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36274: SQUADRON LEADER PETER BETTLEY ROBINSON. D.F.C.
Mother: Mrs. L.J. ARNOLD of AUCKLAND.

Peter Robinson was born at Auckland on the 15th May 1920. He received his secondary education at Seddon Memorial Technical College, Auckland, and afterwards furthered his studies by attending classes at the Ashleigh Coaching College, Auckland. The sports in which he took part were athletics, football, cricket and tennis. He was employed as a salesman by Abbott, Armstrong and Hosily, Warehousemen, Auckland. In December 1938 he applied for a short service commission in the Royal Air Force and on being accepted received his preliminary flying training at the Wanaganui Aero Club. He was posted on the 9th September 1939 with the rank of Acting Pilot Officer to No. 1 Service Flying Training School, Wigram where on the 1st January 1940 he was awarded his Flying Badge and confirmed in the rank of Pilot Officer and on the 23rd February 1940 embarked for the United Kingdom.

Squadron Leader Robinson arrived at R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, Middlesex, on the 3rd April 1940 and after a brief refresher course at No. 1 Fighter Pilots Unit, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire was posted on the 12th May 1940 to No. 12 Operational Training Unit, Benson, Oxfordshire where he trained on Fairey Battle medium bomber aircraft. He was posted on the 29th June 1940 to No. 10 Operational Training Unit, Abingdon, Berkshire, where he crewed up and completed his training on Whitley bomber aircraft. On the 27th July 1940 he was posted to No. 78 Squadron, Dishforth, Yorkshire and commenced his operational flying. With this squadron as pilot of a Whitley bomber he took part in thirty-two operational flights including attacks on Monsheim, Mannheim (4), Duisburg, Leipzig, Berlin (3), Munich, Gelsenkirchen, the "Scharnhorst" at Kiel, Stettin, Deutz, Wilhelmshaven, Levna (2), Madgenburg, Hamburg and Bremen all in Germany; Antwerp