Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 15, 2008 15:52:25 GMT 12
Tinny lived life to the full
By MERVYN DYKES - Manawatu Standard | Friday, 13 June 2008
A high-flyer, Tinny Constance was always on the go.
Delwyn Stanley Norris "Tinny" Constance. Squadron Leader, World War II bomber pilot, sportsman, administrator and newspaper proofreader; born Dargaville, March 27, 1913; died May 30, 2008.
In the dark days of World War II, life was lived truly on the edge and death was only a whisper away.
Tinny Constance was one of 12 young New Zealand pilots to join No 408 RCAF Squadron in England and one of only three who came home.
German night fighters claimed about 40 bombers in his first year, 1940, and the next year 420 were shot down. Total casualties were 55 percent and rising.
During the famous attack on the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Tinny's Hampden lost an aileron and had nearly 2 metres (6 feet) shot off one wing, but he made it back to base.
His nickname Tinny had nothing to do with his ability to bring his often flak-riddled aircraft home, but it fitted those frantic years well.
The name came from his days at Auckland Grammar where he followed an older brother dubbed Tinna by his mates. To schoolboy minds, Tinny showed a family connection and yet marked a difference.
War was never far from the lives of those in his generation. His father served at Gallipoli and was wounded at Chanuck Bair and went on to France where he was gassed at Paschendaele.
Tinny's daughter Sue Sweet of Kimbolton tells of this home- coming.
"Dad's earliest memory of his father was seeing a soldier cross the fields and take a punt over the river to the farm at Tangiteroria where he, his older brother and mother were staying with relatives.
"Dad had only been 18-months- old when his father left for war, so when this figure appeared four years later, he didn't recognise him and was afraid."
His father spent a year in a sanitorium in Cambridge and on his return to his family they moved to Otahuhu, but he would never work again.
Apart from a brief stint in the north during a polimyelitis epidemic, Mr Constance finished his primary school education in Otahuhu and then moved to Auckland Grammar where he distinguished himself both academically and athletically.
In the latter category he earned a measure of fame by lapping the gymnasium on his hands.
During his grammar years (1927-31) he played rugby, rugby league and soccer - sometimes all three in the same weekend, Mrs Sweet said.
After his school years he played first five-eighth for Takapuna outside All Black half-back Merv Corner in a year they won the Gallagher Cup.
It wasn't surprising then that when he was called up to join the RNZAF in 1940 he packed a pair of rugby boots in his kit.
Sporting interests stayed with him all his life. In later years he had a single-figure handicap in golf, once was the Feilding club snooker champion and at the age of 65 could still do a backflip on the back lawn.
During the war he flew 34 sorties with 408 Squadron and was then sent to the Empire Central Flying School - he was then the only New Zealander - graduating as an instructor with a distinguished pass.
After repatriation to New Zealand he headed the Transport Training and Conversion Flight at RNZAF Hobsonville and later formed and commanded the Instrument Flying School at No 14 Squadron, Hobsonville.
He was then appointed the Commanding Officer of No 14 Squadron in Ohakea, eventually retiring from the air force in 1952.
"His air force time was very important to him - the friends he made at that time remained throughout his life," Mrs Sweet said.
In civilian life he was assistant manager of the Borthwicks Freezing Works in Waitara and transferred to the Feilding works as manager.
After retiring, he managed the new abattoir in Feilding and then ended his working life as a proofreader at the Manawatu Standard.
Mr Constance was deeply involved in everyday life, serving with, leading and assisting many community organisations.
He is survived by his four children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/eveningstandard/4583159a26819.html
By MERVYN DYKES - Manawatu Standard | Friday, 13 June 2008
A high-flyer, Tinny Constance was always on the go.
Delwyn Stanley Norris "Tinny" Constance. Squadron Leader, World War II bomber pilot, sportsman, administrator and newspaper proofreader; born Dargaville, March 27, 1913; died May 30, 2008.
In the dark days of World War II, life was lived truly on the edge and death was only a whisper away.
Tinny Constance was one of 12 young New Zealand pilots to join No 408 RCAF Squadron in England and one of only three who came home.
German night fighters claimed about 40 bombers in his first year, 1940, and the next year 420 were shot down. Total casualties were 55 percent and rising.
During the famous attack on the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, Tinny's Hampden lost an aileron and had nearly 2 metres (6 feet) shot off one wing, but he made it back to base.
His nickname Tinny had nothing to do with his ability to bring his often flak-riddled aircraft home, but it fitted those frantic years well.
The name came from his days at Auckland Grammar where he followed an older brother dubbed Tinna by his mates. To schoolboy minds, Tinny showed a family connection and yet marked a difference.
War was never far from the lives of those in his generation. His father served at Gallipoli and was wounded at Chanuck Bair and went on to France where he was gassed at Paschendaele.
Tinny's daughter Sue Sweet of Kimbolton tells of this home- coming.
"Dad's earliest memory of his father was seeing a soldier cross the fields and take a punt over the river to the farm at Tangiteroria where he, his older brother and mother were staying with relatives.
"Dad had only been 18-months- old when his father left for war, so when this figure appeared four years later, he didn't recognise him and was afraid."
His father spent a year in a sanitorium in Cambridge and on his return to his family they moved to Otahuhu, but he would never work again.
Apart from a brief stint in the north during a polimyelitis epidemic, Mr Constance finished his primary school education in Otahuhu and then moved to Auckland Grammar where he distinguished himself both academically and athletically.
In the latter category he earned a measure of fame by lapping the gymnasium on his hands.
During his grammar years (1927-31) he played rugby, rugby league and soccer - sometimes all three in the same weekend, Mrs Sweet said.
After his school years he played first five-eighth for Takapuna outside All Black half-back Merv Corner in a year they won the Gallagher Cup.
It wasn't surprising then that when he was called up to join the RNZAF in 1940 he packed a pair of rugby boots in his kit.
Sporting interests stayed with him all his life. In later years he had a single-figure handicap in golf, once was the Feilding club snooker champion and at the age of 65 could still do a backflip on the back lawn.
During the war he flew 34 sorties with 408 Squadron and was then sent to the Empire Central Flying School - he was then the only New Zealander - graduating as an instructor with a distinguished pass.
After repatriation to New Zealand he headed the Transport Training and Conversion Flight at RNZAF Hobsonville and later formed and commanded the Instrument Flying School at No 14 Squadron, Hobsonville.
He was then appointed the Commanding Officer of No 14 Squadron in Ohakea, eventually retiring from the air force in 1952.
"His air force time was very important to him - the friends he made at that time remained throughout his life," Mrs Sweet said.
In civilian life he was assistant manager of the Borthwicks Freezing Works in Waitara and transferred to the Feilding works as manager.
After retiring, he managed the new abattoir in Feilding and then ended his working life as a proofreader at the Manawatu Standard.
Mr Constance was deeply involved in everyday life, serving with, leading and assisting many community organisations.
He is survived by his four children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/eveningstandard/4583159a26819.html
