SPECIALISTS ARRIVE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20782, 17 July 1937, Page 8

SPECIALISTS ARRIVE

ROYAL AIR FORCE OFFICERS By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, July 16. The first officers to come to the Dominion under arrangements made by the Government for an exchange of Royal New Zealand Air Force officers with Royal Air Force officers arrived from England by the Arawa. They are Flight-Lieutenant W. M. Grundy, who is a specialist signals officer and Flight-Lieutenant I, Crocker, specialist engineer. Both will be attached to the Royal New Zealand Air Force for a term of two years. The New Zealand officers sent to England under the agreement between the two Governments were SquadronLeader Buckley, officer commanding the Royal New Zealand Air Force base at Hobsonville, and Flying-Officer Duffey, who was stationed at Wigram aerodrome.

In order to overcome the difficulty of providing the necessary specialist officers, the Royal Air Force agreed to send in exchange a specialist engineer and a specialist signals officer. FlightLieutenant Grundy who joined the Royal Air Force in 1926, has served with fighter squadrons since then. Recently he had been serving with one of the squadrons concerned with the defence of London. Flight-Lieutenant Crocker, who has been in the Royal Air Force since 1927, has served in flying boat squadrons and was once stationed at Singapore. He was one of the crew of the SuperMarine Southampton flying boat that made a flight from Singapore to Sydney some time ago. The two officers were met on arrival by Squadron-Leader Nevill, air staff and intelligence officer at air headquarters, Wellington, and Flight-Lieu-tenant Lester, officer commanding the Hobsonville air base. They will spend a few days at Hobsonville and will then proceed to Wellington, where they will probably be attached to air headquarters staff.