Inn’s link to museum

Press, 10 June 1980, Page 21

Inn’s link to museum

A yellowing and fragile parchment that once collected the signatures of wartime pilots in a Christchurch pub, now forms a link in the history of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Stained from being exposed to years of tobacco smoke while pinned to the wall in the bar of Riccarton’s Bush Inn, the parchment bears the signatures of many “Certified Pilots that have partaken of the hospitality of this Inn.” Being the popular “local” for aircrew training at Wigram, the parchment continued to gather signatures throughout the war and early postwar years as the number of

aircrew passing through the base grew. As each sheet was filled with signatures the parchment was expanded until it reached almost three metres in length. Although many of the hundreds of signatures cannot be deciphered, the parchment remains a historical Who’s Who of New Zealand’s Air Force personalities who either trained at or visited Wigram. Squadron Leader L. H. Trent, of Nelson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross after a bombing mission over Amsterdam in 1943, recorded his visit to the Bush Inn, as did Wing Commander M. A. Ensor, of Rangiora, wh-

at the age of 23 years, was the youngest squadron commander in the Royal Air Force’s Coastal Command. At that time. Wing Commander Ensor was one of New Zealand’s most decorated pilots, being awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Bar and Distinguised Flying Cross and Bar. The signature of another Coastal Command squadron commander is that of the Minister of Defence, Air Commodore T. F. Gill, D. 5.0., who retired from the R.N.Z.A.F. in 1969. He flew in the Battle of Britain and later was a member of the distinguished No 75 (N.Z.) Squadron.

Another who partook

the hospitality of the Bush Inn was Group Captain D.

J. Scott, D. 5.0., D.F.C. and Bar, of Christchurch, who joined the R.N.Z.A.F. in 1940 and arrived in Britain as a sergeant pilot in 1941. In nine months he rose from the rank of flight sergeant to squadron leader, and by the age of 26 had become New Zealand’s youngest group captain when he took command of wing of four R.A.F. fighter squadrons. For some 30 years the parchment has been forgotten until recently when it was given to the R.N.Z.A.F. Museum where it will be preserved and displayed as one of the Museum’s valued exhibits.