522

OverviewTranscribeVersionsHelp

Facsimile

Transcription

Status: Complete

403976 Pilot Officer Morris Donald Darwin McCARTHY (surname underlined)
Mother: Mrs. C. McCarthy of Auckland (city underlined)

Morris McCarthy was born at Wanganui on the 12th May 1922. He received his secondary education at Wanganui Technical College, passing the Matriculation examination in 1937. He sports were football, cricket, tennis, badminton and gymnasium work. He was employed as a clerical cadet by the New Zealand Railways, when applying for war service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force on the 17th September 1939.

Pilot Officer McCarthy was enlisted for aircrew training on the 28th October 1940 at the Ground Training School, Levin, and was posted on the 24th November 1940 to No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School, Harewood, to commence his flying training. He proceeded on the 18th January 1941 to No. 2 Service Flying Training School, Woodbourne, where on the 3rd March 1941 he was awarded his flying badge. He was promoted to sergeant on the 12th April 1941 but his was superseded by his commissioning as a pilot officer with effect from the same date. On the 29th April 1941 he embarked for the United Kingdom.

The journey was made by way of Canada and Pilot Officer McCarthy arrived at the Royal Air Force Depot, Uxbridge, Middlesex, on the 2nd June 1941. He was posted on the 7th June to No. 10 Operational Training Unit, Abingdon, Berkshire, to crew-up and complete his training on Whitley bomber aircraft. On the 29th August 1941 he was posted to No. 77 Squadron, Topcliffs, Yorkshire, and commenced operational flying. Late in October he completed a beam approach course at No. 2 Beam Approach Training Flight, Driffield, Yorkshire, and at the conclusion of this course resumed his operational flying with No. 77 Squadron, now at Leeming, also in Yorkshire. With this Squadron a pilot of a Whitley bomber he took part in fourteen operational flights including attacks on Essen, Frankfurt, Berlin (2), Mannheim, Wilhelmshaven (3) and Kiel, all in Germany, St. Nazaire and Brest in France, Ostend in Belgium, Rotterdam in Holland.

Pilot Officer McCarthy was pilot of a Whitley bomber which took off on air operations on the 27th February 1942 to attack a target in enemy occupied Europe. The aircraft failed to return to its

Notes and Questions

Nobody has written a note for this page yet

Please sign in to write a note for this page