Robert Spurdle
Robert Spurdle | |
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Second World War
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Awards | Mention in despatches |
Robert Lawrence "Peter" Spurdle
Born in
Early life
Robert Lawrence Spurdle, known to his family as Peter, was born in
Second World War
By the time Spurdle's training started, the Second World War had been underway for some weeks and his short service course was the last to be run by the RNZAF. He went to No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School at the RNZAF stations at Taieri and then No. 1 Flight Training School at Wigram Air Base in Christchurch. Sickness affected the progress of his training which, at this stage, was as a light bomber pilot. Instead of graduating with his group of trainees, he was held back and completed his course with another intake.[2]
Along with 22 other RNZAF pilots, among them
Battle of Britain
On 21 August, Spurdle was posted to
Another significant encounter was on 14 November, when No. 74 Squadron intercepted a force of 50 Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers over Dover, accompanied by 25 Bf 109s. A total of 15 German aircraft was confirmed as destroyed with two probables and many others damaged. Spurdle claimed one of the probables, a Ju 87, and two others damaged. He then shot down a Bf 109 on 5 December.[2]
Channel Front
In early 1941, there was change in tactics and
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Hawker_Hurricane_launched_from_CAM_ship_c1941.jpg/220px-Hawker_Hurricane_launched_from_CAM_ship_c1941.jpg)
By June, Spurdle was on new duties, having been transferred to the
On 25 July, Spurdle destroyed a Bf 109 and the following day, flying over Hastings, had a successful engagement with a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, one of a flight of four. The German pilot bailed out and was recovered by a British Air Sea Rescue launch. Spurdle visited the pilot, who had been hospitalised, and found that he was Horst Bennokruger, a flying ace of the Luftwaffe who had shot down a reported 17 British aircraft. Just two days later, Spurdle had an encounter with another Fw 190, claiming it as damaged. Early in August, a Bf 109 was damaged.[2] Later in the month he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The published citation read:
This officer is a keen and determined pilot He has destroyed 5, probably destroyed 4 and damaged several more enemy aircraft. His devotion to duty has set a praiseworthy example.
— London Gazette, No. 35667, 14 August 1942.[7]
Shortly after his award of the DFC was announced, he took part in the
Solomon Islands
Spurdle was tasked with establishing a Camera Gun Assessing School, based at the RNZAF's base at Ohakea, a duty that he performed from January to May 1943. He was then posted as a flight commander in the RNZAF's No. 16 Squadron. At the time, it was operating Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks and based at Woodbourne, preparing for service in the Solomon Islands campaign.[2][9]
By the end of June, it was operating from
Return to Europe
After a period of rest, Spurdle ended his attachment to the RNZAF and returned to England aboard the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Spurdle_and_Tempest%2C_1944.jpg/220px-Spurdle_and_Tempest%2C_1944.jpg)
He was given command of the squadron two months later. Now an acting
Afterwards, and now flying from Holland, No. 80 Squadron joined
Tiring of his headquarters role, Spurdle volunteered for duty as an air-support controller.
Spurdle, now a wing commander, flew 565 operational sorties, including his glider flight with the 6th Airborne Division, during the course of the war, and was credited with destroying ten enemy aircraft, two, and a half share in another, probably destroyed and nine damaged. The aviation historian Mike Spick gives similar totals for Spurdle, although credits him with eleven damaged rather than nine.[16][19]
Later life
In July 1945, Spurdle was sent to the Central Gunnery School at Catfoss. He was to take an instructor's course there but a few days after his arrival, his service with the RAF ended and he was transferred to the RNZAF. This required him to give up his commission in the RAF. He was repatriated to New Zealand in November, sailing aboard the RMS Rangitata. He was transferred to the reserve in April 1946, after a period of leave.[2]
Returning to civilian life, Spurdle established an engineering business in Wanganui. He became interested in maritime pursuits, taking up diving and going on a sailing cruise for four months around the South Pacific. Following this, he constructed a catamaran, the Whai, an endeavour which took four years. Once completed, he sailed the Whai to Japan. His account of the construction of the catamaran and its subsequent voyage to Japan was published as Into the Rising Sun in 1972. Moving to Whitianga, he completed a second catamaran in 1978.[2] He later wrote his memoirs, The Blue Arena, published in 1986.[20] He died on 5 March 1994 at Whitianga and his remains were interred at Mercury Bay cemetery. With his wife, Shirley, he had three children.[1][21][22]
Notes
- ^ a b Russell, James (21 April 2012). "The Flying Ace". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Wynn 1981, pp. 362–367.
- ^ Lambert 2011, p. 213.
- ^ Lambert 2014, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Lambert 2011, pp. 130–131.
- ^ Thompson 1953, pp. 230–231.
- ^ "No. 35667". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 August 1942. p. 3556.
- ^ Thompson 1953, pp. 347–349.
- ^ Ross 1955, p. 326.
- ^ Ross 1955, pp. 193–194.
- ^ Lambert 2014, p. 5.
- ^ Lambert 2014, pp. 49–50.
- ^ "No. 36910". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 January 1945. p. 580.
- ^ "Decorated by the King". Evening Post. Vol. CXL, no. 4. 5 July 1945. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Lambert 2014, p. 262.
- ^ a b Hanson 2001, p. 452.
- ^ "No. 37407". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1946. p. 92.
- ^ Lambert 2014, p. 265.
- ^ Spick 1997, p. 220.
- ^ "The Blue Arena / Bob Spurdle". National Library of New Zealand. New Zealand Government. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
- ^ "Cenotaph Record: Robert Lawrence Spurdle". Online Cenotaph. Auckland Museum. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ "Online Cemetery Search". Thames-Coromandel District Council. New Zealand Government. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
References
- Hanson, C. M. (2001). By Such Deeds: Honours and Awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force 1923–1999. Christchurch: Volplane Press. ISBN 0-473-07301-3.
- Lambert, Max (2011). Day After Day: New Zealanders in Fighter Command. Auckland: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86950-844-9.
- Lambert, Max (2014). Victory: New Zealand Airmen and the Fall of Germany. Auckland: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-1-77554-043-4.
- Ross, J. M. S. (1955). Royal New Zealand Air Force. OCLC 912824475.
- Spick, Mike (1997). Allied Fighter Aces: The Air Combat Tactics and Techniques of World War II. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-282-3.
- Thompson, H. L. (1953). New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force. OCLC 270919916.
- Wynn, Kenneth G. (1981). A Clasp for 'The Few': New Zealanders with the Battle of Britain Clasp. Auckland: Kenneth G. Wynn. ISBN 0-86-465-0256.