Date of Birth: Born 30th of January 1920, in Cambridge
Personal Details: Before the war, Harry was a bank clerk at the Union bank, in Cambridge where he worked with his brother Carl. He had resided with Mr and Mrs Hounslow of Leamington before he joined the RNZAF. He returned to Cambridge after the war and lived here till 1960.

Service Details: Harry was the Navigator on Bristol Blenheims of No. 18 Squadron, Royal Air Force, serving in Malta and the Mediterranean region, according to the Official History volume New Zealanders With The Royal Air Force. In 1944 the Waikato Independent states that he was then a Warrant Officer who had been fighting in the Indian theatre of war.

Digger is reported to have returned to New Zealand on furlough in September 1944 after four years in the RNZAF. He must have been commissioned after that point.

Details of Death: Harry died on the 15th of April 1996, aged 76
Buried at: Leamington Cemetery, Leamington, Cambridge

Connection with Cambridge: Harry was born in Cambridge and he lived in here up till and after the war

Waikato Independent reports that mentioned William Harry "Digger" Duignan
RNZAF 2 Sept 1940
Safe and Well 18 July 1941
Warrant Officer – Returned Home 22 Sept 1944
Welcome Home 13 Dec 1944

Thanks to Harry's brother Carl and his son David Duignan and other members of the Duignan family for their valued assistance with this page. Photo kindly supplied by David Duignan.