COMRADES AT THE WAR

Taranaki Daily News, 19 December 1930, Page 13

COMRADES AT THE WAR

MEETING AFTER MANY YEARS.

AIR PILOT AND OBSERVER.

An interesting reunion of a war-time pilot and his observer; who, after a thrilling campaign in Palestine, had not met since they were released from a Turkish prison camp in 1918, took place in Auckland last week. The. pilot is Captain F. W.- Haig, an Australian airman, who was accompanying Mr. Oscar Garden through New Zealand; and the observer Mr. V. Parkinson. of Auckland. ,

On learning that Captain- Haig, of whom he had heard, nothing during the past 12 years, was coming to New Zealand with Mr. Garden, Mr. Parkinson sent a wireless message to him on board the Ulimaroa and a meeting was arranged. Mr. Parkinson w r as the first person to greet Captain Haig as he stepped from his Moth at Mangere. It was quite a commonplace greeting and there was nothing in the hearty handshake and the mutual remark, “It’s good to see you again, old man,” to indicate that both those men had shared stirring incidents of war.

Both were members of the Australian Air Force, Mr. Parkinson, although an Aucklander by birth, having enlisted in the Commonwealth. After having served in Palestine for some time as Captain Haig’s observer he was transferred early-in 1918 to another unit. Not long afterwards during a bombing raid the bombing planes were attacked by enemy scouts and in the combat Mr. Parkinson’s pilot was shot dead. The plane crashed behind the enemy lines and Mr. Parkinson was badly injured and taken prisoner. ' ‘ A few months later, while on the dawn patrol between Aman and the Jordan Vai*, ley, Captain Haig was'captured tinder exciting circumstances and' ultimately taken to the same prison camp near Constantinople to which Mr. Parkinson had been sent from hospital. During his last patrol Captain Haig encountered three German scouts and in the ensuing combat his observer, Challener, forced one down. In the meantime an escort machine, piloted by Captain Rutherford,- received a bullet through its petrol tanks and was forced to land in enemy territory. The other two German machines having withdrawn, Cap-

I tain Haig landed his Bristol Fighter in an < attempt •to rescue’his - companions, who clambered oh the z plane, one on each wing, but as the machine commenced to take off a’ wheel, probably struck by an enemy bullet, collapsed, and the plane was wrecked. After an exciting time eluding some Circassian soldiers they were captured by Turks and eventually imprisoned at Constantinople, where Captain Haig found Mr. Parkinson. They remained there for about six months. Two or three times they made vain attempts to escape and their adventures in that direction are recorded in the recent publications, “Guests of the Unspeakable” and "Eastern Lights and Flights.” . 1 At the end of the war, when they were released, Mr. Parkinson returned to Australia, and thence to New Zealand, an/ Captain Haig, went to England.