New Zealand Division weblog
Monday, 15 October 2012
Bruce Cunningham, WW2 Lancaster pilot, who attended the Bomber Command Memorial unveiling in London on 28 June 2012
Wellington Branch Meeting, 5:30pm for 6:00pm start – Wednesday, 17 October 2012
National SCOUT Centre, Level 1, 1 Kaiwharawhara Road, Wellington, NZ
This month the Branch is welcoming Bruce Cunningham who was selected as part of the New Zealand delegation that travelled to London earlier this year to take part in the unveiling of the Bomber Command Memorial in London by Her Majesty the Queen.
Bruce served as a Lancaster pilot and was shot down during a bomber raid over Europe. All of his crew members were able to exit the aircraft without serious injury due in no small part by the emergency actions
instigated by Bruce. He became a POW and has some interesting experiences to recount.
Following his return to New Zealand he continued to work in the accounting profession in which he still has an involvement! He is a well known figure with his familiar hat as a collector on Poppy Day each year and is probably the oldest collector in our local area.
Bruce is the oldest living Life Member of the Wellington Aero Club where he served with distinction as Secretary for a number of years. He was also the Secretary of Gliding New Zealand for a lengthy period.
Bruce found the visit to London to be a remarkable experience and he will be sharing some of these
memories with us. The Branch can look forward to a very interesting and informative presentation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Bruce was my recently dead Dads accountant for many years & dads father was a founding member of wgtn aeroclub killed in a wgtn aircrash returning from Bellblock air patent put on to help raise funds for the coming sir charles Kinsford-smith arrival early the following year, in oct 1932 in wgtn aeroclubs gypsie moth zk-aaz, George bolt found the remains atop a wgtn ridge 15 feet shy of clearing it, mist shrouded at the time. Little known contributing factor for crash was a fiddled with incorrectly reset altimeter at bell block, some feet above sea level, unbeknown to them, during joyrides at Bell block new Plymouth during sleepover campout - a commemorative memorial trophy was presented to the wgtn aeroclub for navigation contests & missing for nigh on 70 years until resurfaced in time for wgtn aeroclubs 75th anniversary atvwgtn airport.
ReplyDeleteThe trophy has now been wrongly redesignated to be contested & received for some other award. When it was presented to club specifically for navigation contests, as the flyers gresser-king were lost in the deadly mist that still descends on the area suddenly to this day.
The writer is the Grandson of GBS King whom still retains the clock that was mounted in the dashboard 1 item the grave robbers didn't remove.
Bruce's premises have the blinds permanently closed & his current listed phone number is disconnected, is Bruce still with us ?.
G would someone still retain any component of zk-aaz, for sentimental reasons, like a prop etc ?.I think airframe was impressed ww2 or crashed nzl west coast after rebuild.
Thankyou. Trevor 20.12.2015.