was written and all such matters concerns were 'resolved', even if not to the satisfaction of all parties. What the letter nicely shows, from a historical perspective, is that the founding of the airport was not without its challenges, one of which was the likely impact of noise pollution on local residents.

[kesselrun]

As a follow up to this, I ahve another letter (June 1964) from the Australian Director General of Civil Aviation to Caldwell. It is signed by W. H. Pickford. Any chance anyone can help with this first two names? Thanks.

[Brett]

Wilfred Hilary "Jack" Pickford.

[planewriting]

Reading of Lew Taylor reminds of my first holiday, in Fiji (with my parents), in April 1972. We were staying in the Mocambo, Nadi. At breakfast one morning Dad said, "have a look at that chap over there, "He is Lew Taylor, head of CAA and he is retiring soon". Given he was born in 1907, he would have been 65 when I saw him. If you look at rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/7244/lewis-taylor-badly-burned-crash you will see details of a horrific plane crash he survived which left his face scarred for life. Dad explained the scars after Lew had left the room.

[camtech]

The Mocambo - brings back some memories of stopover coming back from the UK on a Hercules.