DOMINION PILOT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 22, 27 January 1937, Page 11

DOMINION PILOT.

* MACHINE CRASHES.

DROWNED DURING A GALE.

CAPTAIN E. G. STEWART,

Captain Eric G. Stewart, the pilot who was drowned when his machine was lost in a gafe in the Trish Channel on Friday, was a Xew Zealander, whose boyhood home was at Kaikohe, where his mother, Mrs. Duncan Stewart, still lives. His sister. Miss K. Stewart, is a nurse with the Child Welfare Department in Auckland. His father is dead. Captain Stewart had a colourful life. He was with the Royal Air Force in the East, where lie met manv famous people, including "Aircraftsman Shaw," while subsequently lie was a pilot with Imperial Airwavs, Ltd.

Educated at the Whangarei High School, Captain Stewart was with the Public Trust Office in Wellington for two years before the war. As soon as war broke out he enlisted, and went with the contingent to Samoa. From there he went to Egypt, where he was just too late to go to Gallipoli. He was transferred to France subsequently where he remained until the war was over, reaching the rank of second lieutenant.

lie returned to Kaikohe, but could not settle down, and shortly afterwards joined the Royal Air Force. His trainin- W as done in Egypt, after which he was transferred to Baghdad. While there he flew all over India as an escort to the then vice-Air Marshal Sir Samuel f tTVi.- H ™* lso took P art in a Pageant at Delhi. While he was with the R4 F the service machines used to carry the mail between Cairo and Baghdad. Captain Stewart had many exciting flights in machines which were much less perfect than they are to-day. Speakin-r ot meeting famous personages, he wrote, to his sister, telling her that one day he was sitting in his tent at Baehdad when a figure walked in. It was Aircraftsman Shaw, better known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia. After he had served his short term commission, he joined Imperial Airwavs Hying over the same section. About the end of last year he gained his master pilot s certificate.

For the past few years he has been flying with different firms in England poms all over the countrv, and pavin<r frequent visits to Norway and Sweden furiously enough, last week, his mother received a letter saying that shortly her son would be flying across to Ireland. He did. and the rest is known. He was about 40 years of age, and he leaves'a wife and baby.