On the home front, we hear Harold Peary drop out of character at the end of the Feb 7 episode of The Great Gildersleeve to announce that shoes are going to be subject to rationing. The Battle of Leningrad ends on Feb 2, and the six month Guadalcanal campaign on Feb 9. The three campaigns gaining the most attention at the beginning of the year are the North African Campaign, The Siege of Stalingrad and Guadalcanal. The enemies of the United Nations are far from beaten. He and his wife Doreen have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.By the beginning of 1943, War news begins to feel normal.
He now lives in Longwood Lifestyle Village in Riverton. He came back to New Zealand in 1946, and found it hard to adjust to peacetime. As the Americans advanced, the group was shifted around, towards Poland. He was made a prisoner of war for a short time towards the end of the war. His plane was damaged while flying over Duisburg but he managed to guide the plane to safety without any equipment. He completed numerous campaigns in enemy territory including Kiel and Stettin. He completed training in Rotorua and Canada before being stationed in England. Many of his friends wanted to go to war but most joined the Army. "War is something we have to put up with if we want to maintain our freedom and there's no such a price for freedom and you fight to preserve it."ĪRTHUR Humphries was a young man living in Tuturau when he decided to join the Air Force at 18 and a half years old to fight in World War Two. However, the problem was they had never been in those situations so could never understand fully. Young people needed to know about Anzac Day and what had happened overseas, he said. Three of that crew are buried in Germany simply because we got shot down. "Go for it, it's one of the best trainings you'll ever get, and those services are very well trained."įor him, Anzac Day is a day of importance, a time to remember friends and comrades. Despite what he saw overseas, he would still recommend the military to young men and women. He was placed in a crew of seven and remained with that team for the rest of his service. "So we volunteered to go overseas and stop it."įollowing the completion of his exams, he was sent to Rotorua and then to Canada and all up did two years training. "There was a real threat of the country being invaded the thought of my sister working in a brothel for the Germans or the Japanese and my mother scrubbing floors, in other words slaves that they would have been made. Mr Humphries was born at Mataura and educated at Tutarau School before leaving to work on his father's farm.Īfter deciding to join the Air Force at 18, he had to complete 21 weeks of correspondence assignments. I can't describe those things to people that don't understand." "I can't tell you what it's like to be in a burning aircraft, the only thing to do is get out. For that and other efforts he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. Without any instruments or navigational equipment, Mr Humphries landed the Lancaster bomber and saved his crew. LOOKING BACK: Former air force pilot Arthur Humphries touches his medals during an Anzac Day service. One of the lucky ones: Gerry Suddaby chases the warĮndangered species: Evacuated from Londonįamily research brings surprises for reporter Wartime love: Meeting in a munitions factory Making things work: Jack Pritchard's Kiwi ingenuityįamily life torn apart : Jacobus Grootveld's childhood 'Impossible hurdle': Colin Baynes remembers Cassino He fought for all of us: Arthur Humphries saves his crew Recalling the march: Ivan Dey's biggest challengeĪ willing accomplice: Comic relief from a French friend ANZAC 2009, southerners at warĪ nation born: Etched in our national consciousnessĭiary from the frontline: Allan Findlay's WW1 diaries The Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot officer had the nose of his plane shot off over Duisburg, Germany. From the look in his eyes, 1944 is a year he will never forget and it hurts to remember. EMOTIONAL: Lancaster bomber pilot Arthur Humphries sheds a tear while the Last Post is played during an Anzac Day service in Invercargill in 2006.įor many veterans, the memories of war are still fresh in their minds.Īrthur Humphries is one of those men.
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