Palmerston North Pilot Injured

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 270, 2 November 1940, Page 8

Palmerston North Pilot Injured

TOOK PART IN MANY ACTIONS Pilot-Officer Eric Ralph Edmunds, who has been seriously injured in air operations overseas and lias been admitted to hospital, is a son of Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Edmunds, of Foxton Line, Palmerston North, and has been recently flying fighter machines. Mr. Edmunds has received advice that his son is a patient at Folkestone Hospital. Pilot-Officer Edmunds enjoyed rapid promotion at the outset of his short service commission with the Royal Air Force and has seen much active scrvico since he gained his * ‘wings.” He is an old boy of the Palmerston North Boys’ High School, where he passed the matriculation examination, and left for Eng. land in June of last year. In January of this year he passed the examination for his “wings” with much distinction (gaining over 80 per cent, of the total marks, this being a high average). In his class only five passed the examination with over 80 per cent, marks. He was then attached to the 205 Fighter Squadron. He was sent to Porthcawl, in Wales, and later to Drern Aerodrome, at the Tirth of Forth, and in May of this year went to Hawkinge Airport, at Folkestone, Kent. While stationed there he was engaged in activities over France, convoy work in the Channel and in bomber escort work over Germany. His squadron raided a. German-occupied aerodrome at Rouen in June and raked with machine-gun fire 50 German troop-carrying and divebombing -machines, damaging 20 of these. Later British bombers paid the aerodrome a visit. For this action the fighter squadron leader SquadronLeader Whitley, received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Shortly after this Pilot-Officer Edmunds was in action over the Channel when his machine wa3 riddled with bullets iu a fight and both wings collapsed when he landed at the aero, drcmc. After these actions he was sent to Northern Ireland for a period. While flying over Carlisle, in England, the ignition on his machine cut out and he was forced to land in very rugged country, the only available clear ground turning out to be a peat bog. He made the landing and his machine turned four or live somersaults, being completely mocked, but the pilot received only minor injuries. At the beginning of September he returned to the south coast of England. In the most recent letter his parents have received Pilot-Officer Edmunds rccotinted that a squadron-leader who was temporarily relieving Squadron-Leader Whitley was shot down in flames but baled out successfully. While defenceless in his parachute he was machine-' gunned by three MesSerschmitts and killed. This incident was reported in the cable nows recently.