DUMBO DIARY Index to Ships

2 May 1943: S.S. Phoebe A. Hearst, S.S. William Williams, HMIJS I-19.
5 May 1943: S.S. Phoebe A. Hearst, S.S. William Williams, U.S.S. Catalpa YN-5.
7 May 1943: S.S. William Williams, U.S.S. Catalpa YN-5, U.S.S. Dash AM-88.
16 May 1943: S.S. William K. Vanderbilt, HMIJS I-19.
17 May 1943: S.S. William K. Vanderbilt, U.S.S. Dash AM-88, HMIJS I-19.
5 June 1943 S.S. Sommelsdijk
25 June 1943 S.S. Benjamin Holt
27 June 1943 S.S. Henry M. Rice
2 July 1943 U.S.S. Tallulah AO-10
8 July 1943 S.S. Matua, U.S.S. Talamanca AF-15.
12 July 1943 U.S.S. Curtis AV-4, U.S.S. Gamble DM-15.
20 July 1943 S.S. Rona, U.S.S. John Penn APA-23, S.S. Matua.
27 July 1943 S.S. Matthew Lyon, U.S.S. Talamanca AF-15.
28 July 1943 U.S.S. Rio Grande AOG-3.
31 July 1943 U.S.A.T. Will H. Point Rio Grande AOG-3, U.S.S. John Rodgers DD-574.

This list will continue to grow as time permits

http://bit.ly/yUJP4K

DUMBO DIARY Published

DUMBO Diary Index to Names No.3

31 October 1943
FLTLT R. McHardy, FGOFF W. Martin, FGOFF M. Fearn DFM, FLTSGT M.Davies, FLTSGT H. Neville, SGT A. Perryman, SGT E. Cranch, SGT R. Duthie, SGT L. Death, FGOFF G. Hitchcock, FLTSGT A. Wilkinson, FLTSGT R. Clarke, FLTSGT I. Lloyd, SGT W. Mence, SGT A. Strother, SGT L. Stewart, SGT T. McPherson, PLTOFF L. Brown, FGOFF D. Beauchamp, PLTOFF J. Porteous, PLTOFF C. Best, FLTSGT R. Corkill, FLTSGT W. Clarke, SGT B. Murphy, SGT M. Watson, SGT R. Wickett, FGOFF J. Broughton, FGOFF J. Hendry, FGOFF G. Scholes, PLTOFF L. Berg, SGT A. Lane, FLTSGT T. Hamilton, SGT R. Warner, SGT D. Pritchard, SGT J. Cranston, SGT R. Steel, FGOFF D. Gudsell, SGT W. Horgan, SGT R. Pooley, FLTSGT B. McLean, FLTSGT T. Hennessey, SGT G. Howard, SGT W. Stokes, SGT V. Gibb, SGT K. Aldridge, FLTSGT J. Monk, SGT R. Lowther, SGT A. Oliver, FLTSGT M. McCormick, FLTSGT L. Henderson, SGT L. Boatwood, SGT G. Rough, SGT J. Crookshanks, SGT T. Durant, FLTLT T. Brewer, PLTOFF I. Watt, FGOFF J. Lockington, FLTSGT D. Foster, FLTSGT A. Harris, SGT M. Robinson, SGT J Hogg, SGT H. Undrill, FLTSGT G. Bailey, FGOFF D. Sheehan, FLTSGT C. Regan, FGOFF J. Kirk, FGOFF R. Krissensen, SGT W. Perry, SGT E. Wilson, SGT T. Porter, SGT A. McGregor, SQLDR J. Agar, FGOFF F. Campbell, SGT N. Stewart, LAC J. Stokes, LAC K. Langford, CPL P. Maras, LAC E. Taylor, AC1 L. Goldstone, AC1 A. Patchett, LAC G. Gibson, LAC C. Withers, CPL I. Saville, LAC J. Whiteman, LAC I Marriott, AC2 C. Adams, LAC R. Rains, AC1 A. Geary, AC1 B Ashton, CPL T. Harper, LAC S. Morris, AC1 A. Rogers, LAC P. Scott, LAC E. Harrison, LAC K. Otter, CPL A. Tudehope, LAC K. Jacka, LAC F. Short, AC2 Courtney.

31 October 1943
FGOFF Eric Burgess, FLTSGT M. Jennins, FLTSGT R. Cowern, SGT L. Stewart, SGT W. Frame, SGT Shattock, FLTSGT J. Copas, FLTSGT Kingston, FLTSGT Malcolm, Jim Wilkinson, FGOFF J. Hendry, FGOFF G. Scholes, PLTOFF L. Berg, SGT A. Lane, FLTSGT T. Hamilton, SGT R. Warner, SGT D. Pritchard, SGT J. Cranston, FLTSGT R. Steel, SQLDR R. Makgill, FLTLT Francis, SGT Cowern, FGOFF George Hitchcock, FGOFF Dave Sheehan, FGOFF Beattie, Governor of Fiji, Sir Phillip Mitchell M.C., Lady Mitchell

1 November 1943
FGOFF G. Hitchcock, FGOFF D. Sheehan, Governor of Fiji, Sir Philip Mitchell, FGOFF J. Hendry, PLTOFF L. Berg, FLTSGT R. Steel, FLTSGT J. Monk, FLTSGT R. Lowther, FLTSGT Oliver, FLTSGT W. Leadley, FGOFF R. Scott, SGT Hutchins, FGOFF Murray

2 November 1943
FGOFF J. Hendry, FGOFF G.A. Scholes, PLTOFF L.C. Berg, SGT J. Cranston, SGT D.K. Pritchard, SGT R.A. Warner, FLTSGT A. Lane, FLTSGT J.D. Hamilton, FLTSGT R.J. Steel, FGOFF W. Mackley DFC, SGT R. Freeman, SGT E. Alexander, FLTLT Brewer, FGOFF Watt, FGOFF Lockington

3 November 1943
FLTLT R. McHardy, FGOFF W.R. Martin, FGOFF M. Fearn DFM, SGT A.L. Peryman, FGOFF G. Gudsell, SGT G. Howard, SGT W. Stokes, SGT Gibbs, FLTSGT B. McLean, FLTSGT T. Hennessey, SQLDR Makgill, FLTLT Francis, SGT Cowern, FGOFF G. Hitchcock, FLTSGT A. Wilkinson, FLTSGT R. Clarke, FLTSGT I. Lloyd, SGT W. Mence, FLSGT A. Strother, SGT L. Stewart, SGT T. McPherson, PLTOFF L. Brown, FGOFF J. McGrane, SGT H. Farmiloe, FGOFF R. Laurenson, FLTSGT W. Leadley.

7 November 1943
NZ428611 LAC P. Scott, NZ43936 LAC E.G. Harrison.

8 November 1943
NZ40457 T/CPL E.W. Wilson, NZ4311014 AC2 F.I. Graham, NZ4310733 AC2 E.G.W. Radd, NZ4311204 AC2 E.D. Symond, NZ4310336 AC2 G. Clulow, NZ439645AC2 C.C. Wilson, NZ4310990 AC2 D.P. Cochrane, NZ4311221 AC2 W.G. Wilson, NZ4311224 AC2 E.A. Welsh, NZ4310712 AC2 J.V.C. Whall, FGOFF John McGrane, SGT Walter Leadley, SGT Harry Farmiloe, PLTOFF Ross Laurenson, FLTSGT Abb Ormesby, FLTSGT Larry Heath, SGT Ralph Rigger, SGT Noel Melville, SGT Jake Wakeford.

10 November 1943
FGOFF D. Sheehan, FLTSGT C. Regan, FLTLT A. Henry, FLTSGT I. Donaldson, FGOFF Fraser, FGOFF W. Burgess, FLTSGT M. Jennins, FLTSGT C. Bailey, SGT W. Frame, FGOFF G. Hitchcock, FLTSGT Wilkinson, FLTSGT Clark, FLSGT A. Strother, SGT Goldie, SGT McPherson, FLTSGT Hamilton, FLTSGT Mence, PLTOFF Brown, FGOFF D. Beauchamp, FGOFF J. Porteous, FGOFF Best, NZ422941 FLTSGT G.M.D. Findlay, NZ422406 SGT C.G. Jackson, NZ411759 FLTSGT R.C. Irving, NZ422771 FLTSGT C.A. Bailey, NZ405296 FLTSGT H.R. MacIntosh, NZ414497 FLTSGT G.D. Cox, NZ402985 FLTSGT H.T. Dalton, NZ425407 FLTSGT G.H. Bailey, NZ403772 FLTSGT A.A. Batty.

DUMBO Diary Index to names No.2

Being unable to see how DUMBO DIARY, my history of RNZAF No.6 Flying Boat Squadron 1943 to 1945, could have an index that isn't almost the same size as the book, ie 429 pages. I am going to list here the names of men mentioned. Some names, particularly those of aircraft captains, eg Arthur Manz, Dave Sheehan, John Agar, etc., occur throughout the book so reference in an index would be almost pointless.Other names appear only once or twice, they are the LAC and AC1s who get a mention when posted to the Squadron or report to the Base Dispensary. But one mention among thousands of names will be too difficult to index and too difficult to find. So I will try this method, recognising this is just no.2 of possibly very many.
1 October 1943: FGOFF G. Hitchcock FLTSGT Wilkinson FLTSGT Clark W/O Lloyd SGT Mence FLTSGT McLaughlan SGT Rough PLTOFF Brown FGOFF G. Gudsell SGT W. Horgon SGT R. Pooley FGOFF R. McVicker FGOFF J. Aitken FGOFF W. Smith FLTSGT D. Hutchison FLTSGT E. Brown SGT H. Richards SGT J. Clarke SGT M. Watson SGT R. Foote LAC N.W. Brailey LAC J. Carr CPL T.W.L. Williamson LAC F.R. Hansen LAC J. Henry LAC D.B. Patterson LAC A.P. Russell AC1 R.J. Waterhouse LAC J.L. Impey LAC W.E. Shearer AC1 W.R. Williams LAC W.H. Young FGOFF R. Scott FLTSGT D. Hutchins FGOFF W. Murray FLTSGT H. Thoroughgood FLTSGT H. Carlyle SGT H. Holstead SGT Hilliam SGT L. Goldie SGT J.D. Smith (WOAG) CPL D.J. Fortune AC1 C.E. Goile LAC M.D. King SGT C.M. Jeffery SGT R.G. Harris LAC J.A. Bell LAC T. Sargent LAC E.L. Barclay LAC O.I. Butler LAC Griffin LAC P. Meikle LAC V.C. Thornton FGOFF J. McGrane SGT H. Farmiloe PLTOFF R. Laurenson FLTSGT A. Ormsby FLTSGT L. Heath SGT D. Melville SGT J. Wakeford SGT G. Aston SGT W. Leadley FGOFF J. Kennedy FGOFF D. Russell FGOFF D. White PLTOFF J. Worden LAC J.L. Atkinson AC2 W. McPhail CPL J.B. Mockett CPL J.P. Duncan LAC T. Sinclair LAC A. Taylor FGOFF W. Burgess FLTSGT M. Jennins FGOFF G. Johnston SGT W. Frame SGT R. Malcolm FLTSGT J. Copas FLTSGT R. Kingston SGT D. Shattock SGT K. Bracey
LAC C.T. Morgan AC1 F. O’Dowd LAC A.D. Parton, W/MECH CPL M. Douglas, ARM CPL J. Wilkinson LAC T.H. Marshall LAC R. Kerr LAC R.N. Taylor AC1 E.F. Marker AC1 F.C. Jespersen, M.B.C. AC2 D. White, I/RPR AC2 W.A. Maras SQLDR I. Scott FLTLT H. Francis SGT R. Cowern PLTOFF A. McConnell FLTSGT H. Haberfield SGT R. Snodgrass SGT P. Gardiner SGT J. Aspray SGT F. Pepper SGT I.W. Walther LAC B. Manning LAC B. Davis CPL S.J. Hough CPL W.R. Croft LAC R.M. Buchanan LAC H.T. Gordon AC1 R.D. Wright LAC K.R. Cossar LAC W.C. Robertson AC1 C.R. Taylor FGOFF A. Henry FGOFF J. Fraser SGT L. Pomeroy SGT R. Harrison SGT A. Mence SGT I. Donaldson FLTSGT R. Smith SGT J. Bartlett SGT J. Hogg LAC W.F.T Hackett LAC H.C. Robson AC1 N.V. Hotham AC2 C.N. Wallis AC1 L.S. Collins LAC M.H. Robinson LAC R.G. Brown LAC D.P. Mitchell LAC W.K. Stagg FLTSGT E.W. Hardaker LAC J.C. Malzard LAC T.R. Hodgson
4 October 1943: AC1 H. Buckingham AC2 A. Upland LAC R. Lunny LAC N. Scott
30 October 1943: FGOFF A. Henry SGT I. Donaldson FGOFF Fraser SGT W. Frame SQLDR J. Agar FGOFF D. Beauchamp FGOFF J. Porteous WGCDR Stead G. Gudsell SGT W. Horgan SGT R. Pooley SGT K. Aldridge FLTSGT B. McLean FLTSGT T. Hennessey SGT G. Howard SGT W. Stokes SGT Bracey FGOFF J. McGrane SGT H. Farmiloe PLTOFF R. Laurenson FGOFF G. Hitchcock FGOFF D. Sheehan FGOFF Beattie Sir Phillip Mitchell M.C. FLTSGT Monk SGT R. Lowther FLTSGT Oliver FLTLT Brewer PLTOFF Watts FGOFF Lockington SGT H. E. Undril SGT J.D. Crookshanks

DUMBO Diary Index to names No.1

I do not see how my history of RNZAF 6 Squadron can have an index that isn't almost the same size as the book, ie 400 pages.
In order to make names findable I am going to start blogging them here. Some names, particularly those of aircraft captains, eg Manz, Sheehan, Agar, etc., occur throughout the book so reference in an index would be almost pointless.
Other names appear only once or twice, they are the LAC and AC1s who get a mention when posted to the Squadron or report to the Base Dispensary. But one mention among thousands of names will be too difficult to index and too difficult to find.
So I will try this method, recognising this is just no.1 of possibly very many.
12 April 1943: SQLDR A. Jury FGOFF R. McHardy FGOFF D. Beauchamp FGOFF G. Hitchcock FGOFF J. Hendry FGOFF R. Scott FGOFF J. McGrane PLTOFF Bentley SGT O’Neill SGT Smith SGT Stephenson CPL Gibbs CPL A. Strother CPL G. Howard
20 April 1943: WGCDR G. Stead SQLDR R. McGregor SGT J. Monk FGOFF T. Brewer (Nav.) FGOFF K. Day LAC Grant LAC J. Bartlett SGT M. McCormick
22 May 1943: D. Mitchell
29 May 1943: FGOFF T. Brewer FGOFF Lockington LAC Grant A/CPL Bartlett FLTSGT Bond FLTSGT Lloyd Sgt Pepper FLTLT Stewart SGT Wilkinson FGOFF Fraser CPL Boatwood A/CPL Holsted SGT Foster SGT Hutchison SGT Bailey PLTOFF D. Wood SGT M. Jennins FGOFF M. Fearn DFM LAC Richards LAC Murphy SGT MacLean SGT J. Copas Sgt Malcolm FGOFF A. Henry SGT I. Donaldson FGOFF Morison LAC Shattock LAC McGregor FLTSGT Adie SGT Davies Sgt Mence
2 June 1943: LAC O. Waddell LAC P. Addison CPL E. Stewart LAC M. Williamson LAC W. Harvie AC1 B. Manning AC1 B. Davis AC1 W. Young AC1 J. Malzard AC1 R. Clarke AC2 N. Tamarua SGT S. Eade.
4 June 1943: AC2 C. Adams, SGT E. Crichton, AC1 H. Gulde, AC1 W. Hackett, LAC C. Holland, AC1 E. Holmes, LAC E. Malcolm, CPL R. McGrath, AC1 K. McNaughton, CPL H. Oxford, AC1 J. Petrie, LAC H. Robson, SGT N. Stewart, AC1 W. Shearer, AC1 J. Sigvertsen, CPL T. Williamson
8 June 1943: LAC C. Chamberlain, AC1 L. Collins, LAC K. Cossar, AC1 R. Ferguson, AC1 R. Fielding, AC1 A. Geary, LAC D. Goodwin, AC1 H. Gordon, AC2 C. Hall, SGT T. Hennessey, LAC P. Leitch, AC2 K. Mulcahy, FLTSGT J. Niven, SGT. A. Oliver, AC1 G. Pike, LAC A. Taylor.
11 June 1943: SGT K. Aldridge, SGT F. Appleton, LAC N. Ashby, PLTOFF C. Best, AC1 N. Brailey, SGT N. Brooks, SGT E. Brown, FLTSGT V. Cairns, SGT. H. Carlyle, AC1 J. Elliottyson, SGT R. Foote, FLTLT H. Francis, FGOFF E. Garnett, LAC G. Gibson, AC1 L. Goldstone, AC2 N. Hotham, SGT D. Hutchins, PLTOFF J. Kirk, LAC K. Langford, CPL P. Maras, FGOFF R. McVicker, LAC G. Morgan, SGT H. Neville, PLTOFF C. Perrett, LAC E. Pinder, PLTOFF J. Porteous, AC1 F. Read, LAC M. Robinson, CPL J. Stewart, SGT J. Smith, FGOFF W. Smith, LAC S. Tatton, FLTSGT H. Thoroughgood, AC2 R. Waterouse.
28 September 1943: FLTLT W. Williams, FGOFF J Bentley, PLTOFF S. Williamson, PLTOFF E. Malzard, PLTOFF C. Perrett (Engineer Officer), FLTSGT J. Niven, SGT P. Walsh, LAC I. Friskin AC1 J. Watts LAC B. McLean, AC1 W. Ambridge, AC2 R. Couchman SGT E. Sheppard CPL F. McGrath CPL J. Butterfield CPL V. Baker, CPL H. Cambie LAC A. Ellis AC2 F. Ayres AC2 R. Connelly LAC W. Dredge, LAC W. Pepper

6 Squadron updates

It seems to be almost a year since I added to this blog but that does not mean nothing has been happening - far from it.

I returned to New Zealand in May/June and October 2010 to meet with 6 Squadron veterans and conduct more research.

There are some highlights from the trip on my Flickr page www.flickr.com/photos/Adelaide_Archivist/4906240157 and my Youtube Channel www.youtube.com/user/ADLArchivist

I am now spending 2011 writing the Squadron history. I would VERY much appreciate hearing from anyone who may have memoirs, memorabilia, photos, diaries, letters, or log books that mention or relate to RNZAF 6 Squadron in the SW Pacific 1943 to 1945. My email address is on the Flickr page.

Walter 'Bill' Leadley 1924-2009 (Part IV)

Memoirs of NZ429151 W/O Walter 'Bill' Leadley as told to Jenny Scott, 1992.

The loss of PBY-5 Catalina NZ4002/B

The morning of the 23rd Artie Day, the station Warrant Officer, informed me that I would be Duty Sergeant for the day. After breakfast I took some books and paper work down to the main gate where the Duty Sergeant hut was situated. Settled in and carried out Duty Sergeant chores for the remainder of the morning that was. After lunch I received the night flying detail and found that Flying Officer McGrane's crew was flying a night navigation exercise, full crew, and Squadron Leader Higgins was using a skeleton crew to do night circuits and bumps.

After reading this report I found the station Warrant Officer at headquarters and asked for a replacement Duty Sergeant as I was night flying. He promptly relieved me of duty and said I was to come down to the duty office in the morning to pick up my papers and bits and pieces. 'OK' said the SWO we will look after that. Then I promptly went to my quarters to get some shut eye.

The NATS Barge was waiting at the jetty when we arrived and also Squadron Leader Hill [JS Note: Bill means 'Higgins' here] and part of his crew. We all boarded the NATS Barge and headed out to Higgins aircraft first. It turned out his Chief Engineer had not turned up so Johnny McGrane lent him our 2nd Engineer. After warming up our own aircraft we started taxiing out to take up point when the NATS Barge approached with our 2nd Engineer. It turned out the missing Chief had turned up.

Airborne at 1800 hours, onboard we had an extra, Squadron Leader McGill who gave us a course to fly for the next three hours with many many changes of course en route. Then he climbed into a bunk and promptly went to sleep. He arose some three hours later to find a pitch black night, not a star in the sky. So away he went, we were totally lost. The WAG got a couple of fixes and we finally arrived over base at 0030 hours.

Control gave us permission to land but then cautioned us to watch out for wreckage. It wasn't until we had buoyed up and climbed into the NATS Barge that we learnt of the tragedy earlier in the evening.

The aircraft Squadron Leader Higgins was flying dived into the sea from approximately 250 feet and exploded shooting a ball of flame some 70 feet into the air, there were no survivors. Approximately an hour later we were having a meal in the Officers Mess when the C.O. came in. Told us to carry on with our meal and then came down and spoke to each one of us. He was very upset, the second PBY loss in only three months. Squadron Leader McGregor with 14 onboard disappeared on a flight back to New Zealand.

On the 24th at 0930 hours I arrived outside the duty hut. I was pleased to get away from my own hut with the two empty beds. Laughter and the joy were gone. Vic's bed was on the left of mine and Cowan's opposite. I thought of the picture of Vic's wife on the chest of drawers between our beds. Anytime now she would be getting a telegram notifying her of her husband's death. I found it hard to accept that quiet spoken friendly guy from Timaru was no more and I had a lump in my throat for the next three days.

I stepped into the doorway of the duty hut and the sun was behind me and slightly above over my right shoulder. I stood there for a moment, eyes getting used tot he gloom inside the hut. Artie Day, the station Warrant Officer was sitting at the desk in front of me writing and without looking up he said impatiently "yes". I was feeling a bit dejected so I replied in a quiet voice, "I've come for my papers Artie". He stopped his writing and looked up at me, then rose slowly to his feet, his face was white as chalk. He spoke in a husky voice, "There were no survivors". From his point of view I was silhouetted by the sun which had given me a ghostly look. I stepped inside and turned sideways and then said "There were two aircraft flying last night Artie." Artie heaved a mighty sigh of relief and said, "Don't ever do that to me again." I just stared at him, "Perhaps I had better re-phrase that" he said, then made polite but sympathetic conversation.

That was Artie Day, our Station Warrant Officer.

[JS Note: 23 September 1943. 6 Squadron PBY-5 Catalina NZ4002/B took off from Lauthala Bay on circuits and bumps night flying exercise. Climbed to 250 feet then crashed back into water killing all on board. Captain NZ1061 Sq. Ldr. Lancelot Higgins (29), 2nd Pilot NZ38108 Flt. Sgt. Vickers Cairns (28), Flight Engineer NZ401038 Sgt. William Cowan (27), Flight Engineer NZ403751 Sgt. Allan Wilson (36).

Walter 'Bill' Leadley 1924-2009 (Part III)

Memoirs of NZ429151 W/O Walter 'Bill' Leadley as told to Jenny Scott, 1992.

To Fiji aboard M.V. Matua

Now back to the grind. From this you will probably be able to get some of your questions answered.

Now the original airgunners, you asked for the names. I am not absolutely positive on this now but I think it was myself, Bob Steele, another chap named Scott which we gave the name of 'Trader Horn' actually and the fourth one was Morrie Death who had quite a job to get a crew understandably, but he did eventually. The other one I cannot recall at this stage, undoubtably someone will come up with the answer on that one.

The main contingent to make up 6 Squadron boarded the good ship Matua in Auckland bound for Fiji on or about the 8th of July 1943. Approximately 120 men on board, mostly aircrew, we arrived at Suva, Fiji, several days later. Most of the bodes on board were suffering from sea sickness. The Matua was a narrow gutted 4000 tonner built a bit like a destoryer and rolled like a son of a bitch.

I was one of the lucky ones and shared a deck cabin with three others, Larry Heath from Waimate, Vic Cairns, Timaru, Ray Freeman, Wellington. No way could you convince me tehn that I would be the only survivor of that cabin. Those three fine chaps would be dead before the end of the war.

[JS Note: 23 September 1943. 6 Squadron PBY-5 Catalina NZ4002/B took off from Lauthala Bay on circuits and bumps night flying exercise. Climbed to 250 feet then crashed back into water killing all on board. Captain NZ1061 Sq. Ldr. Lancelot Higgins (29), 2nd Pilot NZ38108 Flt. Sgt. Vickers Cairns (28), Flight Engineer NZ401038 Sgt. William Cowan (27), Flight Engineer NZ403751 Sgt. Allan Wilson (36).

[JS Note: 13 April 1945. 5 Squadron PB2B-1 Catalina NZ4013 on detached flight at Funafuti captained by Flt. Lt. A.R. Tuckett stalled on take off killing: 2nd Pilot NZ2130 Fg. Off. Raymond Wilkinson (30), 1st WOpAG NZ415531 Wt. Off. William Henry Heath (26), 2nd WOpAG NZ424231 Flt. Sgt. Clutha Ealam (21)]

[JS Note: 27 January 1945. 6 Squadron PBY-5 Catalina NZ4022 captained by NZ428759 Warrant Officer Raymond Freeman (31) took off from Lauthala Bay, deliberately stalled at 5500 feet but failed to recover and dived into the sea near Mbenga Island killing four crew and eight passengers: the Captain, Ray Freeman, 2nd Pilot NZ428101 Flt. Sgt. Walter Geary (31), WOpAG NZ42717 Wt. Off. Frank Wilson (22), Fitter NZ422106 Sgt. Walter Boss (21), Wireless Mechanic NZ425350 Cpl. Ray Allen (26), Fitter NZ402249 LAC Victor McKain (25), Fitter NZ412943 LAC Eric McLeod (25), Radar Mechanic NZ4214366 AC1 John Stafford (22), Instrument Mechanic NZ4311781 LAC John Stewart (20), Wireless Mechanic NZ43217 AC1 Brian Stone (23), Armourer NZ4216200 AC1 Arthur Thomas (21), and Fitter NZ433124 LAC Robert Wright (31).]

Walter 'Bill' Leadley 1924-2009 (Part II)

Memoirs of NZ429151 W/O Walter 'Bill' Leadley as told to Jenny Scott, 1992.

The U.S.S. Coos Bay and H.M.A.S. Hobart.

I will give you the detail on that. I was not flying with my normal crew, I was flying I think with Burgess at the time. I will check the book on the 30th and I will explain that but you have to understand they were very short of gunners and I did fly with other crews on the odd occasion.

Just filling in. There you are. But there you are.

The Treasury early one morning I was looking straight up the into the snouts of a 'Tony' and a 'Val' coming in right on the deck, up the channel, where the U.S.S. Coos Bay was anchored and 'ummm' certainly damaged the blister trying to get the port .5 out to have a crack at them when they shot passed the stern of the Coos Bay slipped up over the coconut palms and dropped their bombs on the bomber strip there. They were after the Mitchells, they weren't interested in anything else and they did a bit of damage at the strip there. I believe some Lightnings took off and caught up with them and both of them were shot down. That may have been propaganda - I don't know.

So there will be little things like that crop up. This is where confusion comes in, there were a lot of things that were probably not recorded.

There is one thing you could do for me that I would like to know. That is we were called off a patrol it was from Espiritu Santo in '43 and we were on the Nauru sector, either 10 or 12 sector, and we got a message and we diversified off that for some 20 minutes where we picked up a light cruiser who had been damaged. It was the H.M.S. [sic] Hobart, the H.M.S. Hobart. She had been attacked by a submarine, her steerage was gone I believe and she was just wallowing in the drink when we got there. We stayed with her about half an hour until the destroyers turned up on the horizon. Two destroyers I think it was and they took her in tow and they towed her back to Espiritu Santo. I would like to have known the date of that [JS Note: 20 July 1943], I just cannot find it in any books here. I would be able to coordinate that attack in my log book with that particular flight. That would be very interesting, the H.M.S. Hobart - cruiser - Australian of course.

W/O Walter 'Bill' Leadley 1924-2009 (Part I)

Memoirs of NZ429151 W/O Bill Leadley as told to Jenny Scott, 1992.

Greetings and salutations from New Zealand.
Rather than put pen to paper I thought it might be easier and quicker to put it on tape. Just a little bit about me for a start.

After the war 31 years orcharding on my own account, I had a small farm as well which I sort of semi-retired to run 50 deer and 300 breeding ewes - not very economic these days.

In 1947 I took out a private flying licence and I carried on flying for about 17 years. I let the licence elapse but did keep my hand in at flying over the years by going to veteran's day and doing a few circuits and bumps. I do have an airstrip on my property here that is being used by the Motueka Flying School at the moment. So we are still well and truely connected with the flying side of life.

You've got a lot of questions there for me to answer. i think I will tell the story as it goes . I've got a bit written down and I will read that out to you and I think that will help answer quite a few of them.

As you know the entries in the logbook were restricted. You could only put a certain amount in and regarding detail you couldn't put anything in. You can understand why, if it fell into Japanese hands. Over that first tour of course we were classified as saboteurs, all aircrew were and if they were captured we were despatched. So we did live under a death sentence there for a year or so and certainly gave us the incentive to run away and live to fight another day.

Of course the Cats role was most definitely not to engage aircraft in combat, it was to take on a defensive roll. Attack submarines by all means, and shipping, but avoid aircraft. You can imagine getting caught at 5000 feet, your belly had been ripped out by enemy fighter craft, you wouldn't be able to put down again in the sea, would you?

OK. little confusion there regarding my name, etc. You ask for name, rank and number, well I will give it to you. Late '39 early '40 I joined the 42nd Blackwatch A Company New Zealand Scottish. It was a Territorial Battalion being formed right throughout New Zealand. As my mother was Scots, to please her, I joined it, although I wanted to anyway, and I was well underage when I joined it I was 16 1/2. Soon as I became 17 1/2 I applied to get into the Air Force and I finally got my transfer through to it in early '42.

I went through Rotorua ITW [Initial Training Wing] and finally came out as an airgunner. I was trained in wireless as my father was a telegraphist in the First World War. He trained all of us and i was actually on the final leg to Canada as a wireless operator and they asked for 16 or 18 volunteers in a hurry, so I promptly did it. Went in as a straight A.G. However I did have the opportunity to remuster as a pilot at a later date. I did not take it, but I took out a private licence in '47 and flew for some 17 years afterwards. I did train on Tigers to, Tiger Moths. However had a great time and that, no great problems and I didn't bend any aeroplanes.

Now I had a twin brother, Edmund Leadley, and as you know my name is actually Walter, but we were nicknamed Bill and Jock. However the confusion arose when I went into the Scottish Regiment. No way they would have me as Bill, so they called me Jock, and when I transferred to the Air Force unfortunately there was a couple of cobbers came through with me and they kept calling me Jock and I had a devil of a job to get away from this namme and there are still members of the 6 Squadron will recall me as Jock and not as Bill Leadley. So there is the confusion.

I finished up as a 2nd year W/O1, my number was 429151 in the Air Force. In the Territorial it was 2/7/100, so it was a pretty early one.

Anyway at the end of the war of course we quietly faded back into the wood work and that was that. Although over the years I have always been involved in rescue work with yachting or tramping, shooting, etc. I have always been involved in rescue work of some description and I am still today tied up with C.D. as a radio operator.

Just before I start on the main story, regarding the story of the San Juan [JS Note see Blog Post 11 September 2009 "Sinking of the San Juan by Bill Leadley"] and the chappy on the duckboard. I would very much love to say he was the 4th man being pulled into the dinghy but I don't believe that. After 30 hours on that duckboard those last few hours he was just lying on it. He was totally exhausted and I believe he just quietly slipped into the water. That was the finish of that.

But it is not a story I put on paper really the event that happened. I cannot change the facts, I wish that was the case.

50 B 28

Fifty Baker Twenty Eight
by an anonymous American pilot
U.S.S. Coos Bay
25 March 1944,



He was over Rabaul bombing
When some flak got in his way
And his engine coughed and spluttered
and then called it a day
He was gliding down the channel
And was cursing at his fate
When suddenly he remembered
Fifty baker twenty eight.

He opened up his R.T.
And he broadcast loud and clear
This plane of mine has had it
And the water's getting near
I'm fifteen south of Cape Gazelle
So please don't make me weight
Just send me out the Dumbo
Fifty baker twenty eight.

So that PBY came quickly
And its fighter escort too
Till they saw the PVs circling
As the PVs always do
They took one look and landed
And I'm happy to relate
They got them all home safely
Fifty baker twenty eight.

Now remember this you fighters
And bombers large and small
If ever you get shot up
While bombing old Rabaul
Just head off down the channel
And get some other crate
To yell like hell for Dumbo
Fifty baker twenty eight.

Vale George Condor Hitchcock 1922 - 2010

New Zealand Herald
Published Thursday, January 21 2010

HITCHCOCK, George Condor, OBE, DFC, MB ChB, MD, FRACS, FRCPA, NZ412006.

Dearly loved husband of Jo, father and fatherinlaw of Jenny and Graham Buchan, Sue and Jon Monk, Mike and Mary Hitchcock, and Anne and Mark Perratt and Grandfather of Alice, Ian, Isabel, Tamsin, Eleanor, Katie, Will, Lloyd and Audrey.

George died peacefully at home on 19 January 2010, aged 87.

His funeral will be at 11am, Tuesday 26 January at St Mary's In Holy Trinity Cathedral, 446 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland.

Donations to Auckland Cancer Society or St Johns Ambulance please.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adelaide_archivist/4106332281/
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/adelaide_archivist/3083460719/
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Diary of Ernest Kenyon Alexander (Part XII)

NZ416235 W/O Ernie Alexander (Navigator)

Part XII : Pacific Ferry Command

These experiences are from extracts of letters that I wrote to my grandfather Mr. A. K. Alexander of Hamilton, N.Z. when I did my aircrew training in Canada.

We were only at Halavo Bay a short time and I received the news about a posting to the Pacific Ferry Command.

We flew to Suva and boarded an American Coronado to San Francisco. After 36 hours flying time we reached San Francisco and from a passenger's point of view we found it quite boring. We had no seats and sprawled over mail bags and general cargo. It made me realise how fortunate I was to be a navigator with something to do all the time. On this trip and others we we flew in Coronados, Skymasters or Mariners.

Our first stop was at Funafuti in the Ellice Islands [Tuvalu], where we refuelled. We stayed overnight at Canton, an American base. It was one foot above sea level and one tree grew on the island. Shaped like a horseshoe, with a lagoon in the middle, everything was white coral. From Canton we flew to Pearl Harbor where spent one day while waiting for another plane. Hundreds of acres of pineapple and sugar cane plantations could be clearly seen from the air. Honolulu is a very cosmopolitan place with every Asiatic race possible. Plenty of Japanese, which rather amused me, seeing we were at war with Japan. However they were born there and probably had no affiliation with Japan. We made the most of our stay and visited Waikiki Beach and saw the fabulous Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

The two crews who flew on this trip were a scruffy lot, all our uniforms being different. Our problem was to obtain proper clothing as we wore shorts in the islands. Our Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Agar [John Agar] wore a drill uniform (Summer Dress) but the tunic had a large tear on the back and he had stitched it up man fashion. Some of the boys wore No. 1 Dress; blue trousers, shirt and tie, but no coat, others had drill uniforms without tunics. I managed to borrow blue battle dress (complete) from Mick Cassidy, but being in a kit bag for a long time it smelled of mould. When a Canadian Group Captain saw us he read the riot act and sent a cable to Air force Headquarters in Wellington. The next trip we were outfitted in new uniforms. Just as well we met him.

We arrived in San Francisco early in the morning and the Golden Gate Bridge was a fabulous sight. After landing at Hamilton Field we were taken to the Fairmont Hotel. It was one of the leading hotels in the city, frequented by Presidents and other nobility. The owners had converted normal $16.00 suites and placed eight beds in them, the result was we had accommodation at $2.00 each per night.

In San Francisco we were placed on day to day leave which meant reporting each morning and having the day free. We stayed six days on this trip and saw most of the sights. We met some wonderful families and were taken to all sorts of places.

Our crews travelled to San Diego by train. We were met by the Red Cross who gave us coffee and doughnuts. The girls had never met New Zealanders before and were intrigued by us. We were billeted in Navy barracks and given delivery of our Catalina. Our job was to test all equipment from every crew members point of view. My main concern was to swing compasses, check astro compasses, drift recorders, sextants and similar equipment. This I did with exacting care because the first leg of the journey was Pearl Harbor, 2,800 miles away. I still remembered my school boy worship of Ulm, and he was lost on this trip by faulty navigation.

We did several small test flights and one big one, about 350 miles out to sea. On one we took two WAVES (American Navy Service girls) and they thought it was great.

In between times we were able to visit most of San Diego. The factories were flat out making war planes. All parks and spaces on the streets were cluttered up with them ready to be shipped to the Islands.

In due course we were ready for our first Ferry trip and after one postponement on account of fog, we took off in the late afternoon. It was my first long ocean flight and I had a few nervous thoughts on it. Nothing between San Diego and Pearl Harbor except two weather ships. I procured the largest maps I could find so that my plotting would be more accurate. Three inches represented about 60 miles, but I also took a smaller one, one inch to 60 miles. The weather was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, but a little hazy in San Diego with fog. Navigation for a start was dead reckoning, drifts, one or two sun shots, and the odd radio bearing. The crew all settled down well, we were all good friends after many trips together and this was a new experience and a certain amount of excitement. Darkness came and we flew at 12,000 feet above 10/10 cloud. It was a sight one could never dream of, a full moon, a brilliant night sky and a thick mat of fleecy cumulus cloud beneath us. From now on it was all astro navigation. I chose the planet Jupiter, the latitude star Polaris and another which I changed with each set of shots. The first fix didn't seem too bad and the following ones indicated a pattern so I was feeling quite pleased. Very soon I discarded the the large scale maps and used the small one, so much for my increasing confidence.

For the rest of the crew it was along vigil. Pilots just sat and kept course except for the odd minor alteration. some of the time they would yarn over the R/T to other crew members, but I never wore my earphones, I was far too busy to natter. The Radio Operator sent M.T.B. (Messages To Base) every hour which I prepared for him, including position and weather reports. The Engineer took readings every half hour and entered them in his log, and served meals.

For my part it was pretty constant, except towards the end. It took about six minutes to shoot three stars, then I had to work them out and plot them. From this it was necessary to work out a new wind and prepare a new position. All results of course were entered in my log. When this was finished you were required to repeat the process all over again.

The most important part of the journey was working out the point of no return. This was a position where it was safer to return to San Diego than proceed to Pearl Harbor. Facors to take into consideration were winds and fuel consumption. We were in a happy position to carry on without incident and eventually stars began to fade and the clouds below us thin out.

After my last star fix I plotted in a new course and relied on drifts for a while. My last astro shot was the Moon which gave a position line right across track. At 400 miles I gave my final course and E.T.A. to Skipper, Bill Mackley, and I relaxed a little. [JS Note: Winston Brooke Mackley 1915-2005] The wind at this stage was very stable and little of it, we were in the middle of a high. All I could do was check on drift and collect an ocassional radio bearin, but they were inaccurate at that hour of the morning.

In due course we could see an outline of a high mountain in Hawaii, and as we came nearer we recognised it as Kaneohe, we were dead on track. The crew all tired by n ow were tickled pink. I don't know what doubts they had they had at the beginning of the journey, but if they had, they were all gone now. They made me feel like a hero, and I must admit I was pleased with the result, because we arrived within half a minute of my estimate. From now on I had every faith in astro. Our trip took 16 1/2 hours.

After we landed we were given a meal and a bed on camp stretchers. We were all in a large dormitory and we slept like logs. While we were there carpenters came in and built partitions around us and we never heard a sound.

The next hops were much shorter. The first to Palmyra Island and the next to Canton Island. The latter was covered in cloud and I worked very diligently because it was so small and could easily be missed. However all went well and my navigation was OK. We finally reached Suva and then were shuttled back to collect more planes.

In due course the Ferry Command work finished and the crew was sent to New Zealand. We went to Wellington and were told we were on the way to England. Skipper Bill Mackley of course won his first D.F.C. over there and received his second in the islands. I was thrilled to be able to stay with him.

Diary of Ernest Kenyon Alexander (Part XI)

NZ416235 W/O Ernie Alexander (Navigator)

Part XI : Treasury Islands - Operations

These experiences are from extracts of letters that I wrote to my grandfather Mr. A. K. Alexander of Hamilton, N.Z. when I did my aircrew training in Canada.

After some months at Halavo Bay, I was sent on a detached flight to the Treasury Islands. Again our crew were among the first to go. For this we only took seven of a crew. Our two new engineers, Bill Harvey and Alby Dower, stayed behind. Bill Harvey carried on in the Air Force after the war and flew for several overseas airways. He finally married a Japanese girl in Hong Kong. Alby Dower is a contract carrier and lives at Manurewa.
Our crew always seemed to be among the ones who were moved on to do something different. We received word quite unexpectedly that we were to go on a detached flight to somewhere. We packed up and took off to the Treasury Islands and landed in a channel between two islands, Mono and Stirling. Our accommodation was rather luxurious, an American aircraft tender, the U.S.S. Coos Bay. We slept in bunks and dined in grand style. I was quite intrigued to use a pop-up toaster, I thought it really something.
Both islands were occupied by N.Z. troops, having taken them off the Japs. On one island an American bomber squadron was stationed, and it was also the base for a motor torpedo boat squadron.
[JS Note: 15 December 1943 U.S. Naval operating base established in the Stirling Islands. Stirling Airfield (Coronus Strip) Stirling Island. 15/1/1944: 339th Fighter Squadron operating P-38 Lightnings moves from Guadalcanal to Stirling Island. 20/1/1944: 75th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) operating B-25s moves from Russell Islands to Sterling Island. 25/1/1944: 106th Reconnaissance Squadron (Bombardment) operating B-25s transfers from Guadalcanal to Sterling Island. 7/3/1944: First Marine PBJ Squadron VMB 413 moves from Espiritu Santo to Stirling Island.]
Every nighta number went out to intercept Japanese troop barges moving from Bougainville to Buka Island and they invariably sunk some.
On Mono Island there was an American anti-aircraft battery, and when we were there it had seven victims, four American planes and three New Zealand ones. They shot at anything in sight and we were warned never to fly over the island. We always came in low and approached the channel without flying over the island. Submarine nets were strung across each end of the channel. Once or twice we went ashore and spoke to the troops, on one occasion I met my cousin, Jim Morrison from Paeroa, and also Stan Malequinn, who later married Roma booth, another cousin from Kerepehi. Stan was laying telephone wires through the jungle and I asked him where to find Jim. He was a stranger then, and we next met at his wedding - a small world.
The army boys had a picture theatre on a hillside. They lay coconut logs on the ground for seats, and it was completely open air. It was named St. James, it was certainly the best (the only one) available. When it rained and it was often, the show would be abandoned. That was the extent of our entertainment.
The only incident on the ship was a Jap raid early one morning. Apparently we were the target, but they missed and destroyed several planes and damaged numerous others. We were only about 150 yards away. The Japs came in very low, the radar missed them, and so did the anti-aircraft guns. I was woken to hear our gunners blazing away and the bombs going off.
Most of our work here was rescue 'Dumbo' jobs. When on a rescue job we always flew up to Mutapina Point on Bougainville Island and circled for about half an hour or so until our escort was ready. We usually had eight Airacobra, or sometimes Lightnings. Mutapina Point was mapped wrongly and was several miles out of position. It was 60 miles from our base and we were usually there in half an hour. The base at Mutapina was only five miles by three miles and triangular. The American Marines landed and pushed the Japanese back far enough to set up camp and lay down several strips.
On Bougainville there were 100,000 Japanese and they were virtually isolated. They obtained supplies by I Class submarines and attempted to grow their own food. the Yanks made a habit of spraying their gardens as soon as they were ready to eat.
Everyday they bombed the perimeter of the base to keep the Japanese quiet. Even then, every so often they would launch an offensive and try and push the Americans into the sea. One day when we were waiting for an escort Jap shells were coming mighty close to us. We had ventured too far inland, we didn't do that again.
Bougainville was very mountainous, Mt Balboa, [JS Note: I believe Ernie must here be referring to Mt Balbi at 2,715 M the highest point on the island] not far beyond Mutapina Point was an active volcano and always steaming. It would not have been a pleasant experience to have crashed on Bougainville. The natives in many places were cannibals and the story went that they decorated their villages with Jap heads.
Almost all our trips went to Rabaul Harbour. Around the town there were five strips and about 20,000 Japanese troops. It was a daily excursion to bomb the place, and we used to watch the planes going in dropping their loads. We were always on the perimeter waiting for the call, "50 Baker 28".
The Japanese radar at Cape Gazelle was quite ineffective for two reasons. One, it was always being bombed, and the other, that we flew almost at sea level, and it was hard for them to pick us up. I think the reason why we were not attacked very much was that the Japanese were too busy licking their wounds after a raid. We could see the fires and smoke quite easily.
An American PBY Catalina at our base had a three inch shell through it one day, but it was a dud.
Our flight made numerous rescues all over the place. Quite often the planes would be nearly home when they ditched. Among those picked up were crews from Liberators, Airacobras, Mitchells, Kittyhawks, Corsairs, Dauntless and Avengers. No plane was immune from being shot down.
The Japanese on the other hand would not accept a ride from a 'Dumbo'. It was a disgrace to be captured and they would sooner commit hari-kari. One plane did land to rescue a Jap fighter pilot, but he waved him away. It was dangerous anyhow because they were known to carry a bomb and blow everything up when rescued.
There were some sad stories concerning rescues. One Liberator crew was doing its last raid and a shell hit the plane and it caught alight. Only four out of twelve jumped, the others couldn't make it. Three landed in the water and one in the jungle. We were involved in this rescue. One American was so thrilled to be picked up he wanted to keep our smoke float we dropped as a marker for a souvenir.
In most cases only one or two of a crew were saved, and quite often they were in bad shape. It is difficult after 25 years to remember all the details, but I do know it was most rewarding to be able to help in saving lives, instead of being involved in senseless slaughter. The look on the face of a rescued person is something I will never forget. The number of lives lost was amazing, particularly amongst the American bomber crews.
In due course we finished our tour and were posted back to Halavo Bay. Before we left the N.Z. 10th Battery Brass Band came aboard the Coos Bay and gave a concert. It was a perfect tropical night and the sound of the music across the water was incredible.
We were at Halavo Bay a short time and I received news about a posting to the Pacific Ferry Command. At the time I did not know I would not see No. 6 F.B. Squadron again, but it was the finish. I was credited with 54 missions plus other flying duties.

Diary of Ernest Kenyon Alexander (Part X)

NZ416235 W/O Ernie Alexander (Navigator)

Part IX : Halavo Bay - Operations

These experiences are from extracts of letters that I wrote to my grandfather Mr. A. K. Alexander of Hamilton, N.Z. when I did my aircrew training in Canada.

Flying was more difficult here. We still did patrol work up as far as Nauru Island and the equator, but hunter-killer operations, search and rescue, and escort duties were also involved.
The weather was shocking at times, and so unpredictable. One day it could be beautiful and the next a raging cyclone. On one occasion our crew flew through the beginning of a tropical cyclone. In the morning our patrol went right through the middle, you could see it over an area of 40 miles. In the afternoon the intensity of it had increased immensely and next day it was on the move.
It was in stormy weather that planes became lost. Navigation aids did not exist, only one or two D/F (direction finding) stations. Because the Americans were used to all sorts of radio aids they were in real trouble in the islands.
We made the first rescue for our squadron when we picked up 10 of a Liberator crew. They ditched during the night about 160 miles north of our base. They were floating in three dinghies tied together. There was a fair swell running and some of them were in a bad way. Bill Mackley landed up wind after we dropped a smoke float or two out to mark where they were. It is very difficult to see anyone in the water with big waves. Finally we drifted back to them, and it was my job to pull them in. As the dinghy came level with the blister of the Catalina, I grabbed a survivor and hung on tight and hauled him in. One dinghy caught on the step of the hull and was punctured. Two grabbed the edge of the flying boat and the third I just managed to hang on to as he was sinking. When all were aboard we made them as comfortable as possible and gave them something to eat. Landing was comparatively easy, but the takeoff was another story.
After I had worked out another course Bill said, "Well here goes". This was one occasion I was really scared, once we were on the move. The waves were very high and Bill tried to take off on a swell. All motors were on full throttle, first one float would dip in, then the other and Bill was fighting like mad. The hull creaked and banged then we would hit a wave with a crash, become momentarily airborne, and back in the water again. Each time this happened the spaces became slightly longer, and eventually we stayed up. How many times we sank back into the sea I don't know, I was too scared to count. Nobody talked for at least 40 minutes, so it is safe to say we all felt the same. The engineers found the hull had sprung hundreds of rivets and we had a fair bit of water aboard. He used all my pencils to plug them, and we sent a M.T.B. (message to base) saying that we would need to come up on the beach. The landing crew were ready as soon as we touched down and ahuled us ashore. An ambulance took the survivors to hospital.
The next day we visited them and most were feeling better, although some were quite sick. The whole crew received a congratulatory message from Island Group Headquarters and Bill received a bar to his D.F.C. He deserved it, we all owe our lives to his great effort.
Weather was always a worry in the Pacific and we were mixed up in some terrible storms. Another rescue attempt our squadron was involved in covered several days, in some of the wildest weather I ever experienced. an American Liberator ditched somewhere north of our base and we were picking up signals from its lifeboat, which operated on 500 K.C. The wind was very strong and it was blown across the ocean at a terrific pace. We did square and creeping line ahead searches at almost nil visibility and navigation was almost impossible, because the pilots could hardly keep a courseand we were only a few feet above the water. From a navigation point of view I was mighty glad to cross a small island which we were able to recognise. Most of the crew were airsick on this trip, but by this time I was a good sailor. We never even spotted the survivors and certainly could never have picked them up if we did. Base received signals for several days and eventually they all perished.
Our crew were involved in several hunter-killer exercises, several all night, again in terrible weather. One trip we flew up and down the Solomons in and out of storms, in the clear patch I took star shots to find where we were.
Our squadron were involved in all sorts of rescues and incidents. Mac Cowern's crew ran foul of a Japanese 'Betty' near Nauru Island. It circled Mac's plane with its four inch cannon trained on it, but for reasons unknown it never fired and flew on. Catalinas were almost defenceless when it came to armament.
Don Beauchamp picked up five Liberator survivors [JS Note: 4 Feb. 1944] near Nauru Island who had been in a dinghy for six days. They said the sharks killed the rest of the crew when they crashed into the ocean. On this trip the radio operator panicked and couldn't get his radio to go, so the Medical Section weren't ready fro them when they came home.
Our Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Ian Scott was taking off one morning on a smooth sea, could not get airborne, and collided with the anti-submarine net. It took a strip right off the hull and they had to fly around for about eight hours before the engineers made temporary repairs. After jettisoning the remainder of the fuel they landed beside an aircraft tender. As they were sinking a hoist was thrown around them to prevent the plane going to the bottom.
[JS Note: Wg. Cdr. Ian Scott's PBY-5 NZ4012 XX-X is hoisted aboard the seaplane tender following the accident in March 1944]
F/O Martin was close to pranging when he went out on his first trip. He struck a lousy day and a mighty rough sea to land in. After several attempts he decided on a stall landing whaich was the correct thing to do. But he stalled about 50 feet up and the plane dropped like the stone. Everyone was on the beach fearing the worst. Crash tenders, ambulances, and the rest were already to go. He made it and we were all glad.
Our crew were detailed to search for an American Lightning pilot who went 'Tropo'. This was a term for people who lost their mind, or to put it mildly, war nerves. We had quite a number in various degrees. At one time he had threatened to spend the rest of the war on the Stewart Islands [JS Note: Sikaiana]. One day he took off with extra fuel tanks and he never returned.
He was armed so we took American guards with us, their job was to capture him. We landed in a lagoon and soon we were surrounded by natives in dugouts and outriggers. Missionaries had inhabited the island before the war, so a number could speak Pidgin English.
They told us the American came alright, but his plane dived into 200 fathoms of water when he landed. We spent a few hours ashore and met the chief whose only word was 'O.K.' This was a greeting, a farewell, and an answer to any conversation we tried to make. I was taken ashore in a dugout, the blinkin thing nearly capsized and I couldn't swim very far.
While in Halavo Bay we received news that Lou Slazenger was killed over Rabaul. He had a premonition that he wouldn't last long and he didn't. It was odd how some felt that way, thinking that the next trip would be the last. This must have been a horrible feeling. As far as I was concerned I never gave it a thought that anything would ever happen to me, yet on looking back it could have dozens of times.
[JS Note: 10 May 1944 NZ422211 Flt. Sgt. Louis Gordon Schlesinger, of RNZAF 30 Squadron, age 32, son of Augustus Schlesinger and Mary Schlesinger (nee Power), of Taupiri, New Zealand, Navigator of TBF-1C Avenger NZ2541 piloted by NZ421350 Flying Officer Alan Bailey,age 33, on strike against Lakunai, Rabaul, hit by flak over target and dived into sea 800 yards off Sulphur Point. Also killed WOpAG NZ413252 Wt. Off. Reginald Curtis, age 22. Source: Martyn, For your tomorrow, 1999]
Our squadron was very lucky, we had excellent ground staff, and what a beggar of a job they had. Ian Walther was in charge and he adopted the philosophy that the palnes must be serviceable by morning. He worked his men hard, all night at times. Many a time we would take over when the ground crew came off our planes. I don't think there was ever a case of engine failure attributable to bad servicing.
Apart from flying, points of interest included a chapel run by the 34th Construction Battalion. We attended this many times, and always enjoyed the singing of the negro choir and the service.
An Auckland benefactor donated a small yacht to our squadron and most of us tried sailing in it. I went with Jack Fox and Ally Dower, and on the return journey the wind dropped and we rowed back, miles it seemed.
I will never forget the American who went on the 'plonk' for about three days. He had a mixture of compass alcohol and coconut juice, and was in a stupor most of the time. His concoction was almost poisonous. I think he nearly died.
Thanksgiving Day was a day to remember. We were treated with Turkey, but those who were late got spam, a mixture of something that was never acceptable. It was second best to the horse meat we were given.
We all took our turn at guarding our planes, slept the night on them. I spent one Christmas on guard, felt quite homesick that time.
After some months at Halavo Bay, I was sent on a detached flight to the Treasury Islands.

Diary of Ernest Kenyon Alexander (Part IX)

NZ416235 W/O Ernie Alexander (Navigator)

Part IX : Halavo Bay

These experiences are from extracts of letters that I wrote to my grandfather Mr. A. K. Alexander of Hamilton, N.Z. when I did my aircrew training in Canada.

After my discarge from hospital our squadron moved to Halavo Bay on Florida Island in the Solomons. Our crew was the first to arrive.

Halavo Bay was a previous Japanese base.

The control tower was built pagoda style, witht he walls made out of palm leaves. On every trip we did it was my job as navigator to collect the weather report, code books and information on the sector we were to fly on.

We rose at 4.00am, had breakfast, were briefed on our trip, and took off. Almost all of them were about 12 hours.

Halavo Bay was not particularly exciting, the rainfall was terrific, something in the vicinity of 250 inches in a year. Other islands recorded 400 inches.

We lived in tents for a start and were virtually surrounded by mud. When the trucks came to collect us or someone else for flying, they inevitably got stuck. So we were woken at 4.00 am whatever happened. With the high rainfall and humidity our clothes were always damp and musty. A lot of our equipment rusted and films stuck in our cameras. The tents often leaked. For a floor we had metal landing strips placed on logs. It never paid to drop anything through the holes because land crabs would take them away. Johnny Cowan, our engineer, dropped his fountain pen, and the last he saw was a crab marching away with it. They were huge animals about 8 inches across the back. A favourite trick of theirs was to climb our tents and slide down. A lot were run over by the trucks.

It was rather startling for the new-comer to listen to the bats. They flew low with a peculiar noise, and of course were hard to see. They were also quite big. The only other odd creatures about were sea snakes in some parts and giant lizards. One chap was leading one around on a rope and it was four feet long. Generally speaking wildlife took off when men arrived.

A native village was about three miles up a nearby stream. Apparently all the women folk took to the mountain tops when the Japs came, leaving the men and boys behind.

Food, the important item was poor, mainly because of the extremely high rate of chlorination and lack of knowledge on the cook's part. I would not be exaggerating to say more was thrown out than eaten. Spam, saukraut, dehydrated potatoes were always on the menu. As aircrew we received special rations. We claimed all we could get and hung on to them. Instead of going for meals we lived on toast and tinned fish, mostly salmon. Our favourite habit was to detail one to go for a meal and if it was satisfactory he would inform us and all would go.

Showers were erected outdoor, cold of course, which were very welcome in the heat. We took Atabrine tablets to protect us against Malaria, but even then some contracted. Our skin went a yellow colour, but that didn't matter, only ourselves to look at.

As at our previous base, we washed our own clothes, but of course we never saw an iron.

Generally speaking that summed up life at Halavo Bay. Writing letters, reading, sacking (sleeping) when we were off duty was all we could do.

Flying was more difficult here. We still did patrol work up as far as Nauru Island and the equator, but hunter-killer operations, search and rescue, and escort duties were also involved.

Diary of Ernest Kenyon Alexander (Part VIII)

NZ416235 W/O Ernie Alexander (Navigator)

Part VIII: Espiritu Santo

These experiences are from extracts of letters that I wrote to my grandfather Mr. A. K. Alexander of Hamilton, N.Z. when I did my aircrew training in Canada.

Our Squadron moved to the New Hebrides after this, at a place called Espiritu Santo. It was a French - British Condominium, but all civilians had disappeared with the war. A few Chinese remained and lived in one area. They wandered around the camp looking for scraps of food. Occasionally hill tribes came down from the mountains on a searching mission. They carried bows and arrows and long knives, but appeared harmless. I can well remember watching them looking for souvenirs which had been discarded by us. One of them found a shoe far too big for him, but he hobbled around in it and was as proud as punch. When one found something they all darted in his direction. In peace time the island must have run several herds of cows. When we arrived they were just wandering about with calves of all ages suckling them. Espiritu Santo was the site of hundreds of acres of coconut plantations owned by Lever Bros., a rather pretty river named Renee went through the middle. We did a bit of exploring and travelled several miles up stream. The jungle was very thick and several places there were malaria mosquitos.

Our camp consisted of Quonset huts spread under coconut trees. The Americans had an excellent anti-malaria unit which kept a watch out for malaria spots. Our squadron was based in Segond Channel, a narrow inlet well sheltered. Warships of all kinds used it too and at times you could hardly move. Pilots had to be very careful landing and taking off. One of our boys, Colin Burgess, water-looped his plane one night and sheared the wing off when he hit a destroyer. A bomb landed on top of an engineer, he was seriously injured and eventually died. At the end of the channel there were submarine nets and another pilot collected one of these when he took off. Several of the crew were killed.

Our flying was mainly patrol work on a different sector every day. Sometimes we were engaged on hunter-killer exercises. This involved searching for a submarine during which aircraft were constantly in the area for 100 hours. Destroyers also patrolled, the idea was that the sub would have to come up sooner or later to charge its batteries and then have to face attack. On one occasion a sub was chased in a 20 mile radius for three weeks. It was attacked many times but crash dived. Eventually we heard no more and could only assume it was on the bottom for good.

We carried anti-submarine bombs on our wings, they were pre-set to go off at a certain depth.

The weather could be quite bad at times and most unpredictable, once it almost led to our undoing. I normally set a course from base, but this time skipper, Bill Mackley, said he would fly up the coast and I could give him a course from a certain Cape. All went well until we ran into a blinding storm, next thing we knew we were heading for a cliff face and Bill took wild evasive action with inches to spare. He must have almost tipped the plane over because everything ended up in the bilge. After this experience a course was set from base. On another occasion our plane developed engine trouble, but we got back without much bother. We found the catalinas were equipped with wonderful motors, they purred away for hours.

We saw little Japanese aerial activity in Santos. However on the anniversary of a certan Prince's death they sent a plane over and dropped a load of bombs. The only casualties were a lot of cows which got in the way.

One of the boys who came back from Canada with us, Ron Payne, was on a Ventura Squadron on the other side of the island. We visited him one day and he was most unhappy. His pilot was anything but safe and had been involved in several close shaves. "He will kill us all one day" he said, and in a couple of moths it happened. They took off the strip which was facing the sea and dived into the drink. all were lost. Ron had been home on leave a fortnight previously and was married during his few days off.

[JS Note: 9 June 1944 RNZAF Ventura NZ4564 captained by P/O Baird travelled from Vila to Santo and bounced when landing on an uneven part of the strip, on attempting to go around again the port wing struck trees and the a/c crashed and caught fire. NZ416152 W/O Ron Payne, 25 (Navigator), NZ414900 W/O Ryder Wakely, 27 (Wireless Op.), NZ4215747 Sgt Alec Miller, 19 (Air Gunner) and NZ40729 W/O Roy Tarrant, 26 (Air Gunner) were killed. Source: Martyn, E.W., For your tomorrow, Vol. II]

We lost several of another crew at Santos. F/O von Tunzleman was on detached flight to Funafuti Island [Tuvalu] and during take-off the second pilot misunderstood instructions with the throttles. They waterlooped, tore a wing off, and almost sank.

I spent a few days in an American base hospital towards the end of our stay in Santos. I contracted piles, and elected to have them removed by local anaesthetic. In the ward there were about 60 servicemen, mostly Americans. It was quite interesting because they represented about 25 nationalities. One chap fought for the Germans in the First World War when he was 16 years of age. Many of them only emigrated to America in recent years. They all had one thing in common, a great love of their new country.

After my discharge from hospital our squadron moved to Halavo Bay on Florida Island in the Solomons. Our crew was the first to arrive.

Diary of Ernest Kenyon Alexander (Part VII)

NZ416235 W/O Ernie Alexander (Navigator)

Part VII: Fiji and Tonga

These experiences are from extracts of letters that I wrote to my grandfather Mr. A. K. Alexander of Hamilton, N.Z. when I did my aircrew training in Canada.

In due course we were crewed up, nine in all. My Skipper (First Pilot) was Bill Mackley DFC. He went to England in 1939 and won his decoration on Whitleys. After we met I discovered I had seen him at a model aeroplane display in Harrisville in 1938. Our farm was next door. Bill joined the RNZAF immediately after and was on operations soon after the war started. He flew with N.A.C. and Air New Zealand for many years after the war.

Second Pilot was Ray Freeman, a brother to the Freeman who was a N.Z. representative cricketer . Ray was killed in a crash near the end of the war.

[JS Note: NZ428759 Raymond Freeman (age 31) On 27 January 1945 Captain of 6 Squadron PBY-5 Catalina NZ4022 took off from Lauthala Bay on test flight following major overhaul. Stalled at 5500 feet but failed to recover and crashed in the vicinity of Mbenga Island. Six passengers and crew escaped the wreckage and were rescued the following day but Warrant Officer Freeman, 2nd Pilot Walter Geary (31), Wireless Operator Frank Wilson (22), Air Gunner Walter Boss (21), Wireless Mechanic Ray Allen (26), Fitter Victor McKain (25), Fitter Eric McLeod (25), Radar Mechanic John Stafford (22), Instrument Mechanic John Stewart (20), Wireless Mechanic Brian Stone (23), Armourer Arthur Thomas (21), and Fitter Robert Wright (31) were lost. Source: Martyn, E.W., For your tomorrow, Vol. II]

First Wireless Operator Gus Knox was trained in Canada and came back with us and continued to fly after the war. Second Wireless Operator Bill Jordan became a barman after the war. The three engineers were Ralph Rigger (First Engineer), Jack Fox (Second Engineer) and Johnny Cowan (Third Engineer). They also took turns on watch and cooked the meals. The straight gunner was Frank Cox, he never liked Catalinas and eventually went onto Venturas.

Suva was quite interesting, but very hot. The meals were very good and all served by Indian boys who padded around in their bare feet. We met a number of families and played a little tennis and also visited the N.Z. Club. However we were only here a month and fairly busy training in our new planes.

One weekend we went to Navua and it was hilarious. We decided to hitch hike and managed the thirty miles in five lifts. To our amazement we found the town consisted of a hotel and two stores. The hotel would not give us a bed because they were short of water and the proprietor and his wife had a violent disagreement. It was well into the afternoon and too late to return to Suva. Eventually a District Commissioner took pity on us. He gave us a Bure, native house, to sleep in. It consisted of one room and all made of thatched material. The roof was about a foot thick and you could see the stars through it. We met the Fijian Chief, a rather big chap and very kind. He detailed a boy called Joey to prepare our beds, which consisted of laying huge mats on the floor. We lay on them in our uniforms, and although very hard slept fairly well. When we woke we found we had spent the evening with feathered friends. A hen and a clutch of chickens were wandering around and in another corner there was a nest of eggs. Next morning we swam in the sea for our morning wash and were invited to breakfast with the District Commissioner. It was very decent of him, because by this time our four had increased to nine, including two stranded Americans.

We went back to Suva in a 'Wog Wagon', a derogative term for a service car driven by the Indians. It only cost us four schillings each. The trip to Navua was our only leave from Suva.

Getting used to flying in Catalinas did not take too long. Once we became accustomed to all the new instruments we were right. This took about 20 hours flying time.

Several aspects of Fiji were quite interesting. One was 'Peanut Alley', a picture theatre where all the locals went, Europeans, Indians, Fijians and Chinese. They ate peanuts all through the performance, and when the show was over the floor was literally covered in shells. Poor cleaner. Another theatre was more sophisticated. Then there were the football games. The Fijians just loved it and played in bare feet. I will never forget the tremendous kicking, it seemed as if they tried to beat one another in reaching the heavens.

Native laundries were quite a thing with all the servicemen about. The charge of 4/- per month was not too bad. However their methods were quite crude, hitting the clothes with sticks or swinging them over their shoulders onto a lump of wood or a rock. Just as well they were made of tough material. A lot of the dirt seemed to remain in the clothes.

An interesting experience was hearing a Japanese plane flying over one night. It was an exceedingly black night and I can remember very clearly hearing the strange motor and seeing the exhaust flame, but nothing else. Several of us saw it. Planes from Nausori went up to intercept but couldn't find it. subsequently we found it was a float plane from a Japanese submarine and was sunk at Noumea three weeks later.

Mail in Fiji was very prompt, only a matter of days. A contrast to Canada which took weeks. A lot of our Canadian mail posted after we left for home caught up with us in Suva.

I caught Dengue Fever while in Suva, a type of Malaria, but non recurring. With a temperature of 104 degrees you felt miserable. Like flu your bones ache and you come out in spots like measles. Later some of your hair comes out.

TONGA

Our first operational flight was at Tonga. Apparently there was a lot of Japanese submarine activity south of the islands, the route of the American convoys. We did patrol duty, flying on a different sector each day. All trips reached double figures in hours, and it was quite tiring rising at four o'clock in the morning.

We lived in Quonset huts, our first experience, and found them quite good. They held about 25 airmen, had a wooden floor and a half circle roof. They were all prefab, and could be made any size. We slept on camp stretchers and found boxes to put our gear in. A mosquito net and a blanket was our sole bedding. Tonga had a pleasant climate, at least when I was there. At night a pullover was all that was needed to make up for the loss of heat from the sun.

After we left Tonga an American troopship was sunk and it was a shocking affair. It carried about 1200 soldiers and over half were lost. Johnny McGrane was on patrol for about 20 hours circling the area. The water was smothered with bodies, oil was everywhere and it caught alight. The ship was on fire several hours before it sank. He said the whole sky was lit up. (See Sinking of the San Juan, by Bill Leadley )

Prior to the detached flight I did two travel trips to Tonga. Our cargo included 15 passengers, six live pigs, eight carcases of mutton one duck, and numerous bunches of bananas. Another time we had 24 passengers.

I never returned to Tonga, but was associated with a Tongan prince later on. His name was Bert Tupou and was educated at Wesley College. He was a pilot and well liked by everyone.

[JS Note: George 'Alipate Tupou volunteered for service in the RNZAF in 1941 and was awarded his flying badge in June of 1943. In September, he was posted to the RNZAF base at Laucala Bay in Fiji joining No. 6 Flying Boat Squadron. He was promoted to Flight Sergeant in early 1944 and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the NZ Airforce in September of that year. He served in different parts of the South Pacific for a year up to 1944. Pilot Officer Tupou was posted to the RNZAF Reserve of Officers in November of the same year. Elevated to the Tongan nobility as Baron Vaea during the course of his service, Pilot Officer Tupou was one of many Pacific Islanders who fought in the Allied cause in World War II. Source: http://69.64.79.247/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1866&Itemid=57]

Our Squadron moved to the New Hebrides after this, at a place called Espiritu Santo ...

Diary of Ernest Kenyon Alexander (Part VI)

NZ416235 W/O Ernie Alexander (Navigator)

Part VI: To the Pacific

These experiences are from extracts of letters that I wrote to my grandfather Mr. A. K. Alexander of 15 Oakley Avenue, Hamilton, when I did my aircrew training in Canada.

[JS Note: After leave in the United States] Our journey back to Canada was non-stop, and we were posted to Halifax, for embarkation. When we arrived we found 7,000 fully trained aircrew waiting for their notices. We were stony broke and had to wait about 10 days for some pay. We had less than we should have had, because Mick Cassidy lost $25.00 and we helped him with his loss. And to cap it all, Colin Bailey was looking through his money belt as he did periodically, and found $2.00 just as our pay came. How we could have helped him spend that $2.00. A money belt was worn around your waist under your clothes and contained many compartments for your money. All servicemen were issued with these.

We stayed in Halifax for six weeks and had a good rest. The course was strenuous and the leave quite hectic, having travelled many thousands of miles. It was good to see some of our friends who trained at other stations in Canada. I don't think we went far afield in Halifax , because we were on 24 hour call. Bob Shewry was one of our course who never came to Halifax. He married a Canadian girl and was posted to the Bermudas. Later he operated from Ireland.

One thing that amused me was when a bottle of Coke formerly priced at 5 cents in a Coke machine, was increased to 6 cents. Their answer was to leave every sixth bottle empty. What a joke it was to be caught with a bottle of nothing.

In Halifax we had time to reflect on the past 10 months. What a wonderful training we had received, we all agreed the Empire Training Scheme was a great success. All the allied nations sent their airmen to Canada to train. In Toronto one station was called 'Little Norway', all the trainees had escaped from Norway in boats. There were Frenchmen, Belgians, Poles, Americans, and all the Empire nations.

Our mail was fairly regular, about six weeks to two months, and as far as I know I never lost any. Censors never worried us, as we soon learnt to keep any mention of the war or our movements out of them.

While in Halifax we received news that several of our mates who went to England as bombardiers were already killed in operations. It was a particularly bad patch in the war, with heavy raids. The Atlantic was also a hot spot with heavy submarine activity. We were told that batches of 20 airmen were being sent across on freighters, as that was the only way. We waited for our turn and then one day a call came. In alphabetical the names were read, Alexander, Bailey, Cowern and so on. We were off to England, we thought. As servicemen we were never told our destination. We said our hurried farewells, "see you on the other side", we cried. On the train and south we went. The next we knew we were in New York. An army truck backed up to our carriage, loaded us in like cattle, took us to the ship, repeated the performance, and the gang plank was up. It was night time and we soon settled into our bunks. The boat was the T.S.S. Akaroa. Next day we discovered we were heading South, but at this stage it did not mean a great deal. We were in a convoy, destroyers and cruisers as escorts, and aircraft and balloons overhead. What a contrast to ten months ago when we were on our own. during that period the German subs sank 400 ships in three months. The Americans didn't realise the reflected lights from the coastal cities were silhouetting shipping and the Germans just sat and waited and picked them off. However blackouts changed that.

In a day or two we knew we were headed for the canal again and it was the Pacific for us. In six weeks we were home and after a weeks leave sent onto the islands. First of all Wing Commander Freeman, later killed on Kittyhawks, interviewed us and said we would fly on Catalinas. What a thrill, on of the biggest planes about at that time.

[JS Note: NZ1026 Wg/Cmdr Trevor Freeman DSO DFC, officer commanding the RNZAF Fighter Wing, on 17 December 1943 flying P-40N Warhawk NZ3153/F and leading 24 aircraft, arrived over Rabaul 1030 hours. Was seen under attack by seven or eight enemy fighters at 1500 feet near Hunter Point, SW New Ireland. Lost without trace. Source Martyn, E.W., For your tomorrow, Vol. II]

Some of the boys were put on Hudsons and Venturas. So in due course I was a navigator on No. 6 F.B. Squadron in the Pacific.

A week in New Zealand soon went and we boarded the Matua for Suva. The temperature rose quickly as it was only a three day trip north. Everyone enjoyed sitting on the deck lapping up the sunshine. the meals were excellent and the cabins first class. shorts were donned on the second day and some of them did not fit too well. One chap, Bill Jordon, a short fat chap found his came below his knees. "If that is what they give me, I will wear them" he said, and he did. He subsequently became 2nd wireless operator in our crew.

It was a different feeling leaving home the second time. Most of the boys were quiet, nobody talked, just wandered to their cabins as the boat sailed. hard to explain how we all felt. Going to a war zone was different perhaps.

In Suva we were sent to Lauthala Bay, allotted wooden huts in a dispersal area. They were small but adequate, about two or four of us in each. One door and four wooden windows which we pushed outwards. We slept on stretchers and had a mosquito net suspended from the ceiling. when you piled into bed you made sure it was tucked in.

Coming direct from a Canadian winter we were all pretty pale even though we passed through the tropics. The mosquitos obviously knew this and enjoyed their feast. For the first ten days they simply ate us alive. They mostly attacked us in the evening when we were taking star shots. We were anxious to perfect our astro and practised quite a lot. In a few days I had my first flight as second navigator. We were aloft 7 1/2 hours and I thought this was terrific. Having meals in the air was a new experience. It made me realise that navigating a flying boat was no walkover and we were going to be real busy.

From the air the islands looked beautiful, the colours and coral reefs were terrific. Lauthala Bay was known as an Operational Training Unit.

It was strange being on a flying boat and landing on the water. The creak as the hull hit the water was quite strange, and if the landing was a bit off we would rise momentarily before we hit again.

After a trip or two I found to my delight I was not being airsick and this was a great relief. After my experience in Canada I wondered just how I would be. Throughout my flying career I was never ever sick again, even though others all around me were. I put it down to the fact that in Canada I was so anxious to do well I must have suffered some sort of nervous anxiety.

In due course we were crewed up, nine in all. My Skipper (First Pilot) was Bill Mackley DFC ...