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404623 Sergeant Ian Gordon STEWART (surname underlined)
Mother Mrs. N.E. Stewart of Wellington.

Ian Stewart was born in Wellington on the 8th June 1922 and received his secondary education at St. Patrick's College. The games he played were rugby, cricket and tennis. After leaving school he entered the North British and Mercantile Insurance Co., as a clerk. In January 1940 he applied for war service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Sergeant Stewart was enlisted for aircrew training on the 24th November 1940 at the Initial Training Wing, Levin and after a short ground course embarked for Canada on the "Aorangi" at Auckland on the 30th January 1941 for training under the Empire Air Training Scheme.

Shortly after arrival in Canada, Sergeant Stewart was posted on the 16th February 1941 to No. 3 Wireless School, Winnipeg, Manitoba remaining here until the 7th July when he was posted to No. 6 Bombing and Gunnery School, Mountain View, Ontario when on the 4th August 1941 he was awarded his Wireless Operator Air Gunner's Badge and received his promotion to Sergeant. Following this on the 10th August he proceeded to No. 1 "Y" Depot, Halifax, Nova Scotia to await embarkation for the United Kingdom.

Arriving in England on the 15th September 1941, Sergeant Stewart reported to No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre, Bournemouth remaining here on attachment until postedf on the 29th September to No. 1 Signals School, Cranwell, Lincolnshire. This was followed on the 6th December by his posting to No. 1 Air Gunner's School, Pembrey, Carmarthanshire, and from here on the 20th January 1942 he was posted to No. 11 Operational Training Unit, Bassingbourn, Hertfordshire, to crew-up and complete his training on Wellington bomber aircraft prior to being posted on the 26th May to No. 75 (N.Z.) Squadron, Feltwell, Norfolk, and commencing operational flying. As gunner of a Wellington bomber he took part in nineteen operational flights including attacks on Essen (2), Emden (4), Bonn, Bremen (3), Duisberg (3), Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg all in Germany and Dieppe and St. Nazaire in France, together with a sortie minelaying in enemy waters.

On the night of the 28/29th July 1942 Sergeant Stewart was a member of the crew of a Wellington bombe which took off on air operations to (redacted location) The aircraft failed to return to its base and all its crew was classified as