RNZAF Biographies of Deceased Personnel: 1939 - 1945, Qu - Sl

-2- (centre aligned) The route followed being via Portreath in Cornwall, Gibralta and Malta arriving at Sharia in Egypt on the 20th August. On the 28th August Flying Officer Simpson proceeded to No. 5 Middle East Training School, Shallufa, where he continued training on Beaufort aircraft and on the 20th September proceeded to No. 47 Squadron, Shandur, in Egypt with this Squadron as the Navigator of Beaufort bomber aircraft he participated in two operational flights to enemy targets.

Flying Officer was the navigator of a Beaufort aircraft which took off on 26th October to attack an enemy convoy and was involved in a collision with a machine from a South African, Squadron on the return journey and crashed into the sea. All the members of the crew including Flying Officer Simpson were classified as missing believed killed. Nothing further was heard of Flying Officer Simpson and in due course his death was officially presumed to have occurred on the 26th October 1942.

5/15/1460 AS2. 309 hours as Navigator.

Mrs. G.S. Simpson (M) (right aligned) 5 Owen Street, (right aligned) FEILDING. (right aligned & underlined)

421995 Flight Sergeant Stuart Edward SIMPSON. Parents: Mr. and Mrs. J.W. SIMPSON of CHRISTCHURCH.

Stuart SIMPSON was born at Invercargill, on the 22nd May, 1920, and received his secondary education at the Te Kuiti District High School. He played the usual sports at School. After leaving school and at the time of his making application for aircrew training on the 22nd July 1940, he was employed as an electrician by Mr. E.A. Jonasson of Te Kuiti.

Flight Sergeant Simpson was enlisted at the Initial Training Wing, Rotorua on the 21st March 1942, and on completion of his initial training, he embarked on the 27th April 1942, for Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme.

Sergeant Simpson arrived at No. 3 "M" Depot, Edmonton, Alberta, on the 18th May 1942, and was posted on the 23rd of the same month to No. 2 Wireless School, Calgary, Alberta and proceeded on the 5th December to No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School, Dafoe, Saskatchewan, where on the 11th January, 1943, he was awarded the Wireless Operator/Air Gunners badge, and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was promoted to Flight Sergeant six months later. Meanwhile he embarked on the 26th January, 1943, from No. 1 "Y" Depot, Halifax, Nova Scotia for the United Kingdom. Flight Sergeant Simpson arrived at No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre, Bournemouth on the 5th February, 1943, and was posted on the 30th March to No. 3 (Observer) Advanced Flying Unit, Bobbington, Worcestershire, thence on the 18th May to No. 11 Operational Training Unit. With this unit at Westcott, Buckinghamshire and the satellite airfield at Oakley, he crewed up and completed his training on Wellington bomber aircraft. Late in August, he was posted to No. 1655 Conversion Unit, Woolfox Lodge, Rutlandshire, where he converted to Stirling aircraft, before posting on the 30th August, to No. 90 Squadron, Tuddenham, Suffolk.

-2- (centre aligned) With this squadron as the Wireless Operator of Stirling aircraft he took part in nine operational flights the targets including Hanover, Mannheim, Kassel, Frankfurt, and Bremen in Germany, Boulogne in France, and in addition minelaying to the Frisian Islands and (was on) La-Rochelle on the French Coast.

On the night of the 18/19th November, 1943, Flight Sergeant Simpson was the Wireless Operator of a Stirling aircraft which took off on air operations over the target of Mannheim, Germany, and failed to return to its base. All the members of the crew including Flight Sergeant Simpson were classified as missing.

Later information was received that one R.A.F. member of the crew, Sergeant Northard had been taken Prisoner-of-War and that the Pilot of the aircraft was still missing and the remaining members of the crew including Sergeant Simpson have all been officially presumed to have lost their lives on the 19th November 1943.

Find a Grave link with a photo of Sgt. Simpson: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18408310/stuart-edward-simpson Auckland Museum link with more info on Sgt. Simpson: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C26977?n=421995&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch&ordinal=0

5/3/16139 A.S.2. 274 hrs. as Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.

Mr. J.W. Simpson (Father) (right aligned) 14 Albert Terrace, (right aligned) St. Martins, (right aligned) CHRISTCHURCH. (right aligned & underlined)

NZ416804 Flight Sergeant George Andrew SINCLAIR. WIFE: Mrs. C.I. Sinclair of Wellington. MOTHER:: Mrs. F.P. Paterson of Dunedin.

George Sinclair was born at Dunedin on 1st September 1914 and received his secondary education at the King Edward Technical High School.

His civilian occupation was that of a cabinet maker employed by the Modern Furniture Ltd., of Dunedin. On the 20th September, 1938 he made a successful application for enrolment in the Civil Reserve, Technical and Administrative Section of the R.N.Z.A.F. On the 15th January, 1941 he applied for enlistment for Aircrew training.

Flight Sergeant Sinclair was enlisted at the R.N.Z.A.F. Station, Blenheim on the 3rd December 1941 and was employed on ground duties until posting on the 25th February 1942 to the Initial Training Wing, Rotorua to commence his aircrew training. On the satisfactory completion of the course he embarked on the 5th April, 1942 to continue his training under the Empire Air Training Scheme.

Shortly after arrival in Canada F/Sgt. Sinclair was posted to No. 3 Wireless School, Winnipeg, Manitoba and thence on the 28th December, 1942 to No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School, MacDonald, Manitoba where on the 19th March, 1943 he was awarded the Air Gunner's badge and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was further promoted to Flight Sergeant on the 19th September 1943.

Meanwhile on the 25th March, 1943 he proceeded to No. 1 "Y" Depot, Halifax, Nova Scotia to await embarkation to the United Kingdom.

Flight Sergeant Sinclair arrived at No. 11 Personnel Reception Centre, Bournemouth on the 11th May 1943 and on the 25th of the same month proceeded to No. 11 Operational Training Unit, Westcott and here, and at the nearby Satellite Airfield of Oakley in Buckinghamshire he crewed up and completed his training on Wellington bomber aircraft. Late in August, 1943 he proceeded to No. 1483 Bomber Gunnery Flight, Newmarket, Suffolk and one week later to No. 1651 Conversion Unit, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, where he converted

to Stirling bomber Aircraft and on the 16th September he was posted to No. 623 Squadron, Downham Market, Norfolk. With this Squadron as the rear gunner of a Stirling bomber aircraft he participated in a minelaying operation at the Frisian Islands. On the 29th December he was re-posted to No. 11 Operational Training Unit at Westcott, Buckinghamshire, where he continued training on Wellington bomber aircraft and late in April 1944 he proceeded to No. 1651 Conversion Unit, then stationed at Wratting Common, Cambridgeshire where he converted to Stirling Bomber aircraft and thence early in May to No. 3 Lancaster Finishing School, Feltwell, Norfolk. On the 9th May, 1944 Flight Sergeant Sinclair proceeded to No. 622 Squadron at Mildenhall, Suffolk and with this Squadron as the Air Gunner of Lancaster bomber aircraft he took part in a further 17 operational flights being raids on the Marshalling Yards at Trappa, Valenciennes, and Vaires; Troop Concentration at Caen; the railway junction at Aulnoye; the towns of Boulogne, Calais, Oistreham, Lisieux, Fougeres, Le Havre, Mont Didier, Nucourt and a Flying Bomb site at Beavoir, all in France, Kiel, Stuttgart and a synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen in Germany.

Flight Sergeant Sinclair was the Air Gunner of a Lancaster bomber aircraft which took off from Mildenhal on the 24/25th July, 1944 to attack the German target of Stuttgart and failed to return to its base. All the members of the crew, including Flight Sergeant Sinclair were classified as missing. Information was later received through the International Red Cross Committee from a German source that Flight Sergeant Sinclair had lost his life on the 25th July 1944 and in consequence he was reclassified to missing believed killed in action. Later information was received that he had been laid to rest in the Avraiville Cemetery, Avraiville, Mossele, France, and in due course his death was officially presumed to have occurred on the 25th July, 1944.

5/3/10225 324 hours as Air Gunner.

Mrs. C.I. Sinclair (W) (right aligned) 8 Childers Terrace, Kilbirnie (right aligned) WELLINGTON. (right aligned & underlined)