OBITUARY

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31708, 18 June 1968, Page 12

OBITUARY

Group Capt A. B. Woodhall

Group Captain A. B. Woodhall, a noted Royal Air Force officer in World War IL died in Dunedin last week. He was 71. Group Captain Woodhall was commander of Duxford and Tangmere stations during the Battle of Britain. Among the aces who served under him was Douglas Bader. He was awarded the 0.8. E., the Czech Military Cross and the American Legion of Merit. In the early part of World War I, Group Captain Woodhall served in France with the Royal Marine Infantry Regiment before joining the Royal Flying Corps as a fighter pilot

After World War I he served as a captain of marines with the Fleet Air Arm until the early 1930 s when be transferred to the R.A.F. For three years and a half he was a test pilot at Martlesham Station, an experimental R.A.F. base. At the outbreak of World War 11, Group Captain Woodhall was commander of Duxford and later he became commander of Tangmere. In February 1942 he became group captain, fighters, in Malta.

He returned to England in late 1942 to command Fairwood Common base, Exeter. At the end of the offensive in Europe, he was serving as acting air commodore in Italy.

Returning to England after the war, Group Captain Woodhall converted a Thames barge into a home before emigrating to Canada where he lived for nearly three years until coming to New Zealand in 1950. " When he arrived in New Zealand, Group Captain Woodhall took a position with

the Department of Civil Aviation in Wellington. He also served for a time at Queenstown aerodrome before moving to Dunedin in 1956, where he retired. Group Captain Woodhall is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. MR W. C. BRYDON Mr Walter Copland Brydon, of Papanui Road, who was well known in Canterbury farming circles for many years, died on Saturday. He was 93. Mr Brydon came to New Zealand from Scotland 74 years ago and worked for a time as a shepherd in Otago and Canterbury. At the turn of the century, he joined the National Mortgage and Agency Company, Ltd, beginning an association which was to last for almost 42 years. He started as a stock agent at Timaru, and aftfr 10 years there was made agent in Waimate, then manager when a branch was established. From Waimate, Mr Brydon went to Ashburton, and in 1924 was appointed manager in Christchurch, holding the position until he retired in 1946. Mr Brydon was a member of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association for more than 40 years, and a member of the committee for 30 years. He was also a past president, and treasurer for a number of years. Mr Brydon was also on the St Andrew's College board of governors for some time.