An interesting twist of fate
Shortly after the February 2009 article about my research that appeared in the New Zealand Herald I heard from a lady who offered me her uncle’s logbook. She said she wasn’t sure if it was any use, but she thought he’d served in the Pacific and he’d died years ago so it was of no interest to her. She kindly posted it to me, and it turned out it was the logbook of a Navigator named R.L. Branch. There was a note in the front form the lady stating his full name was Richard Laurence Branch, commonly known as Dick. His Service No. was NZ411362.
On opening the book I soon found he had done his training in Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme, and returned to the RNZAF to join No. 4 (GR) Squadron in Fiji where he usually flew in the crew of a Flying Officer McPhail.
Eventually he was posted to No. 3 (GR) Squadron at Henderson Field and flew in the crew of Flying Officer “Rowdy” Hoyle. Following some time there he went back to New Zealand and then on to Honolulu where he joined the ‘New Zealand Trans Pacific Ferry Command’, who were ferrying the new Ventura bombers to New Zealand.
After several trips delivering these aircraft he then joined No. 9 (BR) Squadron and did another Pacific tour, this time in Venturas. And then he moved onto theLodestars and Hudsons of No. 41 Squadron, followed by a stint navigating the Dakotas of No. 4o Squadron. He flew right through till 1946 till the squadron was disbanded.
So, I knew about his flying career in detail but I knew nothing really about the man himself, or when or how he had died. I really didn’t like to ask too much of the lady who kindly gave me the logbook to keep because she seemed not to know anything and said none of the family had any interest. I decided to leave it at that, and leave the story behind the man a mystery.
Then a few months later I was in the library searching for the death notice of my father’s uncle for Mum’s family research, and as I was spoolign through microfilmed newspapers from 1946 I spotted an article on the RNZAF in Japan at the time. Suddenly as I read it I relaised next to that article’s column there was the face of an airman staring at me. This is what I found, in that strange way that I should happen to slow the microfilm machine down right there, spot the headline of RNZAF, and then see this mystery man’s own obituary on the 21st of September 1946, in the NZ Herald:
Spooky!
So, by a strange quirk of fate I now know how he died, and when, and a little more about the man. I feel a lot easier about possessing his logbook now. he probbaly treasured it, as all aircrew did, and now I shall also give it a very good and safe home. Thanks Dick.
