More than a Name (Central Franklin)

DAWSON Desmond ArthurService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 452616Regiment: 27 Machine Gun BattalionLast Known Rank: CorporalMemorial Board: Karaka Desmond, known as Des, was born 27 January 1923 in Towai which is about 40kms north of Whangarei. Des was the son of Arthur Hartley DAWSON (1894-1980) and Rubina Ellen CLINTON (1898-1984). Arthur and Rubina were married 24 August 1920. Des attended the Towai School through to Standard 6 which he completed in 1936. In 1932 he was awarded an attendance certificate for not having missed over five half days during the year.Des headed south and ended up employed as a Farmhand by Joseph Robert BRYANT in the Papakura area. He was working there when war broke out and Des was called up in the 1941 August ballot, so he filled out the necessary paperwork and had a medical on 2 September 1941. He passed his medical and stood 5 feet 8¼ inches (1.73m) tall, weighed in at 9 stone 12 lbs (63kg) with a fair complexion. His official enlistment date was 11 December 1941 and he spent just over 18 months in New Zealand before being deployed overseas. Des embarked from Wellington on 21 July 1943 on board SS Nieuw Amsterdam as part of the 10th Reinforcements heading for Egypt where they arrived at Port Tewfik on 18 August after brief stops at Hobart and Fremantle on the way. He fought in the Egyptian and Italian campaigns and when he returned to New Zealand he embarked from the Middle East 31 December 1945 on the SS Dominion Monarch(pictured right) and it berthed in Wellington 23 January 1946. After a service of 4 years and 112 days, Des was finally discharged 1 April 1946.On 4 May 1948 Des married Hazel Florence Edith ANDREWS in Whangarei. She was born 2 February 1927 and was the daughter of Frederick Charles ANDREWS (1897-1985) and Florence Mabel WETHERELL (1899-1983). Her parents Fred and Florence were married 4 July 1927. Des and Florence farmed in Towai for the rest of their working lives and raised a family of four. They eventually retired to Whangarei. They enjoyed 72 years of marriage until Hazel passed away in the Kamo Home 20 June 2020 and Des passed away 30 August 2021 also in the Kamo Home and Village.Sources:Service personnel file of 452616 Desmond A Dawson, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampAncestry®, Papers Past, NZ Electoral RollsResearched by Ross Miller49

DAY Alan Edward WoodfordService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 413035Squadron: 253 SquadronLast Known Rank: Flying OfficerMemorial Board: PuniAlan Edward Woodford DAY, who was known as Peter, was born in Pukekohe on 21 October 1920. His father was Alan Percival Day (1887-1965), the Franklin County Clerk, and his mother was Olive Marion née WOODFORD (1887-1979). Peter was the second child of six and had three brothers and two sisters.He was educated at Pukekohe Primary for six years, Puni Primary for 2 years and Pukekohe High School for five years, before attending Auckland University. Pete excelled at sport – he was in the First XVrugby and First XI cricket teams, he was Athletics Champion in 1938 and played tennis, baseball, golf and swimming.A teacher by profession, he enlisted in August 1940 and served with the New Zealand Army, posted to the Auckland Detachment of the New Zealand Scottish Regiment between 1 October 1940 and 19 May 1941. It was then that he transferred to the RNZAF and did his initial pilot training in New Zealand and later in Canada in Saskatoon and Halifax, graduating as a pilot-sergeant.Peter was posted on an Operational Tour with 450 Squadron in Tripoli between January 1943 and May 1943. In March 1944 he was posted to Corsica with 253 Squadron, then to Italy where he flew regular missions over Germany and Yugoslavia. In August he was reported missing, following a crash landing of his plane in enemy occupied territory, five miles west of Sas. He was taken a prisoner of war, at firstat Stalag Luft 111 in Germany, with his prisoner of war number being 7610, then at Lucken Wald where he remained until being liberated in May 1945. On 26 August 1944 he sent a telegram to his parentsapologising for all the worry he had caused and assuring them he was fit and well.He had flown a total of 600 hours, 180 of those on operations.After returning to the UK, Peter married Edith Norma TOLLERUD (1921-1982), also a teacher, on 9 July 1945 in Kensington Registry Office in London. They settled in New Zealand and together they taught in Waihararabefore moving to Canada in 1951.Peter died on 7 April 1982 and Edith one month later.They are buried in Kimberley Cemetery, British Columbia, Canada. The inscription on their headstone reads “They taught well and were loved.”Sources:Service personnel file of 413035 Alan Day, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumNew Zealand Births Deaths & Marriages OnlineResearcher: Heather Maloney50

DUKE James MaitlandService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 17610Regiment: 7 New Zealand Anti-TankLast Known Rank: GunnerMemorial Board: PuniJames was born on 16 October 1918 in Pukekohe and was the son of Alfred George Peters DUKE (1888-1956) and Jessie Wallace MAITLAND (1881-1964). Alfred and Jessie were married on 17 November 1911. James attended Pukekohe Primary School from 4 February 1924 until 19 December 1932. After finishing school, he worked on the family’s farm/market garden on Pukekohe Hill, and he was still employed there when he filled out his attestation papers in July 1940 for service in WW2. From this we learnt that he was 5 feet 5½ inches (1.66m) tall, weighed 9 stone 6lbs (60kg) and was of a dark complexion. He was also a member of the West End-Hill Tennis Club.He enlisted on 6 January 1941 and after a farewell presentation in the Puni Hall for James and four others he was on his way to Egypt on 7 April. James was wounded in action in the Western Desert on 15 July 1942, he was eventually discharged from 23 General Hospital in Palestine on 10 August 1942. He was wounded again on 26 October 1942 but on this occasion, he remained with his unit. James had spent four years and 17 days overseas in Italy and the Middle East when he was discharged from the army on 23 August 1945. According to an article in the Franklin Times on 30 April 1945 James, along with Sergeant G. Hunt, M.M., Pte. C. Rogers, Corporal A. Landon, Driver R. G. Kidd, Pte. L. W. Kidd and L.A.C. Charles Shipherd, R.N.Z.A.F., were given a rousing welcome back in the Puni Hall on Thursday 26 April.After he came home, he announced his engagement in the Franklin Times on 10 December 1945 and on 26 October 1946 he married Melva Joyce BROWN. She was born on 1 October 1928 in Pukekohe and was the daughter of Charles Harold (Monty) BROWN (1891-1964) and Evelyn May (Eva) HART (1890-1980). James and Melva were market gardening on Attewell Road in the Pukekohe/Puni area until around the mid-1950s when they moved firstly to Sandringham and then to Te Atatu where they worked and raised a family and eventually retired. James was employed as a Dairy Factory Worker. He died on 28 August 1991 in Auckland and Melva died on 19 January 2000 in Auckland and their ashes are interred in the RSA Section at Waikumete Cemetery.Sources:Ancestry®, Photo courtesy of Granddaughter ShannonPapers Past, NZ Electoral RollsOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumService personnel file of 17610 James Maitland Duke, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampResearched by Ross Miller51

EDMISTON Alan CampbellService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 431169Squadron: 101 SquadronLast Known Rank: Warrant OfficerMemorial Board: KarakaAlan Campbell was the second eldest of four boys born to Allan James EDMISTON (1890-1976) and Alice Russell McGARVIE (1894-1973). Born in Mt Eden, Auckland on 13 May 1924, Alan moved north with his family to Rehutai when his father bought a dairy farm there. He attended Dargaville High School and together with his elder brother, Douglas was a member of the Dargaville Harrier Club. After war broke out, the family moved to Karaka and while still at school, at the age of 18, Alan was called up for military service on 24 June 1942. He joined the RNZAF and began training at the RCAF, No. 5 Air Observer School in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 28 February 1944 under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). Flying on Avro Ansons, Alan took his first flight as Navigator on 9 March 1944 and graduated as a Navigator on 14 July 1944 after 110 hours flying time. While in Winnipeg, he recorded messages to his family at local radio station, CKY that were then shipped back to NZ for broadcast. Embarking to the UK, Alan trained at No.9 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit at RAF Llandwrog in north Wales, again on Avro Ansons. In November 1944, Alan then moved to No.11 Operational Training Unit at RAF Oakley, Buckinghamshire training on Wellington bombers and then in early January to RAF Wescott of which RAF Oakley was a satellite station. On 14 January 1945 he was promoted to Flight Sergeant. On 13 March 1945, Alan began training at No.1662 Conversion Unit at Blyton, Lincolnshire flying the Avro Lancaster. He then moved together with the crew he had been training with at Blyton to Bomber Command 101 Squadron at RAF Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire. His first operational flight was on 18 April 1945, a massive bombing raid together with 968 other aircraft against the German naval base and airfield onHeligoland. The raid successfully rendered the island unsafe, and it had to be evacuated. On 25 April 1945, Alan took part in a 359 bomber raid on the Obersalzberg complex in Berchtesgarden, which included the Berghof, Hitler’s country lodge in the Bavarian Alps. On 4 and 5 May 1945, Alan took part in Operation Manna, dropping food supplies to the starving population of Rotterdam. These humanitarian missions over the still Nazi-occupied area of the western Netherlands had to be performed at extremely low altitudes (400-500 ft) as the cargo did not have parachutes. After VE Day, Alan flew on 9 May and again on 11 May, to Melsbroeke Airbase in Brussels on Operation Exodus, repatriating Allied POWs. During August and September 1945, Alan flew several missions to both Pomgiliano and Bari in Italy as part of Operation Dodge, repatriating US soldiers from the Mediterranean arena. Alan was promoted to Warrant Officer on 14 January 1946. Alan returned to New Zealand via Suez to his family who had moved to Milford on the North Shore.He worked at the Naval Base in Devonport where he met Jeanne BRADY. They were married at St Peter’s Church, Takapuna on 17 March 1947 and had two children, Carolyn and John.Alan became a successful businessman, establishing Edmiston Ward Ltd, manufacturing Holland Blinds, with a factory first at Barrys Point Road, then in the Wairau Valley. Jeanne passed away in 1965 and Alan married Bonnie Dwyer in 1969. He passed away in 1979 after a long battle with cancer.Sources:Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial Museum, NZ Gazette 24 June 1942Edmiston Family records, including Alan’s Flight logbookResearcher: John Edmiston – son52

EDMISTON Douglas JamesService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 416420Squadron: 58 SquadronLast Known Rank: Warrant OfficerMemorial Board: KarakaDouglas James was the eldest of four boys born to Allan James EDMISTON (1890-1976) and Alice Russell McGARVIE (1894-1973). Born in Auckland on 23 October 1920, he attended several primary schools as his family farmed in Avondale, Matamata, and Papatoetoe during those early school years. The family moved to a dairy farm at Rehutai near the Dargaville coast and Douglas cycled the seven miles every day to attend Dargaville District High School. Douglas was tall and athletic and played football and cricket for his school and later was a member of the Dargaville Harrier Club, winning many trophies and was twice the club champion. At the time of applying for aircrew training on 18 September 1940 he was employed on a local farm by J.G. WILSON. His parents had shifted to Karaka prior to Douglas entering camp at Levin for initial training on 30 November 1941 and after just three weeks he returned to Karaka to say goodbye to the family before embarking on the Dominion Monarchon 8 January 1942 for Halifax, Nova Scotia to train in Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme, initially in Winnipeg, Manitoba then in Lethbridge, Alberta. While there he was awarded his Wireless Operator Air Gunner’s badge and promoted to Sergeant on 26 October 1942.Douglas embarked for England on 23 November 1942 and on 2 January 1943 proceeded to No 10 (Observer) Advance Flying School in Dumfries and then No 11 Radio School in Cheshire. More training occurred at Bridgnorth and Cranwell where he trained on the Wellington bomber and then at Haverfordwest. On 1 June 1943 he was promoted to Flight Sergeant before arriving at Thornaby on 6 July 1943 for training on the Halifax bomber. On completion of this course, he joined Coastal Command 58 Squadron at Holmsley South in Hampshire in late August 1943. From Holmsley and later St David’s, Pembrokeshire, during the following 13 months, Douglas carried out 47 operational flights as a Wireless Operator/Rear Gunner clocking a total of 725 hours. These included anti U-boat patrols and shipping strikes in the Bay of Biscay. In June 1944 he was promoted to Warrant Officer, moving with 58 Squadron to Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis. In September, on leave in London, he met up with his younger brother Alan Edmiston (101 Squadron). It was the last time anyone from his family would ever see him. Having completed his tour of duty and with just days before he was due to return to NZ he volunteered for a routine flare-dropping training flight. Halifax HX158 took off at 7:10pm on 16 October and never returned to Stornoway. At 11:13pm the radar plot faded, and a naval vessel reported seeing an aircraft crash into the sea 10 miles southeast of Shiant Island towards the Isle of Skye. Douglas’ body was never recovered. He is remembered on Panel 263 at the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial in Surrey, UK and in the Auckland War Memorial Museum, WW2 Hall of Memories. He is also remembered on the Papakura-Karaka War Memorial, the Northern Wairoa RSA Memorial at Dargaville and the NZ Sector of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Memorial in Winnipeg.Sources: Online cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial Museum, biography written by his father; Obituary, NZ Herald; Edmiston family records including Douglas’ Flight LogbookResearcher: Nephew, John Edmiston53

FELL Francis George KennerleyService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 437261Regiment: 24 BattalionLast Known Rank: Lance CorporalMemorial Board: PuniFrancis George Kennerley FELL, known as Frank, was born on26th March 1922 at Okoroire. His parents were Walter Francis FELL andConstance Barbara LEIGH who married the year before Frank was born. Frank had one sister, Yvonne.Frank attended Pokeno Valley School, Onewhero and then Puni School from 1936. His old school didmuch to memorialise its boys marching off to war armed with their Puni School education.Immediately after World War II the school built a swimming pool as a monument to those who hadserved.Frank was working for his father, sharemilking, when he wascalled up. He was posted to Egypt and left Alexandria for Italyon 5 October 1943, arriving four dayslater at Taranto. Fifty-twodayslater a mortar bomb gouged a wound in his chest as big ashis hand and fractured two ribs. A week later he wassentsouthto Bari Hospital and remained listed as seriously ill until 16thJanuary 1944. He remained in hospital until 18 March when hereturned to New Zealand. He was medically discharged on15 July 1944. Frank’s role in Provost Corps meant he wasmilitary police, policing within the armed forces.After the war Frank settled back into sharemilking with hisfather at Puni. In 1948 he married Joyce CARTER and by 1949they lived in Paerata where Frank continued with farm work. They later moved to East Street in Pukekohe. Although his work changed, the couple remained at thataddress for many years. Over the years he worked as a truck-driver, a store-man and meter-reader.By 1981 Frank and Joyce moved to Seddon Street in Pukekohe and lived there when he retired.Frank was 68 when he died on 10 August 1990. Graham’s Funeral Services arranged his funeral whichwas held on Monday 13th August. Joyce died on 23 July 2007 when she was 83 years old. A memorialplaque for the couple is at plot 271 in the RSA section of Pukekohe Cemetery.Sources:Service personnel file of 437261 Francis Fell, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War memorial Museum - for photoNZSG Kiwi Index for school recordsPapers Past for Franklin Times articleElectoral rolls for occupations/addressesFind a Grave for burial / family detailsResearcher Karen BowmerFOR CAMPTERRITORIAL SERVICEANOTHER DRAFT CALLED UPThe following young men of this district have been called up for service with the Territorial Force. The names appeared in the Gazette issued yesterday: (included)Fell, Francis George Kennerley, farm hand, care of W.F. Fell, rural mail delivery, Puni, Pukekohe.Franklin Times 30 April 194154

FERGUSON James AlanService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 73562Regiment: 29 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: PatumahoeJames Alan, known as Alan, was the son of James FERGUSON (1859-1931) and Gilmour née HARLEY (1872-1933). Born on 21 March 1908, he was the fourth child in a family of eight and had four brothers and three sisters. Alanstarted school at Papakura but transferred to Ardmore in August 1914 as a foundation pupil and left there in December 1921. He moved to Patumahoe area as a young man where his sister was living and was working as a dairy farmhand for Robert MEMBERY when he was called up in 1940. Alan embarked from Napier on 9 March 1942 for Fiji, where he was to serve with 29 Battalion until July when he returned to New Zealand on the USS President Coolidge. On his second tour, he disembarked at Noumea on 1 January 1943, serving in Treasury Island, New Caledonia and Guadalcanal until he was called home due to the shortage of manpower for essential industries like farming. He left New Caledonia and arrived back in Auckland on 8 June 1944.Returning from the war, he married Ruby Doris BEAMS (1915-2003) in 1945 and went farming again, working for his brother-in-law, Ellis Kingsley WRIGHT in Patumahoe, then moving to Linwood Road where he worked as a sharemilker. It was while living here that their two daughters Janet and Gay were born. They moved to Papakura in the late 1950s and Alan was employed as a carpenter for many years before joining the Papakura Council combining his two loves of gardening and the outdoors.Family was everything to Alan and he was to have two grandchildren, Ivan and Debbie, who considered themselves fortunate to have had many years enjoying his ability to laugh at life and not taking himselftoo seriously. Always very active and hardworking, after retirement he took a part time job for several years at the Papakura army camp doing maintenance and odd jobs. During this time, he had a chance meeting with the author of ‘Stepping Stones to the Solomon’s’ while he was visiting the Papakura army camp. The author was delighted to meet someone who had served in this campaign and gave Alan a copy of the book along with the photos that he used in it. An avid gardener with an abundant veggie garden, he enjoyed sharing the produce he grew with family, friends and neighbours. Alan enjoyed playing bowls for the Papakura RSA and Papakura Bowling Clubs.He loved horses and a flutter on the GG’s. Every New Year’s Day he could be found at the Ellerslie races honouring the Ferguson family traditional annual catch up!Alan died on 13 March 1990 and his ashes are in the RSA wall at Papakura cemetery. Ruby died in 2003.Sources:Service personnel file of James Alan Ferguson, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampFamily information and photo: Granddaughter DebbieResearcher: Heather MaloneyAlan (on right) at his 80th birthday with brothers Colin and Ken.55

FITZPATRICK JohnService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 64390Regiment: Infantry BrigadeLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: KarakaJohn was born 1 September 1913 in Llanhilleth, Wales, to Thomas (Tom) andEllen (JONES) FITZPATRICK with one older and one younger sister. John immigrated to New Zealand with his parents in 1914 when he was ten months old.John attended Karaka North School in 1920 when there were about 20 pupils. He and his sister “Biddy” walked to school. For his last year he went to Karaka South School, riding his pony Betty to school. The family moved around the district working on various farms until his father tendered for a milk run contract and bought a truck. John left school at 13 to work at home. This allowed his father time off to do the cream run. In the autumn of 1927, the family shifted to a seven-acre property owned by Mr SHARPE on Beach Road where Tom continued the cream run and general carryingbusiness. In 1930 John won a tender for the Town Supply milk run, being a morning and night collection, mainly 20-gallon cans. He continued this work until he won the tender for the outer Karaka cream run mid-1935. On his run he would give lifts to children going to Te Hihi School. Tom and John continued the cream run, general carrying and a Bobby Calf collection until the war years.John left for service in the 6th Reinforcement of 1941 and sailed to Egypt. No sooner had he reached Egypt than dysentery stuck and for over three months he was confined to hospital too weak to walk.He served in the Transport Section for some time in Egypt. On 13 April 1944 he left Cairo Main Station on the way home, spending five weeks in Bombay, then nine weeks in Melbourne before getting a Dutch boat and arriving in Wellington 15 August 1944. After John went to Cairo, Jack MARSHALL took over the cream run, however he was called up so John’s sister Biddy took over the run until she was man powered into the Army. When John arrived home the run had been lost due to Biddy’s being taken into the Army.John married Lillian LOW, and they had seven children. John then became involved in the cartage of peas to the factory in Urquhart Road. He also did general cartage of livestock, coal and firewood.In 1958 John gave up the trucks and his next job was chauffeur for Bill RABBIDGE at the Globe Hotel, and a barman when required. Following that, he worked for Hellabys in Otahuhu and Pukekohe.He lived on Hingaia Road in retirement with failing eyesight, but he had a great memory of the history of the area. John died 8 December 1998, and was buried in Papakura.Sources:Fitzpatrick Story by Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Karaka MuseumResearcher: Rachael Hill 56

FLAY Geoffrey AlexanderService: Royal Canadian Air ForceService Number: 421694Squadron: 489 SquadronLast Known Rank: Warrant OfficerMemorial Board: KarakaGeoffrey Alexander was born to parents Edwin Langford FLAY and Marian Elizabeth née KEMP on 14 July 1922. He was the youngest of eight, having four brothers and three sisters, and was known as Geoff.After enlisting Geoff went to train with the Royal Canadian Air Force at No. 12 Service Flying Training School, Brandon, Manitoba, graduating 22 January 1943. From there he went to Royal Canadian Air Force, No. 31 General Reconnaissance School, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Quebec. Geoff was posted to 132 Operational Training Unit and 489 Squadron during his service in the United Kingdom.Geoffrey married Elsie Gertrude BISSELL on 28 July 1943, at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They had three children; Arthur, Mervyn and Ruth.Geoff was reported missing on 14 June 1944, while posted to 489 Squadron (RAF Langham, UK). He was flying a Beaufighter off the Dutch Coast at 0513 hrs, and while attacking enemy shipping, was hit and grounded. It was later reported that he was captured that same day as a Prisoner of War and held at Stalag Luft VII (Allied airmen camp Stalag 7). This camp was located in Silesia, now Bakow in Polandand had only been opened about a week earlier on 6 June 1944. He was held at Stalag Luft VII (with POW # 160) until shortly before he was reported safe in the United Kingdom, on 29 May 1945. Geoff returned home on the Mohawk Park into Wellington, September 1945.Geoff flew six different aircraft during his enlistment, with total flying hours of 481 hrs.He was awarded the 1939-45 Star and the Atlantic Star for aircrew duties while posted to Operational unit/s in 1943/1944, the Defence Medal for his service in Canada and the United Kingdom in 1943/1944, the War Medal 1939-45 and the New Zealand War Service Medal for his service in New Zealand in 1942, prior to embarking overseas with the RNZAF. These medals all were issued to Geoff in 1960.Goeff farmed in the Maramarua district and worked at Maramarua golf course.He passed away on 1 March 2014, at Tararu, Thames.Sources:Service personnel file of 421694 Geoffrey Flay, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial Museum and Karaka MuseumResearched by Rachael Hill57

FOSTER Walter JosephService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 32433Regiment: Provost CorpsLast Known Rank: CorporalMemorial Board: MaukuWalter (Wally) Joseph FOSTER was born on 31 July, 1913 in Otahuhu, Auckland, to Joseph Foster and Siblia Frances MARIA. His father was born in England and immigrated with his family to New Zealand in the late 1870s. They settled in the Far North and then moved to Mauku, Franklin where he started farming. Wally had four sisters; Sybil, Eileen, Iris and Ev. Wally completed 2 years secondary schooling at the Pukekohe High School.While in the Auckland Territorials Force, he competed in shooting competitions and won several team events for Lewis Gun shooting at the Auckland Military Rifle meetings. Wally enlisted on May 16, 1940, and was assigned to the 6 Anti-Tank unit. He departed New Zealand for Egypt on August 27, 1940, arriving in Bombay, India, on September 15. He switched ships there to continue his journey, disembarking at Port Tewfik, Egypt, on October 2, 1940.Upon his arrival in Egypt Walter was posted to the New Zealand Provost Corps, the predecessor to the New Zealand Military Police. With the Provost Corps Wally served in Greece, Crete and North Africa. His Provost duties included road patrols, signposting, convoy escort, supply and equipment protection, POW management and liaison and control of native populations.On his return to New Zealand, Walter embarked from Egypt on the ‘HMV Nieuw Amsterdam’ on15 June 1943. He disembarked in Wellington approx. 12 July. He was discharged from service on Christmas Day, the same year.Wally married Peggy Stubbing in Wellington on June 28, 1940 and they had a son named Michael Wayne.Wally passed away 12 December, 1995 in Papatoetoe at the age of 82 and is buried in Manukau Memorial Gardens. Peggy died 23 May, 2009 in Papakura, Auckland, at the age of 88 and is buried in Mangere Lawn Cemetery, Auckland.Sources:Service personnel file of 32433 Walter Foster, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumPapers Past, Ancestry®Researched by Ian Shackleton58

FOWLIE Albert EdwardService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 402372Regiment: Service CorpsLast Known Rank: DriverMemorial Board: KarakaAlbert was born on 1 December 1918 the youngest of six children born to William FOWLIE and Catherine née McCULLOCH.When his mother died in 1921 the children were fostered by various relatives and Albert, also known as ‘Chook’, was taken in by his uncle who farmed at Karaka. At the age of 7 he was enrolled as a boarder at Dilworth School where he was student number 316 and was in Dungannon House until he left at the end of 1934 when he then returned to the Karaka farm.In c1943 he joined the Army and was assigned to the Army Service Corps, 3 Division. His service took him to the Pacific campaign. It was here that he developed a friendship with his tent mate Reg (Darkie) DAVIS. At the completion of his war service, in November 1944, he was invited home to the Davis household. After several visits, he struck up friendship with Darkie’s eldest sister Joyce. After a whirlwind romance they married in Auckland on 28 June 1946, two days before her 19th birthday.After the birth of their son William (Bill) on 23 April 1947 the family moved to the isolated hydro village of Mangakino. A daughter was born in the village on 1 August 1949. Living was tough and the marriage deteriorated and ended in 1951. Albert gained custody of the children who were initially fostered by the larger Fowlie clan. Returning to Auckland he found work with his Uncle Douglas’s brother in-law who had a road sealing business. In 1952 he married Gladys BELL and moved from Auckland to the fledging timber town of Tokoroa where he was employed as a Tally Clerk in the sawmill. Albert and Gladys were a volatile couple but despite the pressures a new home was built in 1961 at 71 Bairds Road, Tokoroa. Albert changed his job a couple of times and his last position in Tokoroa was as a groundsman for the County, a job he loved as it included preparing the cricket wickets at the Memorial Sportsground. The marriage was not to last and was dissolved in the late 1960s. Albert once again moved to Auckland where he found work as a storeman at the South Auckland Freezing works. He retained this job until his retirement in the late 1980s. Albert married Gladys THOMAS in 1973 eventually buying a 3-bedroom home in Papatoetoe. It was at home in the early hours of 6 June 1999 that he passed away from lung cancer. He is buried in the RSA section of Manukau Gardens Cemetery.Albert’s greatest interest was cricket. His proudest achievement was to introduce cricket to both Mangakino and Tokoroa. Albert was entrenched in his cricket activities as groundsman, player, selector and Secretary, the latter being rewarded by Life Membership of the South Waikato Cricket Association for 14 years of service, 1956–1970. Albert was a keen gardener and wherever he resided there could always be found a flourishing vegetable garden. He was proud of his war service and was a staunch member of the RSA, regularly attending 3rd Division reunions.Source: Written by William (Bill) Fowlie, son of Albert59

FRANKE Alfred EdwardService: Royal New Zealand NavyService Number: 1556Last Ship: HMNZS BellonaLast Known Rank: Stoker MechanicMemorial Board: Karaka Alfred was born 17 September 1918 to parents William Robert FRANKE(1888-1968) and Sarah Violet née WHALE (1891-1963). Being the middle child of five he had two older brothers and two younger sisters. He spent his childhood on his parents’farm on Karaka Road, Runciman.Alfred enlisted 29 October 1937, joining the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy. He was posted to the following shore bases between the following dates in WW2. HMNZS Philomel (RNZN shore base Auckland), between October 1937 and 20 March 1938, and between 23 June 1942 and 30 October 1942. HMNZS Tamaki (RNZN shore base, Auckland) between 1 November 1942 and 4 December 1942. He was released from Naval Service until January 1943 but was again posted to HMNZS Tamaki where he served until 17 December 1944.Once the war began, he was posted to HMS/HMNZS Achilles in Atlantic waters, serving there from 3 September 1939 to 22 June 1942. He was a River Plate Veteran. From the Achilles he was posted to HMNZS Gambia in Pacific waters, being part of the British Pacific Fleet from 18 December 1944 to 2 September 1945. Alfred was then posted with HMNZ Gambia into Japanese waters as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, known as J Force. The Gambia was present at the signing of the Surrender of Japan.Alfred also served on HMNZS Bellona between 30 July 1946 and 29 January 1948. The Bellona replaced the Gambia and Alfred was posted to this ship on her maiden voyage to New Zealand in late 1946, arriving in Auckland 15 December 1946. He was discharged 28 October 1949 after demobilization.He was awarded the War Medal 1939-45 and the NZ War Service Medal for his service in early 1942 in NZ, before departing for the Pacific theatre. The award of the NZ Operational Service Medal, the NZ Service Medal 1946 - 49 (J Force) and the NZ Defence Service Medal were all for Alfred’s service on HMNZS Gambia during the early days of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (particularly the Surrender Ceremony) in late 1945.Alfred never married and lived with his parents. He was a cooper in the late 1950s before working on his parents’ farm at Weymouth. He had retired to Papakura by 1972.He died 15 July 1995 and his ashes were placed in the RSA wall at Papakura Cemetery.Sources:Service personnel file 1556 Alfred Franke, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampNew Zealand electoral rolls and Births Deaths & Marriages OnlineResearcher: Rachael Hill60

FRANKE Allan RobertService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 74938Regiment: EngineersLast Known Rank: SapperMemorial Board: Karaka Allan Robert Franke was born to parents William Robert FRANKE and Sarah Violet WHALE on 17 February 1917. He was the second eldest of five, with two brothers and two sisters. Allan completed his Primary schooling at Karaka Primary School.After leaving school he was farming on his father’s farm. Allan was also in the Territorial force prior to enlisting.In 1941 Allan had married Ruby Elizabeth RASMUSSEN after meeting at a dance at Drury. They dairy farmed in Karaka. Parents to five children, three girls and two boy and were married for 70 years.Allan enlisted 10 May 1942, and by 21 May, Allan had embarked from Auckland, on the ‘SS Rangatira’ for the Pacific arriving at Suva, Fiji on 25 May 1942. Three months later on 14 August 1942 he returned to New Zealand.On his second tour of the Pacific, Allan left from Wellington on 2 February 1943, on the ‘USS Fuller’, as part of Kiwi Force. Arriving in Noumea, New Caledonia, 8 February 1943.In August 1943 Allan moved to the Operational area of the Pacific (Solomon Islands), again on the ‘USS Fuller’ arriving at Guadalcanal (code name: Mainyard) in the Solomons a few days later. In April 1944 Allan was returned to New Zealand from the Pacific for Essential Industry requirements, due to a shortage of manpower especially in farming. Leaving Guadalcanal in April he disembarked in New Caledonia later the same month. It wasn’t until 3 June 1944 that Allan re-embarked from New Caledonia on the ‘USS Rochambeau’ to return to New Zealand and to farming. He was discharged on 18 July 1944.Allan was awarded the 1939-45 Star and the Pacific Star for his service in the Solomon Islands, and the Defence Medal for six months service in Fiji and New Caledonia.He was also awarded the War Medal 1939-45 and the New Zealand War Service Medal for his service in New Zealand in 1942, prior to deploying to the Pacific.Allan had a lifetime interest in cars, purchasing many along the way, possibly up to 60. Retiring to Papakura, Allan died 07 July 2012 at Middlemore Hospital, with his ashes placed in Papakura cemetery.Sources: Service personnel file of 74938 Allan Franke, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampKaraka MuseumDaughter JudyResearcher: Rachael Hill 61

FRANKS Jack RylandService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 455596Regiment: 24 BattalionLast Known Rank: Lance CorporalMemorial Board: Karaka Jack was born to parents Ryland Joseph Meddlie FRANKS and Mary néeBROSNAN on 1 October 1922, having an older sister and a younger brother. His occupation prior to the war was a truck driver. Jack enlisted on 1 October 1941, but didn’t embark from Wellington until 12 January 1944. He was aboard the SS Mooltan (HMT 82) as part of the 11th reinforcements. They had stops in Hobart, Fremantle, Bombay and Aden before disembarking at Port Tewfik, Egypt on 21 February 1944.From Egypt Jack was posted to Advance Base (Italy Campaign), embarking from Port Said, Egypt on 12 April 1944, and disembarked in Taranto, Italy a few days later. Jack was wounded in action on 14 July 1944 in a failed attack by C Company of 24 Battalion at Monte Camurcina (near Monte Lignano, in northern Italy). He received two gunshot wounds to his upper left arm, each being two inches long and was admitted to hospital. He remained there until19 August 1944, when he was discharged back to his unit. On 16 Oct 1944, Jack was again wounded, this time by an accidental discharge of a hand grenade near Rimini (further north-east in Italy). It exploded about six yards behind him, and a fragment penetrated by an entry wound about ¼ inch in diameter into the lower spine area. He also received wounds four inches in diameter without any fragments. Jack remained in hospital until May 1945. He embarked from Italy on 26 May 1945, aboard the British hospital ship HMHS Captain Saint Jacques. He was returned to Egypt, from where he then embarked to Trincomalee in Ceylon. On 4 July 1945 he was transferred (and admitted) to another British hospital ship ‘HMHS Vasna’. The voyage to return home from Italy to New Zealand was to take nearly ten weeks to complete. Jack disembarked on2 August 1945 in Wellington, New Zealand, and was later given a Medical Discharge on26 September 1945. He carried shrapnel near a main artery for the rest of his life.Jack was awarded the 1939-45 Star and Italy Star for his service in Italy during WWII. Also, he was awarded the War Medal 1939-45 and New Zealand War Service Medal for his service in New Zealandin 1941, prior to departing overseas. After the war Jack married Clementina Annie Rae McKAY (known as Rae) in 1949. They had four children; Laurence (Laurie), Clive, Lynda and Kelly. He had property in Karaka and later Runciman.Jack’s interest was in breeding top show ponies. Many a young rider benefitted from riding his classy ponies. He was a hard worker for local A&P shows, horse shows and eventing.Jack died 14 February 1997 of heart disease and is buried in the Papakura Soldiers’ Cemetery.Sources:Service personnel file of 455596 Jack Franks, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampNew Zealand Births Deaths & Marriages OnlineResearcher: Rachael Hill62

FRASER Allan RoyService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 425360Squadron: 30 SquadronLast Known Rank: Aircraftsman 1st ClassMemorial Board: PatumahoeAllan FRASER was a great supporter of the RSA in Morrinsville and in other areas. After he retired he often helped out at the RSA with bar work, maintenance and administration. He travelled around Australia and New Zealand in his 1950s camper van, called Gertie, and enjoyed tracking down old Air Force colleagues. He visited many RSA and RSL clubs on his travels. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the King’s Empire Veterans (N.Z.) Inc in 2012, acknowledging his service to the organisation and his comrades.Allan was born in New Plymouth, 17 March 1924 to Roy FRASER and Doris née ANDREWS. Allan and his sister Betty attended Patumahoe School as their parents worked for Syd WILSON on a dairy farm at Waiuku-Drury Rd (now Glenbrook Road). He also attended Auckland Grammar. Allan enlisted in the New Zealand Army at Avondale on 30 March 1942, 4th Auckland Regiment, Service number 1/18/1194. He was 5’ 8” (173cm), fair hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He transferred to the RNZAF on 30 May 1942 as an Air Craftsman. He completed training and other courses, including time with the Aerodrome DefenceUnit and postings at Blenheim, Wigram, Rongatai, Levin, Gisborne and Ohakea. He did an armourer’scourse at Levin in March 1943. Allan was posted to the Pacific on 5 February 1944 serving with 30 Squadron at Bougainville, Los Negros and Espiritu Santo. He returned to New Zealand on 25 February 1945 and was officially discharged on26 September 1945. He received his service medals - The 1939-45 Star, The Pacific Star, The War Medal 1939-45, and The NZ War Service Medal.On his return he assisted his parents with dairy farming, mainly in the Waikato. He eventually bought a dairy farm at Te Puninga, northeast of Morrinsville. He married Pamela PARLANE in 1949 and had three children. He farmed until the mid-1970s and eventually sold the farm as the children were not interested in taking over. He became an ardent outdoor bowler mostly playing for Morrinsville RSAand visited Fiji often, usually to play bowls. He spent his last months living with his daughter at Paparore, north of Kaitaia. He died peacefully on 2 October 2012 and was cremated and his ashes buried beneath a Pohutukawa tree overlooking the Awanui Harbour.Sources:Text and photos from Carol Hinchliff – daughter of Allan FraserService personnel file of 425360 Allan Fraser, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampResearched by Carol EggletonAllan under the wing of his plane at Bougainville.63

FULTON John GrahamService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 420069Regiment: Light Anti-AircraftLast Known Rank: LieutenantMemorial Board: KarakaJohn Graham, known as Graham, was the oldest child of John James FULTON (1885-1957) and Lillia Elizabeth née CONSTABLE (1878-1963). He had one sister who was only a year younger than himself. He attended Remuera Primary and Auckland Grammar where he was a Prefect, and Captain of both First XV Rugby, and First XI Hockey. His father was a chemist in Parnell, and was working in this occupation on Waiheke Island when he died. His mother lived in Remuera all her life.Graham enjoyed sport – playing rugby for South Auckland, successfully playing interclub tennis in 1939 and playing golf before and after the war. He appeared on the May 1941 Ballot List as a farmer of Karaka.Graham attested in March 1940, but was unable to enlist until January 1942 because he owned his own dairy farm. He stated that he held a driver licence but not for heavy vehicles, that he could ride a horse and could supply one if needed, that he had served three years in the territorials and was a corporal in the mounted rifles. On 14 September 1942 the engagement of Graham and Doris was published in the local paper, and they were married the next day, prior to Graham’s embarkment.Doris (1918-2007) was an excellent piano player, gaining multiple qualifications in her younger days and playing at functions.He embarked from Wellington on 4 November 1942 for the Pacific on the SS Maui, as part of the Kiwi Force and was 2nd Lieutenant in the 29 Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade, disembarking at Noumea sevendays later. On 14 June 1943 he was admitted to No 4 General Hospital in New Caledonia with a reoccurring knee injury sustained while playing rugby before 1939. Later he embarked from New Caledonia to the Solomon Islands, serving in Guadalcanal, Vella Lavella and Nissan Island. He returned to New Zealand on 19 April 1944 and was given a medical discharge a month later.Graham and Doris raised their family of four sons and one daughter and farmed Friesian dairy cows in the Karaka area until about 1980 when they retired to Remuera and later moved to St Heliers.Doris died on 15 February 2007 and Graham just a month later on 14 March 2007.Sources:Service personnel file of 420069 John Graham Fulton, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampNew Zealand electoral rolls; Births Deaths & Marriages OnlinePhoto and information; son BrianPapers Past: Franklin Times 6 Nov 1939 interclub tennis; 21 May 1941 & 20 July 1945 playing golf; 14 September 1942 engagement Researched by Heather Maloney64

FURMAGE James Francis JohnService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 281803Regiment: 29 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: PatumahoeIn 1920 Jim FURMAGE was born to a skinny little World War I veterancalled Jack, and his wife Hazel KIMBERLEY, dubbed Lady Hazel by Jack’s family. Thatsame year Jack and his brother, Cyril, went into partnership shoeing horses in Patumahoe.Jim and his siblings – Olga, Phyllis, Allan and Bobbie – grew up in a modest house off Commerce St, attending Patumahoe School until Standard 6. Jim met his future wife, Lilian WALSH, at her sister Mag’swedding where Jim was employed to take photos.One of thirteen children, Lilian had immigrated to New Zealand, at age four, with her English parents and five siblings. She and Jim married at 21, honeymooning in Wellington. Their eldest child, Jimmy, was born disabled. When Jim went to war, Lilian served in the Women’s Auxiliary as an ambulance driver while her sisters cared for the baby.Jim did himself a favour by enlisting. The Army doctor diagnosed and treated him for taeniasis, an intestinal infection that had plagued him for several years. His limp, acquired from polio as a child, appeared to be no impediment to the army. Before he left his training camp at Waikaraka Park, Jim absconded for a night with his wife in nearby Church St. Bonnie’s resultant birth occurred while he wasoverseas. In 1943 he saw action in Guadalcanal where New Zealand troops faced challenging terrain and climatic conditions, as well as fierce fighting. Alongside the Americans they went on to secureTreasury Island, also in the Solomons. His closest army mate, a Yank, was shot dead beside him.Jim returned from the Pacific in July 1944 because his skills as a motor driver were needed in Essential Industry. Lilian found her happy-go-lucky husband noticeably quieter and suffering from nightmares.Over the years he worked in a variety of jobs – driving for Fletchers, dairy farming, taxi driving, photography in his own business, Bonnie Studios, on K. Rd, and as a movie projectionist.In all, Lilian and Jim raised ten children: eight of their own and two delivered by unmarried daughters. All the babies were born at home. His son, Roy, remembers coming home from primary school and finding the unthinkable, his mother in bed during the day. “I’ve just had a baby,” she said. Strangely, his older sister was in bed too. “She’s not feeling well either,” said Mum. Doctors did not expect Jimmie, their first born, to survive his fourth birthday but Lilian’s death in 1997 preceded his by eight years. His parents cared for him all their lives. Jim outlived Jimmie by a mere month, dying at age 85. “He went into theatre for a hernia op. andnever regained consciousness,” said Roy. “It was almost as if he thought he could now relax.”Sources:Grateful thanks to Jim’s son, Roy Furmage, and daughter-in-law, Val, for the photos and fond memories. Researched by Wendy Clark65

GALLAGHER Desmond JosephService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 76166Regiment: Anti-AircraftLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: Patumahoe DomainDesmond Joseph GALLAGHER suffered from a hearing impairment; a hereditary condition shared with three of his five siblings. Despite this, and a back injury sustained when he fell from the deck of an army truck, he was deemed fit for service and shipped off to Fiji as a gunner in an anti-aircraft regiment. The residents of the district farewelled him, Walt Irwin, and Heywood Crispe with a small gift each.Life in the army on a Pacific island must have been a far cry from his upbringing in the small rural settlement of Patumahoe where he helped his mother, Kathleen Mary Gallagher, née McSWEENEY, milk the cows each morning before school.His late brother, Eddie, once recalled how they milked by hand during the 1930s depression to save on power costs and how, on his ninth birthday, the family unexpectedly gave Eddie the morning off. He said their mother could milk more cows at a sitting than any other member of the family, including their father, Edward Noble Gallagher, who for some unspecified reason was absolved from milking duties. Edward Noble’s granddaughter recalls him being described as a difficult man who died in 1940 at the age of 54. His wife outlived him by 46 years and, after his death, allegedly never spoke of their married life.After serving for 18 months, Des was medically discharged from the army but, despite being the eldest son, did not return to farming. He married Olive Patricia DAWSON in 1947 and took a job as a prison warden, a career he maintained for the rest of his working days. Their only child, Lynnette, ignored his advice and followed in his footsteps, serving in the women’s section of Mt Eden. He died on 20 May 2004, aged 85, and was buried in the Waikumete Cemetery. When asked what kind of a person he was, his daughter Lynnette and her husband agreed that Des Gallagher was kind and patient, with an even temper in trying situations; a man who was as honest as the day is long.Sources:Grateful thanks to Desmond’s daughter, Lynnett Vipond, née GallagherPapers Past, Franklin Times, 8 May 1942Researched by Wendy Clark66

GEARON Rex LewisService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 413056Squadron: UnknownLast Known Rank: Flying OfficerMemorial Boards: Mauku, Glenbrook and Waiuku Rex Lewis was born 20 May 1920 at Pukekohe and grew up at “Springfields” on land his grandfather had purchased in 1856. He was the youngest of three sons of John Thomas GEARON (1877-1953) and Florence Myrtle CHALMERS (1889-1967). Rex went to Mauku Primary School 1925-1932 and Pukekohe Technical High School 1933-1935, then trained as a carpenter and joiner and worked for Mr. F CUDBY at Patumahoe. He played tennis for the Mauku Tennis Club and rugby for the Patumahoe Football Club.Rex was a Trooper in the Territorials and the Waikato Mounted Rifles from July 1938. He signed up for service as the war broke out, but because his mother would not sign the forms (he was under 21), it wasn’t until 25 May 1941 that Rex began service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He had flying training at 4 EFTS Whenuapai, on Tiger Moths (DH 82), then at 3 FTS Ohakea for training on Hawker Hinds.Rex was posted overseas leaving on the SS Monterey on 17 December 1941 for Liverpool, England via Honolulu, San Francisco and Vancouver. He was posted to Hullavington then to Grosby-on-Eden; in June 1942 to New Zealand Squadron at Wittering to fly Hurricanes as night fighters, then Havocs in September. In January 1943 Rex was posted to Hutton Cranswick (York) flying Typhoons. In May he moved to North Africa doing convoy duty with Hurricanes and Spitfires; in September to Sicily still doing convoy duty, and then went on to Italy. He was posted back to England and became an Instructor on Typhoons. Rex left England on 16 January 1945 on board the Dominion Monarch, via Panama and Sydney, disembarking in Wellington 8 March 1945. Rex finished with the rank of Flying Officer and was discharged on 11 March 1945. His total service was 4 years and 18 days. His medals included: 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe, Africa Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45 and New Zealand War Service Medal.Rex returned to the farm on Gearon and Quinn Roads, Mauku, where he worked with his dad until taking over the farm from him, he also carried on building houses. Rex married Mary Margaret WATSON (1926-2021) on 15 January 1949 and had three boys and a girl. He continued to play tennis and rugby, later becoming a referee for the Counties Rugby Union and managed to be one of Counties top 5 referees and a Life Member of Counties Rugby Referees. He was president of the Brevet Club of New Zealand and a keen member of both Pukekohe and Waiuku RSAs. He took up golf after rugby and both Rex and Mary travelled in their motor home playing golf in the vets' tournaments around the country. They also enjoyed several trips overseas. In 1989 they retired to Racecourse Road, Waiuku. Rex died on 22 March 2009. He and Mary are buried in the Pukekohe Cemetery: RSA Ashes Plot 162.Sources: Gearon Family: information and photoResearcher: Penny Prescott 67

GIBSON Maurice James AlexanderService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 6591Regiment: Service Corps Last Known Rank: DriverMemorial Board: PuniMaurice was born on 14 September 1914 in Auckland and was the eldest son of Alexander GIBSON (1884-1965) and Dorothy Elizabeth PULMAN (1892-1955). Alexander and Dorothy were married on 11 September 1911. Maurice attended Puni school from 1 March 1920 until 21 September 1923, when he left and his next school was listed as Carlton. He re-entered Puni school on 6 February 1924 and stayed until 19 December 1928 and from there it was out into the work force. He next shows up in 1935 living in Papakura with his family and his occupation is listed as Labourer. On 2 April 1936 he married Esme Dorothy MORGAN. She was born on 10 October 1914 and was the daughter of Walter MORGAN (1896-1980) and Ellen Elizabeth CLARK (1895-1986) who were married on 5 February 1913 in Whangarei. By 1938 Maurice and Esme had settled in Otahuhu and with the outbreak of WW2 Maurice enlisted for service on 9 June 1942. He listed his occupation as Brewery Employee in the employ of Dominion Breweries in Otahuhu. From 8 May 1943 until 9 June 1944, he was serving in the Pacific in New Caledonia, Guadalcanal and the Treasury Islands. Maurice returned to New Zealand from duty in the Pacific, along with several thousand others, in June 1944 due to Essential Industry. This meant that due to the shortage of workers in New Zealand men were returned from the Pacific to meet the shortfall of workers in New Zealand.After his return from the Pacific, he continued to live in Otahuhu with Esme, and this is where they raised their family. Maurice continued to work as a Labourer and around 1963 he was employed as a Garage Attendant. Maurice died on 6 February 1969 and was interred in the Otahuhu Cemetery and Esme died on 10 March 2005.Dominion Brewery taken 1949 by Whites AviationAuckland Libraries Heritage Collections Footprints 06061Sources:Service personnel file of 6591 Maurice James Alexander Gibson, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampNZSG Kiwi IndexPapers Past, NZ Electoral RollsOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumMaurice’s photo taken in 1926 from Puni School Centennial BookletAncestry®Researched by Ross Miller68

GIBSON Robert LeslieService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 24029Regiment: 24 Battalion Last Known Rank: Lance CorporalMemorial Board: PuniRobert, usually referred to as Leslie, was born on 31 May 1918 in Auckland and was the fourth child of Alexander GIBSON (1884-1965) and Dorothy Elizabeth PULMAN (1892-1955). Alexander and Dorothy were married on 11 September 1911. From various newspaper reports via the Franklin Times we can ascertain that he was educated at Puni school and completed his schooling in Papakura after the family eventually moved there. Leslie later found work as a Skilled Labourer at the Railway Workshops in Otahuhu and this is where he was working at the time of his enlistment into the army on 15 May 1940. He was posted to Egypt on 27 August 1940 and saw action in Greece and Crete. He was successfully evacuated from Crete. From there he saw action in the Western Desert campaign. His parents received notification that he had been killed in action on 26 November 1941 but some six months later they received news that he may still be alive, and they eventually received a letter from him a further six months later. He was a prisoner of war in a camp in Italy. An article in the Auckland Star from 8 December 1945 explained just what happened. Some irrelevant parts of the article have been omitted. …It was thought that he had been blown to pieces by a mortar shell. When the officer and sergeant in charge of his platoon were killed by enemy fire, Corporal Gibson took over and was covering the platoon's withdrawal against overwhelming odds when the mortar shell fell. When the New Zealanders recovered the position all that they found was a huge crater in the sand, a few twisted pieces of a machine gun and much blood. What they did not know, however, was that a German Mark IV tank had picked up the badly wounded and unconscious corporal and that he had been inside the enemy tank for the remainder of the action. When he regained consciousness many hours later he was in an Italian hospital. Corporal Gibson was two years a prisoner of war in Italy. He was finally reported a prisoner through the Italian authorities. He was later transferred to Germany where he remained until the cessation of hostilities. He was then taken to England for five months rest before being brought to New Zealand... On 8 September 1945 he married Esther Myrtle KIRTLAN. She was born on 16 January 1917 and was the daughter of Harold KIRTLAN (1887-1952) and Pearl La Trobe MASTERS (1894-1977). After their marriage they lived in Raglan for a short time and then moved up to Mangere around 1949 whereLeslie worked as a Coppersmith and later as a Panel Beater. He retired around 1975 and later lived in Pakuranga and Manukau. Leslie died on 23 February 2000 and Esther passed away on 21 March 2003,they are interred in the Papakura Cemetery.Sources:Service personnel file of 2409 Robert Leslie Gibson, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampAncestry®, Papers Past, NZ Electoral RollsOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumResearched by Ross Miller69

GILL David EaglesonService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 618603Regiment: Provost CorpsLast Known Rank: Lance CorporalMemorial Board: KarakaDavid Eagleson GILL was the second child of Walter William Henry (1896-1938) and Elizabeth Jane EAGLESON (1905-1970) born in Te Puke, and he had two brothers and two sisters. Although the official birth register has his date of birth as 6 October 1923, his army record says 30 October 1923, his airforce application has 1925 and his cemetery record has 1929.He initially enlisted with the New Zealand Army in April 1942 and was recorded as being 5 feet 9 inches (175cm), with fair hair, brown eyes and medium complexion. He was at that time a dairy farmhand working for A.S. CARPENTER at Karaka. He stated that he enjoyed playing tennis, cricket and football, having been Captain of the School 1st XV.David served as a Private with the Infantry until 25 May 1944 when he transferred to the Royal New Zealand Air Force, as an aircraft hand and ground tradesman. He served in this capacity as Aircraftsman#443485 until 16 November 1944 when he transferred back to the army. He embarked from Wellington on 5 January 1945 on board the SS Empress of Scotland as part of the 14th Reinforcements and landed at Port Tewfik in Egypt on 29 January 1945. David left Egypt for Taranto, Italy as part of 2nd NZ Divisional Provost Company and remained in Italy until January 1946. During this time, he helped liberate the Jews in the concentration camp at La Risiera di San Sabba and served under the direct command of Lieutenant-General Bernard Freyberg VC. He returned to Auckland in February 1946 and was discharged three months later. David was awarded The Italy Star, The War Medal 1939-45 and the New Zealand War Service Medal.David married Eva Bertha FOUNTAIN (1922-2005) on 17 November 1944, and they had a family of two sons and two daughters.After the war David worked briefly as a farmhand in Waiuku, then he and Eva moved to the North Shore living firstly in Allison Avenue then in Fraser Road, Northcote from 1954 until his death. He had a variety of jobs – a drainlayer, a milkman, a storeman, a truck driver for Smith & Davies and finally a truck driver for Winstone Concrete.David died at Greenlane Hospital on the 16 June 1980 and is buried in the RSA section of the North Shore Memorial Park. Eva died on 17 August 2005.Sources:Service personnel file of 618603 David Gill, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampGrandson DerekHeadstone photo: Lorraine StoneNew Zealand electoral rolls; Births Deaths & Marriages OnlineResearched by: Heather Maloney70

GILLANDERS John HectorService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 436488Regiment: 21 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: Puni John was born on 4 March 1922 Auckland and was the son of Duncan Beaton GILLANDERS (1875-1951) and Katie Nield DUNCAN (1890-1994). Duncan and Katie were married on 11 November 1912. John attended Glen Eden School from 7 March 1927 until December 1931 and on 1 February 1932 he was enrolled at Brigham Creek school until 17 August 1934. The family moved to Puni and he started school there two weeks later on 1 September, he left the Puni school in December 1936. John was 5 feet 5 inches (1.65m) tall, weighed 9 stone (57kg) and had a dark complexion when he enlisted on 10 January 1942 and left New Zealand on 21 July bound for Egypt. At the time of his enlistment, he was employed as a Mechanic in the garage of W. Russell in Hall Street, Pukekohe. The owner, Rusty RUSSELL, lost his life in WW2 in 1943. Before John left he was given a farewell by the community in the Puni Hall. After spending a few months in Egypt he embarked from Alexandria on 17 October for Italy and spent just over two years there on active service and returned to Egypt in December 1945. He was finally discharged from the army on 7 March 1947 after a total of four years and forty two days service.On 30 April 1947 he married Mary Margarete JOYCE. She was born on 5 January 1926 and was the daughter of Sidney Charles JOYCE (1895-1955) and Nellie Jacques HERBERT (1900-1965). Sidney and Nellie were married on 15 July 1922. After the war John was living and working as a Mechanic in Campbells Bay in Auckland and by 1949 he and Mary had shifted to Parnell. Sometime in 1951 they were on the move again to Mauku near Patumahoe and they lived in the area for many years until the early 1970s when they shifted into Pukekohe. John had worked as a Garage Assistant, Motor Driver and Lube Operator and finally as a Process Worker. John died on 3 May 1985 in Auckland and Mary died on 1 August 2024 and they are interred in the RSA Section at the Pukekohe Cemetery.Sources:Service personnel file of 436488 John Hector Gillanders, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampPapers Past, NZ Electoral Rolls, Ancestry®Photos courtesy of the Gillanders familyOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumResearched by Ross Miller71

GILLARD Allan ThomasService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 65574Regiment: 35 BattalionLast Known Rank: SergeantMemorial Board: KarakaAllan and his twin Charles were born 23 December 1919 in Hamilton. They were the sixth and seventh children of William Thomas Alden GILLARD (1879-1962) and Alice Hilda, née CHRISTEY (1887-1969). Theywere farming in the Walton area where Allan started school. He later attended Morrinsville Public School leaving at an early age to help on the farm. The Gillards shifted to farm on Pukekohe Hillaround 1937 and Allan did casual farmwork and fencing around the Karaka area and further afield before the war. On enlistment in February 1941, he gave his employer as Alex SIM of Karaka, and stated that he was involved in mixed farming and harvest contracting and having a heavy traffic driving license.Allan embarked from Auckland 2 January 1942 with the 9th Heavy Regiment of the Artillery landing in Lautoka, Fiji, four days later. He came back to New Zealand six months later and embarked for the second time to the Pacific theatre 29 December 1942, this time disembarking in Noumea. Whilethere, Allan was admitted to No 4 NZ General Hospital and diagnosed with asthma, which was thought to be the result of an infection while on active service. In April 1943 Allan was placed on the medical roll to be returned to New Zealand. He arrived back in Auckland on the SS Lurline 15 May and given a medical discharge a few months later.Allan married Jean née GIBSON (1923-2011) 29 November 1941, and they had a family of two sons and a daughter. After the war Allan resumed farming but by 1949, was driving the Shell Company petrol tanker, working for Johnny MCINTOSH, delivering supplies to all the small service stations around the Franklin District, from the depot in Subway Road, Pukekohe. A few years later he moved across the road to the Dehydration Plant, driving the tractor unloading peas as they came in from the growers. A career change in about 1962 saw Allan working for the Post Office as a telephone exchange operator and later still as the recorder at the Post and Telegraph depot in Stadium Drive, Pukekohe. He worked there until his retirement. Allan and Jean moved into their new home in Nelson Street, Pukekohe in the early 1950s where he lived the rest of his life. Allan enjoyed his involvement in the RSA and Buffalo Lodge. He died 23 February 1988and is buried in the RSA section in Pukekohe Cemetery. Jean, who was well known in the district as the owner of the Franklin County News, later remarried.Sources:Service personnel file of 65574 Allan Gillard, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampFamily information and photos – son KeithNew Zealand Electoral RollsResearcher: Heather Maloney72

GLASGOW Douglas CliveService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 61007Regiment: Light Anti-AircraftLast Known Rank: GunnerMemorial Board: Puni and Waiuku Town HallDouglas Clive GLASGOW, known as Doug, was born 27 September 1913 in Pukekohe, to parents Joseph Glasgow (1873-1962) and his wife Charlotte née STEENSON (1884-1954). There were nine children in all. Doug started school at Tuakau School 1 March 1920. Then as the family moved around, he also attended Te Toro in 1924, Pollok and Kohekohe where he was one of the first pupils in March 1927 of the reopened school. The next year Doug returned home.Doug was farming in Puni on enlistment and had married Doreen Bridget JONES (1924-1971) 31 December 1940. Doreen was living at 7 Ponsonby Road, Auckland. Doug enlisted 8 January 1941 and was posted to the 14th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment in April, then sent to North Africa, arriving in Egypt in May to join the New Zealand Division, which had just been evacuated from Crete. In June the regiment received their first anti-aircraft gun. On 13 January 1943 Doug was briefly posted to the 32nd New Zealand Field Regiment, though a few weeks later was back with the 14th Regiment. In March 1944 he was posted back to the 32nd Regiment, the 14th being disbanded in October 1944.Doug sent a poem home to his father who was then living in Colombo Road, Waiuku. This poem was reprinted in the Franklin Times 10 March 1943 entitled: ‘From a New Zealand Soldier in the MiddleEast to my Friends who Stayed at Home.’ Doug had been wounded in action, but was now back with the forward forces. Medals awarded to Doug: The 1939-45 Star, The Africa Star with 8th Army clasp, The Defence Medal, 1939-45 War Medal, The New Zealand War Service Medal.Doug and Doreen had 2 sons and continued farming, sharemilking in 1949 in Rotorua Road, Tirau and in 1957, sharemilking at Okoroire Road. By 1969 they had retired from farming and were living in town at 3 Depot Road, Tirau, and Doug was a factory worker. Doreen passed away in 1971 and Doug having fully retired, continued to live at the property until he passed away 29 November 2003 aged 90 years. He is at rest with Doreen in the Tirau Cemetery Block C Plots 7 and 8.Sources:Service personnel file of 61007 Douglas Glasgow, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumNew Zealand Electoral RollsResearched by Gillian ConroyDoug on his 70th birthday in 1983 with two of his sisters– Gladys Renall and Joyce Kelly73

GLASGOW Norman FrederickService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 22520Regiment: 21 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: Puni and Waiuku Town HallNorman Frederick GLASGOW, nicknamed Tom by the family, was born 10 June 1915 to parents Joseph Glasgow (1873-1962) and his wife Charlotte née STEENSON (1884-1954). There were nine children in all. Norman attended school in Tuakau from 24 November 1921, until May 1924, next attending Te Toro School, Pollok. Then in March 1927 he was a foundation pupil of the reopened Kohekohe school until returning home in December 1929.Norman worked as a farm Labourer in Puni. He was attested 18 January 1940, entering Papakura Camp 30 January, and was assigned to the 21st Rifle Battalion. While on leave in March he was a guest at a function held in Puni Hall, assembled to honour ‘the lads in khaki’. Mr Alan P. BAY,Secretary of the Franklin zone D Patriotic committee, addressed the gathering. Mr. Bay eulogized the sterling qualities of the Glasgow family, conveying good wishes and hope for a safe return. Mr SHIPHERD, on behalf of the Puni residents, asked Private Glasgow to accept a fountain pen as a token of esteem and remembrance.Norman embarked overseas in May 1940, disembarking in Scotland in June. He was sent to Egypt, arriving 8 March 1941 to join Lustre Force, in Greece. They fended off a series of attacks in April and evacuated to Crete, where he was reported safe 18 May 1941. On 20 May, German paratroopers began landing. Norman was reported missing on 24 May. By June he was a prisoner in the German POW camp Stalag IIIB/Stalag 344 in Lamsdorf, Poland. When captured, Norman swore at the Germans and was bashed in the head with a rifle butt, which shattered one eye. He was fortunate that another prisoner managed to cut out what was left. When finally liberated, Norman was fitted with a glass eye.Under the circumstances the prisoners had quite a good time with concerts and dances amongst themselves. Norman received parcels from family and sent mail home. Norman was finally reported safe in the United Kingdom 10 May 1945, arriving back in NZ in July. He was officially discharged on5 October 1945, having served 5 years 250 days. Norman was awarded - The 1939-45 Star, The African Star, The Defence Medal, The War Medal 1939-45, and The New Zealand War Service Medal.In 1949, Norman lived with family at 27 Ballarat Street, Ellerslie, working as a Railway Employee. In the latter 1950s Norman lived in Okoroire Road, Tirau working as a Labourer. Then by 1963 was back living in Ballarat Street now working as a Butcher. Norman became very unwell, though he married Beatrice Haupuru PALMER (1923-1991), eight days before he passed away 28 April 1967. He wascremated and interred at Waikumete Cemetery.Sources:Service personnel file of 22520 Norman Glasgow, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampOnline Cenotaph -Auckland War Memorial MuseumResearched by: Gillian Conroy74

GOOSMAN Brian ArthurService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 67929Regiment: 35 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: Makau Brian Arthur GOOSMAN was born on November 5, 1916, in Onehunga, Auckland, to Arthur Samuel Goosman and May Hetta Goosman (née WALSH). His father was a farmer in Mangere before moving to a farm in Mauku, Franklin. Brian had two older siblings: a brother, Alan George, and a sister, Nancy Jean. Brian completed primary school and went to work on his father’s farm in Mauku.In March 1941, Brian was called to service with the Territorial Force. He enlisted on September 22, 1941, and was assigned to the 35th (Mixed) Battalion, which was deployed in the Pacific theatre. On his first tour, Brian embarked on January 12, 1942, on the SS Taroona, sailing from Auckland to Lautoka, Fiji. After six months in Fiji, Brian returned home to New Zealand on July 4, 1942.Brian embarked on his second tour of the Pacific, 29 December 1942 bound for Noumea,New Caledonia. Whilst in New Caledonia Brian was diagnosed with Chronic Nervous Dyspepsia, acondition causing pain or burning in the upper abdomen. Although Brian had had previous attacks whilst in Fiji, the attacks were now becoming more frequent, and he was losing weight and becoming depressed. He was sent to the 4th New Zealand General Hospital for treatment. A Medical Board convened on April 1, 1943, concluded that Brian suffered from 'chronic abdominal neurosis' and determined he would be 'useless as a soldier.' The Board recommended his return to New Zealand for medical tests.Brian embarked from New Caledonia on April 12, 1943, on the RMT Wahine and arrived in Wellington five days later. On 22 November 1943, after serving 320 days in New Zealand and 288 days overseas Brian was invalided out of the Military Forces and given a discharge. Brian returned to the family farm in Mauku. He resumed his role as a farm hand helping his parents and siblings run the farm. The family moved to a new farm in Te Kauwhata, Waikato shortly after Brians return. When his parents passed, Brian, his brother Alan and his sister Nancy continued to run the farm until their retirement when they all moved to Fairfield Street in Pukekohe. The siblings had lived together all their lives separated only by Brian’s military service. They never married and had no children. Brian passed away 29 May 1995 in Pukekohe at the age of 78. His brother had preceded him by just three months, passing 22 February 1995. Nancy continued living in the Fairfield Street property until her death on 25 November 2002.Sources:Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumPapers Past Service personnel file of 67929 Brian Arthur Goosman, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampResearched By Ian Shackleton75

GORDON Norman CameronService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 64399Regiment: 29 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: PatumahoeThe youngest of five children of John Currie GORDON (1860-1925) and Catherine née McPHAIL, Norman Cameron was born on 5 June 1909 and had one sister and three brothers. His parents were farming at Dairy Flat when he was born but a few years later his father was back gum-digging at Waiharara. He spent some of his school years at Richmond Road in Auckland and completed his education at Northcote in 1917.Norman worked as a farmhand at Patumahoe for Amos WOOLSEY for several years but on his 1940 attestation form he was working for Amos’s son in Te Puke. He stated that both his parents were born in Scotland and that he had experience with horses but not with motor vehicles. Norman entered camp on 16 April 1941 and gave his sister Mrs Carrie SHINE as his next of kin. He was described as having brown hair, blue eyes, a fair complexion and being 5 ft 5in (165cm) and 10 stone 4 lbs (65kg).On his first tour of duty Norman embarked from Auckland on the SS Rangatira on 20 May 1941 arriving in Suva, Fiji three days later. On his return from the Pacific, Norman embarked on the USS President Coolidge on 1 July 1942 and arrived in Auckland five days later. On his second tour, Norman again embarked from Auckland arriving in Noumea on 1 January 1943. He was to serve from December 1942 until June 1944 in the Pacific with the 29 Battalion in New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands.Norman was returned to New Zealand due to Essential Industry – a shortage of manpower, particularly in farming, meant because of his experience, he was needed back in the country. He arrived back in New Zealand on board the USS Rochambeau on 8 June 1944.Despite having been entitled to the 1939-45 Star, The Pacific Star, The Defence Medal, The War Medal 1939-45 and the New Zealand War Service Medal, these have never been claimed.Norman married Jane Anne Kemp HANCOX (1923-2003) in 1947, and they raised their family at 9 Mareth Street in Panmure, an address Norman lived at for over 40 years, from his marriage until his death. From this house he worked as a dyer, a labourer and a cleaner until his retirement.Norman died on 30 June 1991 and was cremated at Purewa in Auckland.Sources:Service personnel record of 64399 Norman Gordon, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampNew Zealand Births Deaths & Marriages Online and electoral rollsSchool records: New Zealand Society of GenealogistsResearcher: Heather Maloney76

GORDON WinstonService: Royal New Zealand NavyService Number: 6724Last Ship: NMNZS TuiLast Known Rank: Able seamanMemorial Board: Karaka Winston was born 26 January 1924 in Otahuhu and was the adopted son of Samuel Kenneth GORDON (1887-1958) and Eileen Marguerite GROSSMAN (1886-1966). Samuel and Eileen were married 6 April 1914. They were farming in the Karaka District and Winston more than likely attended the Karaka School. According to his attestation paper he also completed one year of secondary school. After leaving school he was employed on the family farm and was still there at the outbreak of WW2.Winston was called up in the ballot of March 1942. He filled out his attestation paper and had a medical 30 April 1942. He stood 5 feet 6 inches (1.67m) tall, weighed 9 stone 13 lbs (63kg), with afair complexion. He also served 1½ years in the Home Guard. He finally enlisted 10 February 1943 into the Navy and his first posting was to HMNZS Tamaki shore base in Auckland until 5 May 1943. Then it was to the HMNZS Philomel base also in Auckland for the next fourteen months until 1 August 1944. Winston was then sent overseas to the HMNZS Kahu which was the New Zealand Navy shore base in the Solomon Islands. He was on the minesweeper HMNZS Tui while in the Solomon Islands from 15 August 1944 until 4 November 1945. He was finally discharged1 January 1946 after nearly three years service. HMNZS Tui 1944Winston went back to farming in the Karaka area upon his return. Then on 26 February 1949 he married Janet Olwyn BAILEY in the Holy Trinity Church in Otahuhu. She was born in 1928, the daughter of Victor Chil BAILEY (1898-1954) and Mary Alfreda (Freda) JUDD (1901-1990). Her parents Victor and Freda were married 25 June 1924 in St Johns Church in Te Puke. Winston and Janet continued farming until the early 1960s when they moved into Papakura. During their marriage they raised a family of three children. Winston passed away in Middlemore Hospital 4 January 1972 and was interred in the Papakura Cemetery. At the time of writing this (23 Nov 2024) Winston is survived by his wife Janet and two children.Sources:Service personnel file of 6724 Winston Gordon, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampPapers PastAncestry®, NZ Electoral RollsHMNZS Tui photo courtesy Torpedo Bay Museum Reference No. ABJ 0043Researched by Ross Miller77

GREENWOOD WallaceService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 21927Regiment: Armoured Brigade/Divisional Calvary RegimentLast Known Rank: CorporalMemorial Board: Karaka HallWallace was born to parents Ernest Walter GREENWOOD and (Enie) Gladys Irene née DUNNING on 30 September 1919 in Warkworth. He had a younger brother and sister. Wally, as he was known, went to school at Ti Hihi Primary School but did not attend Secondary School. Before the war Wally worked as a farmer on the Greenwood family farm on Batty Road, Karaka before taking up a position as a farm hand with the HARGREAVES family up in the Kaipara Harbour for several years before enlisting.Wally enlisted at Warkworth into the NZ Army on 21 December 1939, and recorded his date of birth as 30 September 1917, making himself 22yrs old. He was actually born on 30 September 1919, making him old enough to deploy overseas with 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, maybe he was unaware of this.He left New Zealand on 1 May 1940 for the Middle East, embarking from Wellington, New Zealand on board the SS Aquitania, as part of the 2nd Echelon. The ship stopped over at Sydney Heads, Melbourne, Fremantle, Coco Islands, Capetown, Simonstown, Freetown, before disembarking at Gourock in Scotland approx. six weeks later, on 16 June 1940. In March 1941, on embarking from the UK, he went through Port Tewfik, then on to the Greece & Crete Campaign (Lustre Force). On 24 October 1942, Wally was wounded at Miteiriya Ridge, he had received a gunshot wound to his left little finger andwas admitted to No:2 New Zealand General Hospital at El Ballah, Egypt where he stayed until6 January 1943. He then spent five weeks at No:1 New Zealand Convalescent Home, located at Kfar Vitkin in Israel. Wally returned to New Zealand embarking on 8 January 1944, as part of a Furlough Draft. However, he returned to the Middle East again through Tewfik 2 August 1944. When returning to New Zealand for the second time, he embarked from Port Tewfik as part of the Tongariro Draftarriving in Auckland on 23 April and was discharged shortly after.He returned to Karaka in the late 1940s where he met and married his wife Maud BRUNT on 3 April 1948. He took up a share milking position with HV PARKINSON on Linwood Road, until he bought his own farm on Charles Road in 1956. They had three children, two daughters and a son, all still living in Karaka. In his spare time Wally enjoyed all sports but particularly rugby, fishing anddeer-stalking. Unfortunately, Wally developed Emphysema in the early 1970s which hindered him from continuing to enjoy the leisure time he loved and to be as active as he would have liked. His son Bryan left school to work on the home farm and took over most of the workload as Wally’s health deteriorated. When Bryan married, Wally and Maud moved to Papakura where he remained until he passed away on 8 January 1988, in Papakura, New Zealand.Sources:Service personnel file of 21927 Wallace Greenwood, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampFamily details: Julie Greenwood, Daughter-in-Law and Karaka MuseumResearched by Rachael Hill 78

HABGOOD Ebenezer GeorgeService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 68147Regiment: 35 & 30 (Mixed) BattalionsLast Known Rank: TrooperMemorial Board: Patumahoe “Eb HABGOOD was a gentleman,” says 95-year-old Lorayn KING, née HOWE. “His family lived next door to us. On late night Fridays he always walked me home from the Beehive Store. Of course, his ulterior motive was that I would cook him supper. But it was nice to have a male friend who had no expectations other than a bit of company.” Eb later told her their friendship caused some village chatter but Lorayn claims to have been oblivious to this. At the time he was baching in a shack at the back of Fletchers Transport depot where he worked as a driver. When asked to describe him, she says, “He was short.” His mother, Edith, ran a successful bakery up in Greenlane. All the daughters worked in the business although Lenor joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in March 1943. Their father, William Southern Habgood, sharemilked for the Henry Estate. Every three months or so, Lorayn permed Mrs. Habgood’s hair. “They were a lovely family,” she says. Like his brother, Jim, and three sisters, Clee, Iris and Lenor, Eb was born in Gisborne, where his grandparents, Hannah, née SPACKMAN, and Ebenezer, a pig breeder, had settled in 1882 after emigrating from England.24-year-old Eb Junior was working as a butter packer at the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Companywhen he enlisted in 1942. Initially he served in Fiji with the 35th Battalion, undertaking dutiessuch as digging weapon pits and tank traps,and laying thousands of meters of barbed wire.The soldiers were plagued by heat, humidity and hordes of mosquitoes. Relieved by the Americans, they took furlough in New Zealand.Eb never talked to her about the war, saysLorayn, but he seems to have returned to the Pacific with the 30th Battalion and, if so, would have seen combat in the Solomons. A good ten years after his return to civilian lifehe married Noreen PHILLIPS, a Mauku girl fifteen years his junior. They were blessed with two sons, a daughter, and five grandchildren. Sometime around 1965 they went up north to Waipu and opened a draper’s shop. Loraynnever saw Eb again.Sources:Papers Past, Online Cenotaph Auckland War Memorial Museum, NZ Births Deaths &Marriages OnlineGrateful thanks to Lorayn King for her memories.Researched by Wendy Clark79

HAMMOND Arnold RoyeService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 2840Regiment: 18 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: Patumahoe Domain“Afterwards, we never talked about the war, except with each other,” Roye (Smiler) HAMMOND said. However, when he was in his eighties, his youngest daughter, Lynne, persuaded Roye to share his story. She had discovered wartime letters saved by his mother, and a diary he kept throughout the three and a half years of active service in the North African,Greek and Crete Campaigns.Born 29 July 1918, Roye was the youngest of eight children, four of whom were half brothers and sisters. His schooling ended after 12 months at Pukekohe High as he was needed on the family farm at Runciman. Several years of milking cows prompted him to decamp to the South Island for work, returning only when his father had a heart attack. Being back in that cowshed confirmed his ambition to drive trucks. He worked first for George Hunter of Patumahoe, and later for Smeed’s Quarry near Mercer, where he lived on a derelict launch under some willows on the Waikato River.Within a week of war being declared, Roye enlisted. “I was the only unmarried brother, without dependents, so it had to be me,” he explained. The New Zealand Army accepted him as a specialist driver and gave him 12 weeks training before sending him off to Maadi in Egypt with the 18th Battalion. There he trained for 10 months in desert warfare until, in early 1941, they suddenly exchanged Egypt’s flies, heat and sandstorms for the rugged, freezing mountains of northern Greece. This was probably in response to the German declaration of war on Greece and their swift descent from the north. Daughter Lynne says, “Roye wasn’t particularly concerned about what lay ahead. He was just glad to get away from the monotony of Egypt.” However, faced with 350,000 German soldiers and the Luftwaffe in control of the skies, the bitterly disappointed Kiwis were ordered to retreat, first to Servia Pass where they were repeatedly bombed and lost their first 18th Battalion man, Claude Finch from Tuakau. To their disgust, the Royal Air Force was nowhere to be seen. Too often, it seems, soldiers werelet down by poor decisions or lack of promised back-up. The retreat became an evacuation. When theirremaining 257 members fled to Crete, they left 500, dead or captured, behind in Greece.Later, the Battle for Crete would be described as one of the most savage fought by New Zealanders during WWII. Roye’s usual role was to cart ammunition and food to the forward troops, but he’d had to disable his beloved A3 truck and leave it behind in Greece. Instead, he carried supplies on foot. At night he shared a single blanket with Harry Cochrane of Pukekohe. They covered themselves with long grass to keep off the dew and hid from strafing planes under the olive trees. The daily food issue was a tin of bully beef and a handful of biscuits between three men which they supplemented with oranges.Even water was a scarce commodity.On 24 May 1941, a diary entry records, ‘Stray bullets and poorly ranged mortars have been dropping around us all day.’ That evening, in the absence of any infantry, odds and sods from the transport platoon were ordered to engage in a ragged bayonet charge up Red Hill. 80

This was something the specialists had not been trained for, and Roye had little idea of what they were meant to do or achieve. Their only instruction was, “Get up there or I’ll shoot you.” They advanced, firing from the hip. He took a bullet to the wrist. At this point in the battle for Crete, the Allies faced imminent defeat. The walking wounded were advised to escape over the mountains to the southern coast in the hope of catching an evacuating British Naval hospital ship. Roye was one of the lucky oneswho made it. After recuperating in Egypt, he rejoined his unit in time to see action in Libya. Only 42 of the original 18th Battalion were left. Roye renamed the Battle of Belhamed, the ‘Shambles of Belhamed’. As he described it, “When the New Zealand Infantry was getting cut to pieces by the German Armour, the British tank regiments should have intervened, but they wouldn’t because they hadn’t been given orders. That happened on many occasions in the early part of the Desert War. Later, Lieutenant-General Freyberg prevailed uponGeneral Montgomery to ensure British tank support was under New Zealand’s command.”A letter sent home on 1 May 1943 said, “The days when we were keen on this war are just about past.” Yet when, to his surprise, he was balloted for three months furlough in New Zealand, he had mixed feelings about leaving behind his mates. On getting back to Auckland, he caught chicken pox from the Hunter children, ending up at a military hospital at Ellerslie racecourse where he was treated for scabies and boils as well. He stayed for six months at the hospital, working in the kitchens whilecontinuing treatment for the boils that persisted for the rest of his life. He was discharged from the army as a P3, unfit for further service but not sick enough to qualify for a pension. He attributes his smooth adjustment to civilian life to that stint working as a team member with the hospital staff. They helped assuage his sense of loss at being separated from his unit. “Other returning soldiers struggled, sometimes for years, adjusting to life outside the army,” he said.At the end of their three-month leave, many of his fellow 1st Echelon soldiers refused to return to war. They could not see why they shouldn’t swap places with the able-bodied men who had stayed home to work in Essential Services. Despite being accused of mutiny only 500 returned out of the 5,000 that came home on furlough.Roye went back to Patumahoe and, in 1946, married Hilda ROPER, a girl conscripted to work in the local market gardens. He carted vegetables to the Dehydration Factory in Pukekohe. She used to give him cheek when he refueled at the army hut where she worked beside the red shed and parts store on cropping land now owned by the Wai Shing family. Later, they lived in two army huts on half an acre. They established a depot and successful general carrying business known as Patumahoe Transport. They also raised three daughters and a son. In later years Roye became a staunch member of the RSA. In 2012 he flew to Egypt to honour the 70th anniversary of the battle of El Alamein. After decades of silence, he allowed NZ On Screen to interview him at age 96. He was now a rarity, one of very few WWII soldiers still alive. By the time he died, in his 100th year, he had attended eight officialanniversaries commemorating the conflict in Crete. His laconic humour and easy-going nature are remembered with great affection and respect, not only by his family, but by the Franklin community.Sources:‘Never a Winning Battle’ as told to Roye Hammond’s daughter, Lynne. NZ On Screen – Memories of Service, 2016Grateful thanks to Roye’s daughter, Lynne, & her siblings for sharing the photos and Roye’s story.Researched by Wendy Clark81

HARDY Clair Dixon MCService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 2013Regiment: 21 BattalionLast Known Rank: Lieutenant Memorial Board: Patumahoe Clair HARDY was the thirteenth New Zealander to volunteer for active servicein WWII. He was part of a 32-strong detachment of regular soldiers whichpre-emptively sailed from Auckland in 1939 on a secret mission to the coral atoll, Fanning Island. Its task? To defend the communications cable from being cut by enemy forces, an act which would have disrupted all cable traffic across the Pacific. En-route, war officially broke out.Six months later, Clair re-deployed to the European theatre, first to North Africa and then to the Italian Campaign. One can only imagine the feelings of his family and his sweetheart, Joy MEYER. They may have been even more concerned had they known Clair would repeatedly extend his tour of duty and earn a commendation for exercising a ‘total disregard for his own safety’.His Military Cross citation says that on 22 September 1944, in daylight, his platoon encountered an enemy strongpoint on the northern side of the River Marecchia in Italy. Two anti-tank guns, vigorously supported by machine guns, blocked the advance of the New Zealand Infantry and their tanks. Without hesitation, Lieutenant Hardy led his carrier-borne mortars across 400 yards of open ground to a house occupied by enemy soldiers. He cleared the house of these men, inflicting heavy casualties. They set up mortars in the yard. By observing from the upper windows of the house, Clair accurately directed their fire onto various targets throughout the day, neutralising the opposition. His dashing leadership was said to be ‘a fine example to his platoon, and an inspiration to all with whom he came in contact with.’The youngest of six, Clair was born in 1916 to Ohaupo farmers, Samuel and Jean, née AYRES. Later thefamily moved to a property in Patumahoe, its paddocks nestled in the embrace of Cuff and Ostrich Roads. They called it Sunny Dell. His older brother, Claude, worked full-time on the farm while Clair worked for Reg Naylor in the local grocery store. This was the 1930s. Steady employment was hard to find, leading Clair to join the NewZealand Reservists at Narrowneck, and then the Regular Forces.Clair gave six years’ service to the European campaigns. He briefly returned to England in June 1946, after accepting an invitation to participate in the Victory Parade. Throughout those years, Joy faithfully awaited his return, marrying him in 1945. Some of the letters they exchanged while apart have been saved and reside in the care of their eldest daughter in Australia. March Past; date and location unknown. Lt. Clair Hardy is in the front row, second from right.82

The couple opened a grocery store in Wharepapa South and raised a family of four. By 1960 they had built a block of shops in Orewa, one of which they occupied themselves, establishing a successful grocery business. Clair finished his working life as a civilian administrator in the Army. He had come full circle.His son, Barry, says Anzac Day has always been important to their family. He recalls, as children, they accompanied their parents each April to the Civic Service at the Auckland Domain Cenotaph, repairing afterwards to the 21st Battalion headquarters in Mt Roskill where he picked up snippets of his father’s experiences through comments bandied amongst themselves by the veterans. Gail, his wife,remembers her father-in-law, Clair Hardy, as a kind and principled man. A small but enduring memoryis of how, in later life, he used to strap the grandchildren into their car seats and say to his wife, the driver, “Precious cargo, Joy, precious cargo.”Officers serve Christmas dinner to the 21st Battalion Mortar Platoon on the front line at the River Senio, near Faenza in Italy; 25 December 1944. Lt. Clair Hardy holds the serving ladle behind the stack of mortar bombs.Left to Right: Ferguson, Pop Clifford, Jack Harvey, Ted Scott, Halvor Halverson, Brian Mears, Garth Ingel, Keith Martin, TexO’Hagan, Harry Aitkens, Nick Lucina, Bob Goulder, Pat Jans, Norm Colgan, Andy Anderson, Bob Silvester, Clair Hardy, Johnny Smith, Clueless, Snow Simpson, Sid Burton, Keith Colmer, Fred Jones, Ron Codlin, Ernie Randel.Sources:Warm thanks to Gail and Barry Hardy for sharing their memories and photos from Lt. Hardy’s collection.Researched by Wendy Clark83

HAYCOCK Raymond DouglasService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 1086Regiment: Divisional CavalryLast Known Rank: CorporalMemorial Board: MaukuRaymond (Ray) Douglas HAYCOCK was born 27 May 1919 in Hamilton, to Reginald Francis HAYCOCKand Emme Dora Blanche HAYCOCK (née BARKLEY). Ray's father, Reginald, was born in 1885 in London,he was a journalist and tried his hand at farming in 1930s when he ran a farm at Mauku.Ray was educated at the Pukekohe Technical High School. He was involved with the Mauku Cricket Club and in 1936 was the club secretary. Ray was an exchange clerk at Patumahoe Post Office when he was called to military service in 1939 and joined the 2nd NZ Divisional Cavalry Regiment. He served in the Middle East and participated in the Greek campaign.In January 1942, the New Zealand Herald reported that Ray found a camera on a deceased German soldier. He later had the photographs developed upon his return to Egypt, revealing a personal glimpse into the life of the German soldier.Ray got engaged to Kathleen Annie (Ann) ADAMS from Patumahoe in July 1943. They were married on August 5, 1944, at St. James Presbyterian Church in Pukekohe. Together, they had a son, and a daughter.After returning home from the war, Ray transitioned to farming, starting as a farm labourer before acquiring his own farm in the Te Awamutu area. He managed his farm with his wife Ann from 1949 until his retirement in 1972.Ray enjoyed playing golf at the Te Awamutu Golf Club and represented Waikato in several inter-provincial tournaments. He also competed in the New Zealand Golf Championships and the New Zealand Open.Ray passed away 14 September 1997 at Te Awamutu, at the age of 78. He was cremated and his ashes are interred at the RSA section of the Te Awamutu Cemetery. On 14 May 2009 Ray's wife,Ann died at age 89, her ashes are interred in the same plot as Ray.Sources:Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumPapers PastAncestry®Researched by Ian ShackletonNZ Herald January 194284

HIGHAM Frank DouglasService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 416116Squadron: 75 SquadronLast Known Rank: Flight Sergeant Memorial Board: Karaka Frank was born in Onehunga on 9 June 1919 to parents Thomas HIGHAM and Olive Emily née LAINGof Huia. He had two older brothers and two younger sisters. He attended Huia and Weymouth Primary Schools and Otahuhu Technical College from 1934 to 1936. Frank played rugby and was a keen boatsman and fisherman. Before enlistment he worked as a diesel engineer and a sheep farmer.On February 8, 1941, he enlisted with the Royal New Zealand Airforce. He did his military training at Levin, Whenuapai and Saskatchewan, Canada and then went into the Europe campaign. Unfortunately, on 28 August 1943 Frank lost his life at the age of 24. According to family, he and his crew were reported missing after his sixth operational flight with No:75 (NZ) Squadron. He lost his life in a raid over Nuremburg on the night of 27 August 1943. The Stirling 111 aircraft, captained by F/Sgt Higham, took off from Mepal at 21:30 hours and crashed at Schwarzenau, 21km ENE of Wurzburg. All the crew were killed and later buried in Durnbach War Cemetery. Frank had completed two previous flights with No:1651 Conversion Unit, totalling 8 operational flights and 505 hours at the time of his death.His six flights with 75 squadron were: • 10 August 1943, Nuremburg, Germany (second pilot)• 12 August 1943, Turin, Italy (second pilot)• 15 August 1943, Gironde Estuary, Bay of Biscay, France (pilot)• 17 August 1943, Peenemunde, Germany (Operation Hydra) (pilot)• 23 August 1943, Berlin Germany (pilot)• 27 August 1943, Nuremburg, Germany (pilot).He is also remembered on the Papakura Cenotaph and on the Roll of Honour at Auckland War Memorial Museum Hall of Memories.Sources:Photo: Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumFamily contact: Robert Higham, NephewResearch writer: Rachael Hill85

HINTON Ivan PercyService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 274529Regiment: 21 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: Patumahoe DomainAudrey Ethel GURNEY met Ivan HINTON at a dance in Patumahoe after the war. Ivan was tall, dark and handsome. He had a steady job on his parents’ dairy farm down Ostrich Rd, not far from The Falls at Mauku where Audrey’s family worked for the WILYS, her father, Bill, on the land and her mother, Muriel, née EASON, in the house. The Wilys owneda large colonial house boasting a wrap-around veranda, seven bedrooms and a dining room where they entertained many guests.Audrey, a trained dressmaker, was only 19 when she and Ivan started going out together. “Don’t tell people your age,” he said. “They’ll think I’m a cradle snatcher.” He was 12 years older and had been at war for several years, first in Egypt and then Italy. If ever he talked about that period, it was only of the good things; the close friends he made, the pranks they got up to, and odd memories like the two weeks leave in England where he danced on a sloping floor.His commander, Clair Hardy MC, once told Audrey that Ivan’s job in Egypt was to get fuel to the front line, to keep his tanker road-worthy and to navigate his own way to a meeting point. “Despite theobstacles he always turned up, smiling because he’d made it,” Hardy said. Ivan was hospitalised onceonly, for a terrible dose of boils on his back. He slept on his stomach for a month in the Cairo hospital and bore the pit marks for the rest of his life. On his return to civilian life, he played rugby for Patumahoe alongside mates who had also seen active service. “They worked hard and played hard,” said Audrey. “I called him my wild colonial boy because he was a bit wild.” After they decided to marry, Ivan approached his father about stepping up his role on the farm to that of sharemilker. He also asked if he could build a house on the property. The discussion did not go well, and he left the family farm to work for Arnie TROUGHTON on Cuff Rd. On 7 May 1949, Mr Troughton provided his big car and ensured Ivan, his brother Trevor, and MaurieWalker got to the church, sober and on time. Three children followed the wedding over the next fouryears. The birth of their third child coincided with Elizabeth II’s visit to Pukekohe where Grandmother GURNEY was introduced to the Queen as an ‘old identity’. Twelve years later, Audrey and Ivan were surprised by another pregnancy. They ended up with five daughters and one son, in all. Their attempts to win a rehab farm by ballot were unsuccessful. Ivan interspersed farming with periods in the building trade or driving trucks for the Dehydration Factory in Pukekohe. In 1984, after a couple of mini strokes, he died of a heart attack. Forty years on, Audrey is still going strong. Sadly, she has outlived their eldest daughter, Barbara, who died in 2022 of motor neuron disease. Source:Grateful thanks to Ivan’s wife, Audrey Hinton, née Gurney.Researched by Wendy Clark86

HINTON Trevor HarryService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 274308Regiment: 29th Light Anti-aircraft, New Zealand ArtilleryLast Known Rank: Temporary bombardier, JayforceMemorial Board: Patumahoe The second born of three sons and twin daughters, Trevor HINTON leftschool, and home, around the age of thirteen or fourteen years. He foundwork on an uncle’s dairy farm in Te Awamutu. His older brother, Ivan, was already working on the home farm in the Waikato with their father, Percy, who’s permanently bent knees were a legacy of active service in WWI. He had been shot in the back of his legs. Their mother, Cecilia, suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that confined her to a wheelchair. Theiryounger brother, Norrie, wore calipers, having contracted polio at the age of three.After war broke out, Trevor followed Ivan in enlisting, leaving Norrie to help their father on the new Patumahoe farm. They had moved north to escape Waikato’s damp fog in the hope it would relieveCecilia’s arthritis. Trevor embarked as a gunner and, at war’s end, joined the Jayforce as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. He suffered burns during a small explosion, though not seriously enough to be drafted home.1949 found him back in New Zealand, sharemilking for his parents after Ivan, who had worked for years on the family farm for little more than board, walked off the property following a dispute with theirfather about his future there. Both brothers put their names into a ballot for a rehab farm but only Trevor was successful, possibly because he applied for a farm in the back blocks of Port Albert.Sometime in 1954, between winning the ballot and taking up the land in Northland, Trevor quietly married a 34-year-old spinster, Mavis Jean SAUNDERSON. Mavis had worked during the war as a land girl, a useful skill set for a farmer’s wife. The first Ivan knew of the marriage was during a visit to his mother. As his wife, Audrey, recalls it, Cecilia announced, “Trevor’s married.” “How do you know?” Ivan asked. “She sent me a letter,” said his mother.The family saw little of Trevor, after that. They know the couple adopted a daughter, Ann, before being blessed by the arrival of a second daughter, Kathleen. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his early departure from home and his long service in the army, Trevor proved to be a free spirit. A Port Albert neighbour, who later moved to Pukekohe, once commented to his sister-in-law, Audrey, that ‘Trevor led Mavis a merry dance. She never knew where he was or what he was up to.’After retiring from farming, they moved to Mt Albert. According to the electoral roll, Trevor was stillthere at 5 Lorraine Ave with Mavis in 1981, working for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. However, by 1987 he resided at Te Mata Creek in Thames, retired and alone. Mavis had shifted to Central Ave, Manukau. She outlived him by three years. He died on 10 June 2002, at age 81.His ashes were laid to rest in the Manukau Memorial Gardens, not far from Mavis’s home.Source:Many thanks to Trevor’s sister-in-law, Audrey Hinton, née Gurney, who also supplied the photo of Trevor, best man at Audrey & Ivan’s wedding, 1949. Researched by Wendy Clark87

HIRSTICH Bruce MackenzieService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 41430Squadron: RAF 124 Last Known Rank: SergeantMemorial Board: Patumahoe and Pukekohe High SchoolBruce MacKenzie HIRSTICH was the son of Frank HIRSTICH and Adah Caroline Elizabeth née WORDEN, and he was born on 14 May 1922. His father came from Drasnice, Yugoslavia and he became a naturalised New Zealander in 1911. His mother was born in Bombay, Auckland. Bruce was the eldest of four children. He attended Pukekohe Technical High School from 1936-1937 in the Agricultural course. He went on to attend New Plymouth Boys’ High School. The Franklin Times reported on 2 December 1938 that he “achieved considerable success in sports activities” at New Plymouth Boys’ High School. He had won his first boxing match – the under 11 stone category. The Auckland Star, in an article dated 2 March 1943, reported that he was “missing on air operations” and also said that he “took an active interest in football and cricket and won the New Plymouth Boys’ High School boxing championships two years running”. After leaving school he was employed on farm machinery assembly work by D. McWALLACE in Newmarket, Auckland.He enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the No.1 Aircraft depot, Hobsonville on 1 January 1941 and in August was posted to the Ground Training School in Levin. He was reclassified to Leading Aircraftman and then promoted to Airman Pilot and in September went to the No.2 Elementary Flying Training School in New Plymouth. Shortly afterwards he embarked for Canada for training at the No. 6 Service Flying Training School in Dunnville, Ontario. During the three-month course he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. In April 1942 he was transferred to 1 “Y’ Depot and shortly afterward departed for the United Kingdom. He was posted to several English bases, but his final base was at the No.124 Squadron in North Weald, Essex. Sergeant Hirstich was the pilot of a Spitfire fighter aircraft posted missing on-air operations over enemy-occupied territory on 17 February 1943. The International Red Cross subsequently stated that he had died on 20 February 1943 because of serious wounds received when his aircraft crashed near Calais, France. He is buried in the New British Cemetery, Pihen-lès-Guînes 10km from Calais in France. Bruce is also remembered on the Patumahoe Memorial. He received the War Medal 1939-1945 and the New Zealand War Service Medal.Sources:Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumNZ Births Deaths & Marriages OnlinePapers Past, Ancestry®, Archives NZAircrewremembered.comSouvenir Booklet Silver Jubilee, Pukekohe Technical High SchoolResearched by Karen Grainger88

HISCOCK ArchibaldService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 425254Unit: 5 & 25 Servicing UnitsLast Known Rank: Leading AircraftmanMemorial Board: PuniArchibald (Archie) was born on 24 December 1916 in Pukekohe and was the seventh child of ten of Francis William HISCOCK (1875-1960) and Elsie Mary PETERSON (1884-1973). Francis and Elsie were married on 10 July 1907. Archie attended Aka Aka School from 3 February 1922 until he left on 20 December 1929 and the following year he attended Pukekohe Technical High School at which he stayed until the end of 1932. He obtained his proficiency certificate and spent two years in the school cadets. After leaving school he worked on the family dairy farm and was still employed there when he enlisted for service in WW2.Archie enlisted in the Army on 30 March 1942 and from his personnel papers we learn that he was 5 feet 9 inches (1.75m) tall, had brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was posted to Papakura, Devonport, Narrow Neck and Auckland and then just two months later on 30 May he transferred to the Air Force while he was in Waipapakauri and from there it was off to Rotorua until 26 November1942, then to Rongotai until 4 February 1943, Woodbourne until 5 June 1943 and then to Wigram. On 16 February 1944 he was posted to the Solomon Islands with No. 5 Servicing Unit and then to Espiritu Santo and Bougainville with No. 25 Servicing Unit and he remained there until 12 August 1945. Archie was released from the air force on 20 November 1945. On 6 August 1949 he married Bertha HALIFAX. She was born on 14 August 1921 in Whangarei and was the daughter of Wilfred HALIFAX (1894-1954) and Sarah Clarinda McNIE (1881-1963). Wilfred and Sarah were married on 8 September 1919 in St Peters Church in Hamilton. Bertha started school 1 November 1926 in Whangarei and then the family shifted to Otahuhu around 1930 so she may have completed her schooling there. She was living with her parents in Ellerslie in 1946 and up until she married. Bertha and Archie continued farming on the Aka Aka – Puni Road throughout their married life and raised their four childrenthere. Bertha passed away on 24 May 2006 in Pukekohe and Archie passed away peacefully on 16 February 2017 aged 100. They are interred in the RSA Section in the Pukekohe Cemetery.Sources:Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumService personnel file of 425254 Archibald Hiscock, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampPapers PastNZ Electoral RollsOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumAncestry®Researched by Ross Miller89

HISCOCK Reuben CliveService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 404022Regiment: Service Corps Last Known Rank: DriverMemorial Board: PuniReuben was born on 1 January 1919 in Pukekohe and was the eighth child of ten born to Francis William HISCOCK (1875-1960) and Elsie Mary PETERSON (1884-1973). Francis and Elsie were married on 10 July 1907. Reuben attended Aka Aka School from 4 February 1924 until he left in December 1932. He worked on the family farm and later became a carpenter. This was his occupation when he filled out his attestation papers on 19 August 1941. He had been employed by Fletcher Construction in Auckland for the past three years. From his papers we know that he was 6 feet (1.8m) tall, weighed 10 stone 13lbs (69kg), blues eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion. Reuben enlisted on 5 January 1942 and it was almost twelve months before he was posted overseas to New Caledonia on 27 December 1942, he was there until 22 August 1944. His service there was ended because he, along with several hundred others, was returned to New Zealand for Essential Industry. This meant that due to the shortage of workers in New Zealand Reuben was required to return for farming (listed occupation was Dairy Farm Hand) despite being a Carpenter that was on his enlistment papers. After serving a total of 2 years and 276 days Reuben was released from the army on 6 October 1944. There was a welcome dance held in his honour in the Puni Hall. He spent some time after the war working on the farm and then he eventually made his way to Rotorua and returned to the carpentry trade. On 31 July 1948 he married Joy MOORES in Rotorua. Joy was born on 6 January 1923 and was the daughter of Albert Edward MOORES (1884-1947) and Florence Kate COCKS (1893-1977). Her parents were married on 1 August 1914. Joy was brought up in Te Pohue and Rotorua. Her brother Norman was a Carpenter, so perhaps, this how Reuben met Joy. Reuben and Joy settled in Rotorua, raised their four children and retired there.Reuben died on 11 April 1980 and Joy died on 27 November 2008. He is also remembered on the Aka Aka and Waiuku Town Hall roll of honour boards.Sources:Service personnel file of 404022 Reuben Clive Hiscock, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampAncestry®Papers PastNZ Electoral RollsOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumResearched by Ross Miller90

HOPE John DavidService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: F4322759Squadron: 3 & 4 Bomber ReconnaissanceLast Known Rank: Flight SergeantMemorial Board: PuniJohn was born on 28 December 1919 in Wellington and was the youngest child of Frederick HOPE (1879-1951) and Letitia Elizabeth MANSFIELD (1883-1960). Frederick and Letitia were married on 18 January 1911. John attended Upper Takaka school and at the end of the 1931 school year he passed his proficiency examination. He wrote on his attestation paper that he also did two years at secondary school. He possibly worked on the family farm after leaving school and then the 1941 and 1943 electoral rolls for Franklin shows that he was employed as a Sharemilker on Henry LEWIS’s farm on Attewell Road in Pukekohe. This was where he was working when he filled out his attestation form and he enlisted on 30 March 1942. He was posted to No: 15 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery regiment while serving with the Army.Before embarking to the Pacific on 22 February 1944 he married Jean Lilian MACDOUGALL. She was born on 10 March 1921 in Christchurch and was the daughter of Colin Henry MACDOUGALL(1888-1957) and Eileen Lilian BEER (1897-1975). Her parents were married on 10 October 1917 in Riverton. During his first tour in the Pacific, he was stationed in Fiji from 14 July 1944 until 4 September 1944 and during this time, as a 2nd Pilot, he was involved in 14 missions which didn’t have any strikes. His flying hours on this tour were 110. On his second tour in the Pacific during 1945 he was stationed at Guadalcanal from 7 February to 18 March, Green Island from 18 March to 9 June and finally at Jaquinot Bay from 10 June to 27 June. During this time, as a Pilot, he was involved in 37 missions which included 23 strikes. His flying hours during this tour was 139 hours which included 103 day-time operational hours, 5 night-time operational hours and 31 day-time non-operational hours. He was discharged from the forces 28 September 1945.After the war John and Jean farmed in Upper Moutere and in 1949 they shifted to Invercargill. Sometime in the 1960s they were on the move and ended up in Christchurch and this is where they spent the rest of their lives. Jean died on 30 October 2008 and John passed away a few weeks later on 18 November 2008 in Christchurch.Sources:Service personnel file of 275552/F432759 John Hope, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampPapers Past, NZ Electoral RollsAncestry®Researched by Ross Miller91

HUGHES Douglas UlyettService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: F4310353Unit: 31 Servicing UnitLast Known Rank: Aircraftman Class 1Memorial Board: PuniDouglas was born on 5 December 1923 in Manurewa and was the son of Herbert HUGHES (1898-1966) and Madolyn Ruthe WARIN (1900-1975). Herbert and Madolyn were married on 26 September 1922 in Warkworth. At the time of Douglas’ birth they were living in Manurewa and between 1931 and 1935 they shifted up to Kaipara Flats and were farming in the area. Douglas would probably have gone to Kaipara Flats school. He did gain his proficiency certificate. In the early 1940s they shifted south and settled in Rogers Road in Puni to take up farming and market gardening. Douglas’ early life after school is unknown but on his attestation paper upon enlistment he was employed as a Store Assistant with the North Auckland Farmers Co-op in Warkworth.He enlisted in the army on 20 February 1942 and served there until 10 August 1943, when he made the decision to transfer to air force. The transfer took effect the following day and he was given the rank of Aircraftman Class 1. From Wikipedia it states that the purpose of an Aircraftman is to provide technical, administrative and operational support to military operations in the air. This could include maintaining and repairing aircraft, loading, unloading and delivering cargo, providing security or carrying out safety checks. Douglas was posted to Espiritu Santo in Bougainville on 21 August 1944 until 13 August 1945 and he was released from the forces on 19 November 1945.After the war he made his way to Nelson and it was there on 10 October 1947 he married Gwendalyn Doris GILL. She was born on 22 February 1925 in Nelson and was the daughter of William Edward GILL (1889-1959) and Clara Elizabeth BREWERTON (1896-1957). William and Clara were married on 7 February 1912. The NZ electoral rolls show that they lived in Nelson for the rest of their lives and Douglas was employed as a Watersider until he retired around 1987. Gwendalyn passed away 21 December 1983 in Nelson and Douglas died on 23 August 2000 in Nelson.Sources:Service personnel file of 619990/F4310353 Douglas Ulyett Hughes, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampPapers Past, NZ Electoral Rolls, Ancestry®Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumResearched by Ross MillerCorsairs of 31 Servicing unit at Palikulo Bay Airfield, Espiritu Santo, 31 Oct 194492

HUGHES Herbert ReginaldService: Royal New Zealand NavyService Number: 7946Last Ship: HMS ResourceLast Known Rank: SignalmanMemorial Board: PuniHerbert, or Bert as he was commonly known, was born on 17 March 1925 and was the son of Herbert HUGHES (1898-1966) and Madolyn Ruthe WARIN (1900-1975). Herbert and Madolyn were married on 26 September 1922 in Warkworth. At the time of his birth they were living in Manurewa and between 1931 and 1935 they shifted up to Kaipara Flats and were farming in the area and Bert would probably have gone to Kaipara Flats school. In the early 1940s they shifted south and settled in Rogers Road in Puni to take up farming and market gardening. Bert enlisted for service in the Navy on 30 June 1943 and was immediately posted to HMNZS Tamaki (Auckland shore base) with the rank of Ordinary Signalman and the following month he was posted to HMNZS Cook which was based in Wellington. On 15 October 1943 he was back in Auckland after being posted to HMNZS Philomel and then on 24 November he was sent overseas and was posted to HMNZS Lanka which was based in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and then posted on 18 May 1944 to HMS Resource (pictured) which was a fleet repair ship of the Royal Navy. Bert was promoted to Signalman on 14 October 1944. He returned to New Zealand in November 1945 and was finally discharged on 8 January 1946.After the war he was back in Puni working on the family farm and in 1952 Bert married Valerie Virginia DUNSMUIR. She was born on 20 June 1931 and was the daughter of Robert DUNSMUIR (1901-1984) and Irene May MITCHELL (1884-1976). Robert and Irene were married 29 December 1924 in Pukekohe. In 1957 Bert and Valerie shifted to Pukekohe and he continued to work as a Market Gardener up to the early 1960s and then plied his trade as a carpenter.Bert died on 7 December 1988 and sometime later Valerie married Douglas David ALEXANDER(1927-2021) who had also lost his partner. Valerie passed away on 22 October 1921 and reunited with Bert in the RSA Section of the Pukekohe Cemetery.Sources:Service personnel file of 7496 Herbert Reginald Hughes,NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampNZ Electoral RollsOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumResearched by Ross Miller93

HULTON FergusService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 416196Unit: Fighter Command. 57 Operational Training unitLast Known Rank: SergeantMemorial Board: Wesley CollegeFergus HULTON was born on 15 August 1923 in Rotorua, the youngest of nine sons of Thomas Henry (1882-1930) and Isabel Hineiterangi (Bella) MacPHERSON (1883-1961). Thomas and Isabel were married on 6 February 1904 in Matata, Whakatane, Bay of Plenty. Thomas had served in the New Zealand Army Corps in the First World War and was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry.Fergus was educated at Rotorua Boys’ High School and Wesley College, Paerata where he passed his Higher School Leaving Certificate. He played for the Wesley College first fifteen and won his weightdivision in the school boxing championships.After leaving school he was employed by the Native Department at Rotorua. He applied for war service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 1 March 1941.After completing initial training in Levin, Fergus was posted to the Elementary Flying Training School where he commenced his flying training. He proceeded on 5 April to No 2 Service Flying Training School at Woodburn and on 15 June he was awarded his flying badge. He was promoted to sergeant on 5 September and on the 16 of September he embarked for the United Kingdom.Fergus arrived on the 18 November 1942 and trained with various units before joining No. 57 Operational Training Unit to complete his Spitfire Fighter in late April 1943.On 5 May 1943 Fergus was piloting a Spitfire IIA (P7902) during Fighter Command Training. He was one of a formation of Spitfires which was “bounced” by a number of Hurricanes. In the mock dogfight that followed Fergus collided with a Hurricane (AG111) resulting in Fergus crashing into a bog close to a dry-stone wall at Doddington Hill, near Wooler, and the Hurricane crashing onto Horton Moor also near Doddington. Both pilots died. Fergus was buried on 10 May 1943 in the Chevington Cemetery, Chevington, Northumberland (section H, plot 237). Sources:Ancestry®Cenotaph -Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumArchives NZ Aircrewremembered.comResearched by: Ian Shackleton94

HUNT Clifford MMService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 3209Regiment: 18 BattalionLast Known Rank: SergeantMemorial Board: PuniClifford was born 9 January 1909 to John and Mary HUNT of Tilbrook, a small agricultural village about 100km north of London. Cliff came to New Zealand in 1937. He had been farming in Puni for two years when he enlisted with the army in 1939. Cliff started training at a military camp in Ngāruawāhia in October 1939. The Franklin Times reported him in Egypt as part of the First Echelon, on 20 March1940.On 14 November 1941 the Bedford Times reported that our Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, wrote to Cliff’s parents in Tilbrook congratulating them on their son being awarded the bronze Medal of Royal Order of George I with swords, Greece. Private Clifford Hunt #3209, 18 Battalion, 12 Platoon was a member of the Bodyguardfor the King of the Hellenes, Crete, May 1941.On 22 September 1944 Cliff, now a Sergeant found himself in command of a Reece Honey Tank. They had been ‘working the road’ without support when they had been held up by an enemy strong point. Under fire from the enemy dug-into open field Sergeant Hunt immediately returned fire causing the enemy to jump out and try to run away from their slit trenches. Maneuvering his tank into the middle of the fleeing enemy he managed to stop them running and was able to take 20 prisoners. After disarming the prisoners, he put them in a ditch where he covered them with his tank and prevented any escape until the infantry of 22 Battalion arrived and took over the prisoners. For his conduct during the series of action at this time he was granted an immediate Military Medal. It was noted ‘that his gallantry and absolute disregard for personal safety won for him the high regard of all the troops and considerably inspired his Reece section”.April 1945 and Cliff was finally home. Cliff continued to farm in Puni and married Elma Jean SVENDSON in 1946. The couple had four sons and remained farming in Puni for the rest of their lives. Clifford died on Sunday 22 December 1985 and his funeral was held on Christmas Eve. Elma died on 9 August 2007 both are remembered on a plaque at the RSA section of Pukekohe Cemetery.Sources:Online Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumPapers Past: Ngāruawāhia Camp Franklin Times 6 Oct 1939; on furlough 19 July 1943Bedford Times: 14 Nov 1941, PM letter to parentsAncestry® Various Family TreesResearcher: Karen BowmerClifford Hunt MM – Service Medals including the Royal order of George 1 with swords Greece, on the far right.95

HUNTER Ronald CrawfurdService: Royal New Zealand Air ForceService Number: 403006Unit: 42 Operational Unit Last Known Rank: SergeantMemorial Board: Pukekohe RSA Memorial and Waiau PaRonald was born on 19 March 1922 in Taumarunui and was the youngest child in a family of six of James Steen HUNTER (1873-1946) and Hilda née McKENZIE (1880-1973). James and Hilda were married on 31 October 1900 in Auckland. The family moved around a bit and Ronald eventually started school at Maramarua on 2 February 1926 but only until May that year because he was off to Mangatawhiri school. Then on 4 June 1930 he entered the Waiau Pa school and remained there until he left on 5 May 1936 after he had obtained his proficiency certificate. He was employed by his father to work on the family farm at Waiau Pa and he was still there when he made his application for aircrew on 1 October 1939.He enlisted on 1 September 1940 and the following month he boarded the Aorangi bound for Canada where he arrived on 25 October. Before Ron left, he was given a send-off at the Waiau Pa hall. Shortly after his arrival he was at No. 1 Wireless School in Montreal from which he graduated on 12 April 1941. Thenext course was at Bombing and Gunnery School in Ontario. He was awarded the Wireless Operator Air Gunner’s badge and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Ron arrived in England, and he was posted to Cranwell, Lincolnshire for an advanced signals course and then on 6 January 1942 he joined 42 Operational Training Unit at Andover in Hampshire.He was a keen rugby player and prior to going overseas was a prominent member of the Patumahoe Football Club and showed promise in the fullback and wing positions when he filled in for the Patumahoe senior team when very young. He also played in the Air Force team in Canada and England.On 30 March 1942 Ronald was killed in an air accident and he was buried at Andover Cemetery, Hampshire in England. From the website at aircrewremembered.com it tells us what caused the accident. The aircraft was a Blenheim IV V5572 aircraft and during a practice landing at a satellite airfield after a landing attempt at 16:05 hrs the port engine failed to pick up and V5572 spun off a turn from 400 feet (122 metres), crashing 1½ miles (2.4km) west of Andover. All three crew were killed. Sources:Ancestry®, NZSG Kiwi IndexOnline Cenotaph, Auckland War Memorial MuseumRNZAF Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945 Ha-HyResearched by Ross Miller96

HUNTER StanleyService: New Zealand ArmyService Number: 66740Regiment: 21 BattalionLast Known Rank: PrivateMemorial Board: Patumahoe and AwhituStanley HUNTER, known as Stan, was born 12 August 1916, to parents James Hunter (1872-1955) and his wife Amy née GLASGOW (1875-1955), farmers of Patumahoe. Stan was the youngest in a family of seven children. He started school at Patumahoe 12 November 1921, going on to attend Pukekohe District High School, with his sister Winnifred looking after her youngest brother.Stan’s brothers, William and Robert, formed Hunter Bros, Carriers. In 1935 there was a transfer of Goods and Services license at Pollok to Hunter Bros of Patumahoe and in 1937 the brothers were successful in gaining contracts to collect cream on the Manukau Peninsula. The business had a depot in Bowen Street, Waiuku. Stan was a driver for his brothers and by 1941, had started the mail delivery to the peninsula. This was continued by family while he was away. Stan was also a very good hockey player and was a Franklin Representative and Captain of the team that won the White Horse Cup in 1937. Stan enlisted 5 July 1941, embarking from Wellington 15 September as part of the 7 Reinforcements, disembarking at Port Tewfik, Egypt 20 October 1941. After training, Stan was posted to 21 Battalion, and was a battle casualty, wounded 20 April 1943, receiving a gunshot to his right thigh when north of Takrouna, Tunisia, during the North African campaign. After recovery he was posted to Italy, returning to New Zealand from the Middle East on the SS Strathmore 3 September 1945 and discharged from service 11 March 1946, having served overseas 4 years and 17 days.Stan came home and for some years continued his mail run before moving into Auckland city. By 1960, he was living at 2/9 Federal Street, a Central Railway Employee, and guardsman on the Auckland to Wellington express. Although Stan was a loner, he took an interest in the young soldiers travelling to Waiouru Camp as they would find their way to the guard’s van. His sister Winnifred and her daughter used to make sandwiches and meet the train at Huntly. They ended up making a huge amount as Stan was giving most of them to the young men. In 1969 he was living at 490 Queen Street, Auckland city as a Labourer, working for some years at Alcan Industries, Wiri, before retiring.Stan passed away at the Ranfurly Veterans Home, 10 September 1989 aged 73 years and is buried in the Papatoetoe Cemetery (Manukau Memorial Gardens), RSA section Plot 1144.When Winnifred passed away her daughter found photos from his time in El Alamein. She took all photos and his medals -The 1939-45 Star, The Africa Star with 8th Army clasp, The Italy Star, The War Medal 11939-45, The New Zealand War Service Medal to Waiouru Military Museum for future generations of Hunters to see.Sources:Service Personnel file of 66740 Stanley Hunter, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham Camp Hunter family – Gael JacksonResearch by: Gillian Conroy97

ILLSLEY Kenneth Peter BEMService: Royal New Zealand NavyService Number: 1656Last Ship: HMNZS RoyalistLast Known Rank: Petty Officer TelegraphistMemorial Board: Paerata and Karaka Kenneth Peter ILLSLEY, known as Ken, was born on 1 April 1922 at Paerata to Samuel ILLSLEY (1892-1981) and Hilda Emily Blackwell née BUTT(1898-1971). He was the second eldest in a family including two brothers and one sister.Ken attended Karaka School and when he left school, he was a grocer’s assistant. He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy as a 16-year-old on 14 October 1938 as a Seaman 2nd class. He went into the Telegraphist branch and spent time at the naval base (HMNZS Philomel) in Devonport, Auckland and on the cruiser HMS Leander from 16 February 1940. In May 1942 he was promoted to Acting Leading Telegraphist and posted back to the shore base of the HMNZS Philomel and HMNZS Cook, the shore base in Wellington. From August 1943 to February 1944, he served on the minesweeper HMNZS Rimu. He spent some months of training with the Royal Australian Navy and was promoted to Acting Petty Officer Telegraphist. He returned to New Zealand in August 1944 to serve again on the HMNZS Philomelwhere he would spend the rest of the war and was confirmed as Petty Officer Telegraphist. He then worked at the Naval Communication Station at Waiouru until April 1948 when he joined the HMNZS Arbutus, and this enabled him to get to England for further training.After the war he worked in the London shore-based establishments HMS President and HMS Mercuryuntil July 1950 when he returned to New Zealand. He was promoted to Chief Petty Officer Telegraphist and sailed from Auckland to Portsmouth arriving on 12 December 1955 on the HMNZS Bellona. The ship’s company from HMNZS Bellona transferred to the refitted HMNZS Royalist to commission her into the RNZN. They brought the cruiser back to New Zealand and Ken served in her until April 1957. He took his discharge from the Navy on 31 March 1959. He married Winifred Dickens KERRELL in 1942, but they divorced around 1944. His second marriage was to Jean Ella GUY in 1946, and they had two boys. Ken and Jean lived in Wellington central from 1946 through to sometime in the early 1950s when they lived in Manurewa. From 1957 through to his death in 1985, they lived in various places on the North Shore. His occupations were warehouse manager, work study officer and production controller. He died on 16 March 1985 and was cremated at North Shore Memorial Park.Ken is remembered on the Paerata and Karaka Honours Board. He was awarded the War Medal 1939-1945 and the NZ War Service Medal. In June 1955 he was awarded the British Empire Medal as a Chief Petty Officer Telegraphist. (The British Empire Medal was granted by Her Majesty the Queen in recognition of meritorious civil or military service. Recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters “BEM” with special privileges to use St Paul’s Cathedral for funerals, baptisms and weddings.) Sources:Service personnel file of 401767, Kenneth Illsley, NZDF Personnel Archives, Trentham CampNZ Births Deaths & Marriages Online, Papers Past, Ancestry®Researched by Karen Grainger98