Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 13, 2008 18:14:52 GMT 12
Town nurtures Kiwi pilot's memory
4:00AM Thursday Nov 13, 2008
By Catherine Field
A New Zealand war pilot is among those remembered on Armistice Day each year by the people of Maisons-Laffitte.
Kenneth Fenton Heald, an RNZAF captain, was killed in 1942 while on a mission to bomb an aircraft engine factory on the outskirts of Paris.
Flying Officer Heald, piloting a Wellington bomber, came under fire from anti-aircraft guns hidden near the town's racecourse. His plane either was shot down or collided with an RAF bomber.
Before the war, he was a station hand at Tokomaru Bay, on the East Cape. He served in 57 Squadron Bomber command and was just 24 when he died.
The remains of the 11 crew from the two bombers were hauled away by the German occupying forces the day after the crash on April 29, 1942, but for years their identity was a mystery.
At first, it was thought they were Canadians, as a Canadian badge was found in the wreckage. As a result, in December 1945, a memorial was set up in "in honour of the dead Canadians."
But in 1992, further research by local historians revealed the crew was a mixture of Britons, Canadians and New Zealanders. The plaque was altered accordingly. In front of the memorial, which is garlanded with poppies on Remembrance Day, is a wheel from one of the bombers.
Captain Heald's memory is nurtured in Maisons-Laffitte, which hangs the NZ flag outside the town hall on Armistice Day and the anniversary of the end of World War II.
"In 1993, just out of the blue, two big guys came into my office," said Mayor Jacques Myard. "They were from Heald's family and gave me this photo. It has been on my wall ever since."
On the back of the photo is written: "Maintenant, ils ont un visage" - "Now they have a face."
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10542779
4:00AM Thursday Nov 13, 2008
By Catherine Field
A New Zealand war pilot is among those remembered on Armistice Day each year by the people of Maisons-Laffitte.
Kenneth Fenton Heald, an RNZAF captain, was killed in 1942 while on a mission to bomb an aircraft engine factory on the outskirts of Paris.
Flying Officer Heald, piloting a Wellington bomber, came under fire from anti-aircraft guns hidden near the town's racecourse. His plane either was shot down or collided with an RAF bomber.
Before the war, he was a station hand at Tokomaru Bay, on the East Cape. He served in 57 Squadron Bomber command and was just 24 when he died.
The remains of the 11 crew from the two bombers were hauled away by the German occupying forces the day after the crash on April 29, 1942, but for years their identity was a mystery.
At first, it was thought they were Canadians, as a Canadian badge was found in the wreckage. As a result, in December 1945, a memorial was set up in "in honour of the dead Canadians."
But in 1992, further research by local historians revealed the crew was a mixture of Britons, Canadians and New Zealanders. The plaque was altered accordingly. In front of the memorial, which is garlanded with poppies on Remembrance Day, is a wheel from one of the bombers.
Captain Heald's memory is nurtured in Maisons-Laffitte, which hangs the NZ flag outside the town hall on Armistice Day and the anniversary of the end of World War II.
"In 1993, just out of the blue, two big guys came into my office," said Mayor Jacques Myard. "They were from Heald's family and gave me this photo. It has been on my wall ever since."
On the back of the photo is written: "Maintenant, ils ont un visage" - "Now they have a face."
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10542779
