NEW ZEALANDERS OVERSEAS

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 July 1942, Page 6

NEW ZEALANDERS OVERSEAS

AIR AND NAVAL SERVICE

LONDON, July 16. Sergeant Air Gunner N. H. McKay of Wellington was in three raids over Germany before he went to Egypt, where he carried out thirtyseven raids with Benghazi as the chief target, also raided Piraeus, Rhodes and Derna. He said: “Derna was a most exciting raid, for we dive-bombed from a height of eight thousand feet, pulling out at five hundred, whereupon search-lights and ack-ack guns on the escarpment, behind the town, almost had to fire down upon us. I am fairly certain I shot out a searchlight on that trip. McKay paid a tribute to the excellent aircraft repair "service the R.A.F. had established in Egypt. The commanding officer of his squadron was (Squadron-Leader K. F. Vare, of Wellington, who returned to England, [and was succeeded by SquadronLeader D. R. Bagnall, of Auckland. McKay met many New Zealanders in the air force in Egypt, including Flight Sergeant Colin Dreaver, son of Mrs. Dreaver, M.P. He is a rear-gun-ner. He has also returned to England. Sub-Lieutenant J. R. Wilson, of Dunedin, has returned to England after a year on the African west coast, serving as signals officer on a corvette accompanying convoys. “We only lost one ship by a torpedo in the whole year, although we convoyed ■hundreds,” he said. “We found the climate trying. I am very glad to be back in England. I saw a lot of Lieutenant Commander J. H. Seely, of Dunedin; Sub-Lieutenant R. Ross, of Auckland; and Sub-Lieutenant G. Finch, of Wellington, who are still ' serving in Africa.”