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National Library of New Zealand Group Captain Leonard Henry Trent whose Victoria Cross is on display in the RNZAF Museum in Christchurch this month. A Victoria Cross awarded to Nelson-born Squadron Leader (and later Group Captain) Leonard Henry Trent VC DFC (RAF 36146) is on public display for the first time. It’s the only VC in the RNZAF Museum of New Zealand collection at Wigram, Christchurch. The precious medal, which will be on display until May 9, was donated to the museum along with Trent’s nine other medals by his family after his death in 1986. A quiet and unassuming man, Trent...

Published: February 24, 2021 at 7:03 am At the height of the battle of Dunkirk in May 1940, the brilliant New Zealander Al Deere was on patrol in his RAF Spitfire over the French coast. Suddenly, through the haze of smoke drifting upwards from the raging combat on the ground, he spotted a German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter below him. He instantly gave chase. Soon, both planes were descending earthwards at high speed. “Down we went, throttles fully open, engines roaring and each determined to get the last ounce out of his straining aircraft. From 17,000 feet down to ground level I...

A man whose WWII pilot father shot him in the head as a one-year-old has successfully campaigned for his late dad to get a $2,000 memorial plaque. The plate for WWII fighter pilot Robert Bungey, who took his own life shortly after shooting his baby son Richard, was granted by Holdfast council in Adelaide, South Australia. Councillor and family friend Rosemary Clancy opposed the plaque because she did not want to commemorate someone who had perpetrated domestic violence.   Richard Bungey's WWII fighter pilot father Robert (pictured) shot him in the head as a one-year-old, but has successfu...