AIRMEN HONOURED

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20952, 3 November 1939, Page 6

AIRMEN HONOURED

KING PINS ON MEDALS GALLANTRY OF PILOTS (Official Wireless* (Received Nov. 3, 3.15 p.m.) RUGBY, Nov. 2 Four Royal Air Force officers and one sergeant-pilot stood in a hangar somewhere in England while His Majesty pinned on decorations for gallantry on active service. The ages of the men ranged from 21 to 26 years.. The D.F.C. was conferred on act-ing-Flight Lieutenants T. M. Smith, J. Barrett and K. C. Doran, FlyingOfficer A. McPherson, and the Distinguished Flying Medal on SergeantPilot W. Willits. Flight-Lieutenants Smith and Barrett rescued the crew of the Kensington Court on September 21. Flight-Lieutenant Doran led a successful attack on an enemy cruiser in September. Flying-Officer McPherson, aged 21 years, carried out a dangerous reconnaissance resulting in a successful attack on enemy naval forces. Sergeant-Pilot Willits saved a plane and its crew when the pilot was shot in the head and collapsed at the controls during an air combat. He moved the body, obtained control at a low altitude, and navigated the machine 140 miles to the base. Inspection by King The ceremony marked the end of His Majesty’s visit to air stations in Northern England and the Midlands, in which he inspected the coastal bomber and fighter commands, saw pilots engaged in war activity, and heard stories of dangerous flights over enemy territory and engagements with planes. Stories of Great Gallantry An hour before His Majesty arrived at one station the personnel of the reconnaissance flight over South Germany on October 27 arrived. Later they gave him vivid details of the epic flight in which they encountered freezing weather. The men, who bore scars of burns and blisters, told their stories simply and earnestly, after which the King commented: “ I am proud to have met such men.” The airmen described how the engine of one machine failed owing to ice and snow conditions. The pilot ordered the crew to abandon the ship, and told the crew to jump. He saw three go, but there was no reply from the gunner. He assumed that he had already escaped. The pilot jumped and the machine crashed on a hillside. The gunner was still trapped in the cockpit with loose wire entangled round his neck, but he fought his way from the blazing machine. The men made their way separately through the night and were reunited in a little village. Senseless with Cold During the same raid the engine of ; another machine caught fire. The two 5 gunners became senseless with -the • cold. The pilot made a forced landing and struck tree tops and the machine caught fire. Assisted by other members of the crew the pilot dragged the gunners out and memorised and then burnt secret papers. Eventually they reached the base. The Federal Prime Minister, Mr Menzies, stated it was not yet possible to forecast the cost of Australia’s participation in the Empire air training scheme in Canada.