Date: Saturday the 14th of May 2011
Time: 11.00am till 6.00pm
Venue: The Cambridge Club, Dick Street, Cambridge
Registration Fee: $15.00 per person
Registration Date: All tickets must be purchased by the 1st of April 2011. The cost covers venue hire, finger foods throughout the day, tea and coffee, and organisational costs. If you do not turn up on the day the fee is non-refundable.
The Programme: Throughout the day we hope to be able to provide:
Guest Speakers
There will be several WWII veterans and a few guest speakers from other areas of aviation who will speak during the day. We hope to have the following speakers, and possibly one or two others:___• Alan Peart - WWII RNZAF fighter pilot and ace, who flew Spitfires in Britain, North Africa,
_____and Burma
___• Bob Glading - WWII Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot who flew Corsairs from carriers
_____against both the Germans (including the Tirpitz) and the Japanese in South East Asia and _____the Pacific
___• Colin Murray - WWII infantry soldier and officer who served in North Africa and Italy, and
_____is now the President of the local Kings Empire Veterans group
___• Reg Mitchell - a WWII RNZAF pilot who flew the Mosquito with No. 488 (NZ) Squadron
___• Geoff Cooper - Captain of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota ZK-DAKMeet The Veterans
Time will be set aside in the programme for you to mingle with other forum members and also to meet our WWII veterans. As well as those already mentioned, Alan Peart, Bob Glading, Colin Murray and Reg Mitchell, we have several other WWII veterans who have said they will come along, so this is your chance to meet the likes of the following:
Bob Tilsley - WWII Ventura Air Gunner
Charlie Christiensen - WWII RNZAF Groundcrew
Norm Todd - WWII RNZAF Flight Mech on Baffins & Hudsons and Flight Engineer on Catalinas
Garry Blayney - WWII Navigator in Bomber Command
Bryan Cox - WWII RNZAF Corsair pilot
Ray Hirst - WWII RNZAF Flight Mechanic
Ron Noice - WWII RNZAF Pathfinder Bomb Aimer and POW
Ben Heffer - WWII Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot
Bryan Cox - WWII Corsair pilot in the Pacific and in Japan post-war
Peter Cornwall - WWII RNZAF pilot on Vickers Warqicks in Air-Sea Rescue
David Jecks - WWII RNZAF Clerk GD
Ian James - WWII Fleet Air Arm Pilot, brother of Ossie James
And hopefully several more...Screening Some Very Rare Aviation Footage
We hope to bring you the following rare films___• 'Maximum Effort' - a WWII NZ film following a real No. 75 (NZ) Squadron Crew
___• WWII Parades in Christchurch - Coloured Home Movie Footage
___• John Smith's Mosquito running in the 1950's - Coloured Home Movie Footage
___• No. 622 Squadron Mosquitoes - 15 minute coloured WWII film
___• No. 486 (NZ) Squadron gun camera footage
___• No. 627 Squadron Gestapo Headquarters Raid, OsloBook Fair
It looks like we will have several NZ aviation authors attending so it seems right to allow them to offer signed copies of their books to the attending audience. We'll have a bit of a trader's corner as such. We welcome any authors who wish to sell their aviation related books and do a signing to come along too, and that goes for aviation artists. And if you have a boot full of old model kitsets you want to offer for sale or trade that would be fine too. Authors who hope to come along include:________• Richard Stowers - author of Bomber Barron, Cobber Kain and many others
________• Larry Hill - author of An Aviation Bibliography of New Zealand
________• Peter Wheeler - author of Wednesday Bomber Boys and Kiwis Do Fly
________• Hopefully Doug Brown and Hamish Brown - authors of Wine, Women and Song
________• Alan Peart with his book From Africa to the Arakan plus a print by Ron Fulstow
________• Graham Clayton with his book Last Stand in Singapore
________• Bryan Cox with his book Cats Have Only Nine Lives
________• Kevin Wells with his classic book No. 485 (NZ) Squadron
Raffle
We plan to hold a raffle with aviation-related prizes, which will raise money for Dakota ZK-DAK 'Betsy'. The donation of prizes is welcome if you have any aviation books, videos, models or other products you'd like to offer up for the cause. We already have some great prizes coming in. Any others would also be welcome.Displays
Bruce Cooke will be bringing some RNZAF models. And the Hamilton Scale Model Club is also planing to bring some models along. We would also welcome anyone who wishes to bring along displays such as models, photos, and other things of aviation interest. Let me know if you have a display to bring.The Cenotaph
So long as the weather is fine and we have time we'd like to take a quick visit to the Cambridge Cenotaph during the day, plus the Air Force Memorial Plaque which was laid at our first reunion in 2004 and other memorials in the Jubilee Gardens there
Aucklanders and Northerners!! Check out this Awesome
DC-3 Dakota Package Deal - $125.00
The good folk at Kiwi DC-3 are currently offering a special deal for forum members and WWII veterans, to be flown down to the event in the venerable DC-3 Dakota.
The very good value package will include:
• Free Parking at Ardmore Airport
• Dakota Flight from Ardmore to Hamilton Airport
• Bus Transport from Hamilton Airport to Cambridge Club
• Entry fee for event
• Bus back to Hamilton Airport at end of event
• Dakota Flight back Hamilton to Ardmore
• You'll also become a DC-3 Corporate Club Member for free which entitles you to access to discounted flights, scenic and flights to/from air shows. This is a special bonus for this trip only and normally costs $50 per annum. This is a generous and exclusive offer by the DC-3 Crew
So Check The Value:
You get -
• Two long flights in the Dakota - A normal 30 minute scenic flight on the Dakota is usually $90 per person!! An Air New Zealand Flight from Auckland to Hamilton ONE-WAY is $68 at the cheapest!! And you get to travel in a genuine warbird with like-minded enthusiasts and veterans• Two transfers by specially arranged coach included between Hamilton Airport and the venue in central Cambridge. Compare this - there are no regular buses to and from the Hamilton Airport to Cambridge, so the cheapest option normally is by Airport Shuttle which costs $25 each way. Taxis are more like double that expense.
• The deal includes entry to the event.
We need 30 people (Forum Members and WWII Veterans) to fill the seats and make this deal viable. So far we have 5 people signed up, so come on guys, there's plenty of seats, and tell your mates.INTEREST NEEDS TO BE SHOWN ASAP PLEASE OTHERWISE THE DEAL MAY BE CANCELLED IF NUMBERS ARE INSUFFICIENT
Please let me know if you are keen to do this - email me at dave_daasnz@hotmail.com
(Please note, if this deal goes ahead, for people intending to fly into Hamilton in light aircraft, the bus will also be open to you for $15 return trip but you have to be at the airport at the right time to catch it. It is only doing the one round trip. We'll work out timings later.)
The Organising Team
Dave Homewood (Team Leader)
Mike Cater
Paul Bevan
Bruce Cooke
Richard Stowers (Official Photographer)
The Venue: The club is an excellent venue. It has a bar and comfortable seating. We have access to a data projector, DVD player and screen there so can play some films if we need to, though it might be a bit bright being a daytime event.
There are two full sized snooker tables and a dart board if you get bored with aviation talk. There is a deck for the smokers to sit on out the front and look at the park. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere is that of an old gentleman's club - which is exactly what it used to be since it was established over a century ago. It's perfect for a veterans' event.
It is very central to town and easily found; it looks out onto the town square and is just across the square from the Cenotaph.Food: As mentioned finger food will be provided. You can additionally buy a full meal at the bar if you wish, or if you walk one block you are in the centre of town where there are cafes and takeaway food shops too.
Alcohol: If you fancy a beer or whatever, there is a bar where you will be able to buy discounted drinks (so long as you've signed in at the door).
Refreshments: I believe cups of tea and coffee will be provided within the ticket price too but I'll check on that and amend here when I find out one way or the other.
Signing In: As it is a private club, all visitors must sign in at the door on arrival, which entitles you to cheap drinks. Additionally I hope to have a second visitors book for visitors to sign which I can keep as a memento. Please sign these on arrival.
Venue Capacity: Regulations allow room for 100 people maximum so if we get 100 registered then registrations will be closed. Please get your registrations into me now
Car Pooling With Veterans: Let me know if you can bring a/some WWII veterans along or other forum members. Also let me know if you are flying into Hamilton airport and need a lift from and to the airport.
Children and Teens: Well behaved, interested children and teens are most welcome. This is a great unique opportunity for younger people to meet and mix with our WWII veterans.
We welcome other ideas and suggestions.
Tickets and Registration
Tickets are limited, and you must register and purchase your tickets early. Please send your registration fee of $15.00 per person to me now. If you are coming as a group please pay as a group and provide full details of each person and indicate if any are WWII veterans.Tickets as such won't be dispatched but you'll be placed onto the registration list and marked as 'paid'.
My address is for sending through cash or cheques, payable to David Homewood, is:
13 Froude Street,
Leamington,
Cambridge 3432
If you want to make a direct debit bank deposit, email me and I'll send details.
dave_daasnz@hotmail.com
NB: If you pay and then do not show up, there will not be refunds given as the money is needed to pay for the event