In July 2020 I received a call from Merv Tyree of South Canterbury, a retired naval rating with whom I have previously swapped notes on a number of cases related to missing/stolen medals from a South Canterbury RSA. My first contact with Merv concerned the theft of a WW2 Distinguished Gallantry Medal group. The medals had been stolen from the RSA by persons unknown. My investigation into this case sparked the need for a country-wide assessment of the security arrangements for medals and memorabilia held by RSAs. This was initiated by the NZRSA’s National HQ. Inquiries made of the said club’s manager and by the Police must have alerted the thief (suspected to have been an inside job) via the case details published in the Press and local papers, and enough for the thief to conclude that the medals were too ‘hot’ to handle. Several weeks after the initial inquiries and several advert runs in the local newspapers, the medal group mysteriously re-appeared in the TV room of the said RSA, discovered one morning when the Sec/Manager arrived. But I digress …….
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Unclaimed medals ...
Merv had happened to mention to me he had recently been to the funeral of an ex-navy shipmate and noted that the deceased medals which were on the coffin, appeared to be a ‘bit light’ – missing medals Merv believed he may have been entitled to. He thought that if he could confirm this to be true, he could advise any descendant family of their entitlement to claim them. Merv made an inquiry of NZDF Personnel Archives & Medals (PAMs) and sure enough, he was right. Unfortunately, as the deceased sailor had no known descendants there was not much else to be done. What the exercise did do however was alert Merv to the fact that there were probably others who had died before some of the more recently issued medals were instituted, would have kin who would be able to make a claim. With this in mind Merv immediately recalled one of his own shipmates who had “Crossed the Bar” in 1964 (CTB = died), someone who would very likely have been entitled to the same medals as Merv had been issued as they had both been on HMNZS Royalist together. Merv wondered if his shipmate’s widow had ever received any medals for her husband’s service? Having no idea where she was, or if alive or dead, Merv approached me for help.
From 2000 onwards, as a result of a NZDF working group that reviewed the medallic recognition and eligibility criteria for past military operations and service as far back as 1946, several new medals had been instituted. For anyone who was eligible but had CTB before 2000, their next of kin were able to claim any medals their deceased relative was entitled to. The one major stumbling block to making a claim was: they had to know there were unclaimed medals available to them.
Another problem that confronted us, one common in military circles, is that you can have a whole career knowing someone by their nickname without ever knowing their birth name(s). Merv had only ever known Walter Thomson as “Blue” Thomson. Not a lot of help to me. Even Merv’s ex-navy contacts could not shed any light on these queries – none had seen or heard of Iriarangi Thomson in the 61 years that had passed since Blue had ‘crossed the bar’.
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Where o’ where …?
Before any assessment of medal entitlements was initiated, there had to be a descendant to actually apply for them. The hunt for Iriarangi Thomson proved very challenging, primarily because I was unaware until much later that she went by the first name of “Gail” Thomson! The 1963 electoral roll listings in Auckland showed only two entries for “Walter Robin Thomson” and “Iriarangi Tapuhirungi Thomson” following their marriage, as living at 46 Aitken Terrace, Kingsland, Mt Albert. Thereafter, Iriarangi Thomson’s name appeared on three occasions in Auckland between 1964 and 1981. Her last address was shown as 68 Riverpark Cres, Te Atatu North in 1981. Thereafter nothing found for either Iriarangi Thomson, Gail Thomson, or of her maiden surname “Gail HIRA”. Remember, Ancestry.com records at this time ceased at 1981 (in 2023 the records were extended to 2010).
Iriarangi/Gail Tapuhirungi Thomson would also have been in her 80’s in 2021 and so if she had been living in a retirement home or hospital, the chances of finding her would be even more remote without a regular trail of electoral records. A search of related areas around Auckland via the rolls including the Auckland telephone book & electronic on-line phone book, Facebook, cemeteries searches, death notices, Wiki Tree, Heritage.com etc, etc had all drawn a blank.
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“Manahune” – Waipara
Before I could initiate any search I needed the basics of Blue’s full name, military description and next of kin. PAM’s was most helpful in getting me started with these. Noting that Blue Thomson’s had been born (registered) in Christchurch, my focus turned to first to his parents in order to find out who his siblings and wider family were. His father was linked to a well-known 100+ year old sheep farm in North Canterbury, the Glenmark Estate’s “Manahune” farm. This led me to consider a number of persons who although remote from the family, featured on various family trees associated with the Thomsons.
Messages sent to the authors of these trees eventually drew two positive responses. Tracey and Janine both responded and identified their connection to the descendant families of the sons of Walter Robert Thomson, Albert Archibald and the brother of Blue Thomson’s father, Walter Richard Thomson. Janine was connected via the FENDALL family (Walter and Albert’s mother was Lila Cobourg [Fendall] Thomson). Janine said two of her cousins, one being a daughter Heather of Walter Richard Thomson, regularly met with one her cousins, one of his brother Albert Archibald’s daughters – the plot was thickening. Tracey had made similar contacts with these descendants through her son-in-law’s mother Karen, a Thomson who was Heather’s cousin. Confused ?
Long story short – through these contacts I was able to learn the name of Gail and Blue’s son …. Robin Waara (Temoana) THOMSON who they believed lived was living in the Gisborne area. The next thing was to get a message to Robin or a phone number. Now I had his name I located a Facebook page and sent a message. The bush telegraph eventually got a message to Rob via other family connections and he called me a couple of weeks later from Ruatoria. Rob had been away on a kai gathering expedition hence his delay in responding. Cell phone reception was dodgy at best and the internet even less reliable. After explaining why I was calling Rob told me his mother Gail was still alive and living in Te Araroa. His mum was approaching her 84th birthday (2022) and would be delighted to learn her husband had earned medals while in the Navy. Phew!! Gail apparently had remained in Auckland after Blue’s death and settled in Te Atatu North where Rob was bought up. She had returned to Te Araroa in the 1990s and Rob had followed some years later to settle in Ruatoria.
While scanning Facebook I found a photograph of Rob Thomson cleaning the grave headstone of his WW1 veteran grandfather, Gail’s father, 16/488 Private R.P.H. WAARA, Maori (Pioneer) Battalion. Later while scanning the net for more information, I also happened upon an article published in 2016 called “The New Zealanders” of which Rob Wara (sic) Thomson was the subject. (see below) We were now well on the way to making contact with Walter Robin Thomson’s mother Gail and reuniting her with her husband Blue’s unclaimed medals.
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NZ646960 Walter Robin ‘Blue’ Thomson LME
Blue Thomson was the son and eldest of four children of Walter Richard “Dick” THOMSON (1895-1944) and Dorothy Evelyn COOKSON (1908-1990). Blue’s grandfather Walter Robert THOMSON (1870-1907) was born at St Pancras, in London. A newspaper Print Compositor, Walter Thomson married Alice Louise COX (1870-1931) and had two sons, Walter Richard (1895-1944) and Albert Archibald (1896-1978) Thomson. The Thomson’s emigrated from England to NZ after Walter Snr had been advised to take a sea voyage to improve his lungs, which were infected with Tuberculosis. The RMS Athenic arrived in Wellington on 12 Nov 1905 the family moved south and settled in Timaru. Unfortunately the sea voyage had not helped Walter Snr’s condition and in 1907, three years after the young family arrived in New Zealand, Walter Robert succumbed, leaving his widow to fend for herself and raise the two little boys.
In 1915, more than 1000 eager Cantabrians (1,021 to be precise) applied for the 25 land lots available when the renowned North Canterbury Glenmark Estate was offered in a public ballot. At 8.30pm on 18 June that year, 400 potential buyers were at the King’s Theatre, Christchurch to watch the ballot. When Section Three came up, 772 acres of rolling hill country, Alice Thomson’s application was drawn.
Winning the ballot, a few years later turned the family’s fortunes around. Walter and Albert, then aged 20 and 18, travelled by train to Waipara, then cycled cross country to the new farm. Pitching a tent by the creek, the young men offered their labouring services to the neighbours until they had saved enough to fence their own land. Buying 400 ewes, which they did with a loan from Dalgetys, one of PGG Wrightson’s forerunners, was a condition of taking on the balloted land. They called their new farm “Manahune” after the Albury, South Canterbury property they had previously worked on, which in turn took the name from a mythological Polynesian tribe.
Walter and Albert, broke in and developed the land from scrub and swamp, using two six-horse teams, planting fruit trees and shelter belts, bridging the creek and increasing stock numbers from the original 400 to 800 ewes. After 12 years of slog breaking in the farm, Albert Thomson was the first of the two brothers to be married. Rangiora born Lila Cobourg FENDALL (1896-2003) was the daughter of the local vicar whose family name remains on one of Christchurch’s best known suburbs (Fendalton). Trained as a midwife, Lila and Albert lived in a tent for the first eight months of their married life, until a new house was built in 1926. Albert and Lila had a family of five, their first child Lila Margaret Thomson born in 1927. As the fold increased, a young lady from Christchurch, Dorothy Evelyn Cookson (1908-1990) was engaged as governess to their growing family. This proved to be a fortuitous decision not only the Thomson children, but also for Albert’s brother Walter who married Dorothy in 1934. Together Walter and Dorothy had four children, their first born being a son Walter Robin Thomson in 1935, followed by Richard Kenneth (1939-2014), Wallace Donald (1945-2005), a daughter Thomson. A school operated briefly at “Manahune” for the Thomson youngsters, plus those of a few other local families.
Disaster struck the family on July 8th, 1944. Walter Snr (49) was tragically killed while ploughing a paddock with a team of draught horses. It would seem Walter may have stumbled on the uneven ground, lost his balance and fell, hitting his head on the plough being pulled by the team. Dorothy remained a widow living at “Manahune” until her death at Glenmark on 24 Sep 1990 at 82 years of age. Three years later, Albert and Lila took a substantial loan to buy out the widowed Dorothy, thereby becoming sole owners of “Manahune”. While that was a big commitment at the time, the wool boom that began in the early 1950s helped their fortunes considerably.
Note: Lila Thomson was the farm’s strongest personality during those years. Albert died in 1978, while Lila, by this stage known to all as “Grannie Thomson”, lived at “Manahune” surrounded by her children and grandchildren until 1995, when she was 98. After leaving the farm, Lila’s final years were spent in the care of her daughter Alice, her long life, spanning three centuries, coming to an end at the age of 106 years and six months.
In 2018 Lila Thomson’s great-grandson Stu Thomson and his wife Sue were the last of the Thomson families leave “Manahune”. Stu and Sue ran the property for 24 years, having brought the family’s century on the property up in 2015. With three daughters all at university in Auckland studying for careers that suggested a return to the farm was unlikely, the Thomsons in considering where there family’s future lay finally decided to sell and re-locate to Auckland.
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Military service
Walter Robin Thomson clearly was not enamored with the prospect of a life on the farm. Balloted for Compulsory Military Training (CMT) in Sep 1956, CMT 646960 Pte. WR Thomson proceeded to Burnham Military Camp to be ‘beasted’ by an array of screaming skulls for three months of marching at double, pounding the drill square, scrubbing, cleaning and polishing everything that didn’t move, and massacring endless paper targets. These were the rudiments of becoming a soldier. The idea of marching for miles with his house on his back and living in holes in the ground was obviously not young Thomson’s idea of fun! A life in the military however must have had some appeal. Perhaps it was the notion of messing about in boats or travel to distant shores that drew Walter towards a career in the navy.
Ake Ake Kia Kaha
On 24 May 1956, NZ646960 Walter Robin Thomson ME 2** enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Navy. Reporting to HMNZS Philomel Walter Thomson was 20 years and 6 months of age when he swore his allegiance to serve the Crown. Walter was then promptly piled into an inshore vessel with a bunch of other excited hopefuls of similar age and driven the 14 kilometers out into the Hauraki Gulf to Motuihe Island, a former quarantine station that was the home of HMNZS Tamaki. Known to sailors as “The Rock”, HMNZS Tamaki, whose motto is Ake Ake Kia Kaha (Forever be strong), was the navy’s basic training school through which all enlisted seaman from the age of 17, passed to undertake three months of basic training.
Note ** Trade: Marine Engineer Class 2; Rank equivalent = Ordinary Seaman
HMNZS Tamaki like Philomel and every other land-based RNZN establishment was colloquially referred to as a ‘stone frigate’. Commissioned on 20 Jan 1941, HMNZS Tamaki has had thousands of trainee sailors pass through its portals in the 22 years it was cited on “the Rock”. In August 1963, HMNZS Tamaki was moved to the former Narrow Neck Army camp, re-named Fort Cautley. Following basic training, some men would be sent to HMNZS Philomel for specialist training, while Stokers, Telegraphist, Radar Operators, Coders, Supply Assistants, Cooks, and Signallers were given branch instruction at Tamaki.
Note ** ME 1 rank equivalent = Able Seaman
As a junior Marine Engineer, ME 2 Thomson returned to HMNZS Philomel to attend No 37 Marine Engineers course from August 1956 until January 1957. Successfully completing the course, ME 2 Thomson (universally known as “Blue” in the navy – something to do with his ginger hair) was drafted to his first ship afloat in Apr 1957. The Dido class cruiser HMNZS Black Prince (C81) was where Thomson was able to consolidate his theoretical training with sea-going experience in ‘doing the job. Black Prince was one of three Dido-class cruisers on loan to the RNZN from the Royal Navy, the others being HMNZS Bellona (C63) and HMNZS Royalist (C89).
His four months on HMNZS Black Prince ended in Oct 1957 at which time he was re-classified as an ME 1** and drafted to another Dido class cruiser, HMNZS Royalist. His arrival on Royalist brought he and ME 1 Merv Tyree into contact for the first time, the two becoming life-long shipmates and work colleagues in the Engine Room of Royalist. Merv recalled Blue as being a particularly likeable guy, professional in his work, shy, and full of enthusiasm. During the 18 months they spent on Royalist, Blue Thomsen had become the ship’s unofficial barber, charging 2 shillings (20c) a haircut – short back and no sides!
In 1952, the United Kingdom became the third country (after the United States and the Soviet Union) to develop and test nuclear weapons. Operation GRAPPLE was a set of four series of British nuclear weapons tests of early nuclear (atomic) and thermonuclear (hydrogen) bombs, carried out in 1957 and 1958 at Malden Island and Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Kiribati) in the Pacific Ocean as part of the British hydrogen bomb program. The RNZN was requested by the Royal Navy to conduct a preparatory survey of the islands for which the survey vessel HMNZS Lachlan was sent to do this job.
Following the tests, the RNZN was then committed to contribute to the Far East Fleet Reserve in support of land and sea operations during the Malayan Emergency.
War service
Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960
The Malayan Emergency had begun in 1948 and evolved into a counter insurgency operation by a British-led coalition of British and Commonwealth armed forces. The Malayan Communist Party (MCP) was attempting to overthrow the British colonial administration of Malaya by installing a communist regime. Guerrilla warfare was their modus operandi through cross border and sea launched operations. In 1954 the RNZN Loch class frigate, HMNZS Pukaki, bombarded a suspected guerrilla camp while operating with the Royal Navy’s Far East Fleet. This was the first of a number of bombardments by RNZN ships over the next five years. New Zealand became more directly involved in Emergency operations in 1955 after deciding to contribute forces to the British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve. The Reserve’s primary roles were to deter communist aggression in South-east Asia, and to respond swiftly if deterrence failed.
As a secondary role, the forces committed to the Reserve were to participate in actions against the guerrillas in Malaya which became a precursor to Confrontation with Indonesia in 1965/66. The Area of Operations (AO) was the Malaysian Peninsula and littoral waters. The RNZN deployed ships as part of RN’s Far East Fleet and then to the Commonwealth Strategic Reserve (CSR) as it became, from 1955 when New Zealand shifted its defence commitment from the Middle East to South East Asia. HMNZS Royalist was deployed to the CSR on 20 May 1957. On 25 July 1957 Royalist went into action off the Malaysian coast providing naval gunfire support to the units deployed in the Kota Tinggi province. Eighty six rounds were fired in a shore bombardment of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) guerrilla camp. On 20 Feb 1958 she fired another 152 rounds in a shore bombardment at Tanjun Punggai. Following Royalist’s tour of duty in Malaysian waters, she was re-directed further north to the Korean Peninsula.
Korea
New Zealand’s involvement in the Korean War had lasted three years and involved six Loch-class frigates: HMNZS Pukaki, Tutira, Rotoiti, Taupo, Hawea and Kaniere deployed between 1950-1954, under UN Command. About half of the manpower of the Royal New Zealand Navy was committed to these operations at the time – approximately 1350 officers and ratings. In their eight tours of duty, the New Zealand ships steamed a total of 339,584 miles and fired 71,625 rounds of ammunition in action. The Armistice ending the war on 27 Jul 1953, bought to an end the longest negotiated armistice in history: 158 meetings spread over two years and 17 days. New Zealand’s Kayforce contribution to the 1st Commonwealth Division comprising 16 Field Regiment, RNZA and 10 Transport Company, RNZASC totalling 408 personnel of all ranks, were withdrawn over the next two years. The majority of Kayforce had returned to New Zealand by 1955, though it was not until 1957 that the last New Zealand soldiers left Korea. The RNZN continued to deploy ships to the area after the Armistice between 1954 and 1957 as a contribution to the maintenance of the terms of the Armistice. HMNZS Royalist was deployed to the Korean peninsula as part of the naval blockade and patrol group that also had oversight for the protection of various South Korean-held islands.
Return to NZ
Royalist returned to NZ in July 1958. ME 1 Thomson’s tour of duty ended in October 1958 and following two weeks shore leave at HMNZS Philomel, he returned to sea aboard HMNZS Black Prince until May 1960 by which time he had spent 1 year and 8 months on Black Prince before she was slipped for a major refit. On 23 May 1960, ME 1 Thomson was drafted to the survey ship HMNZS Lachlan, one of 12 River-class frigates built in Australia for the Royal Australian Navy that was on loan to the RNZN. There was plenty of flexibility for shore leave on Lachlan whenever domestic surveys around New Zealand or the Pacific Islands were undertaken, sufficient time (just!) to get married.
With a plan to take leave over Christmas, on 22 Sep 1961 Blue Thomson was married to Iriarangi Tapuhirungi “Gail” HIRA (1939- ). Gail was the daughter of Rawiri Puhiraki Hira WAARA**(1898-1966) [Ngati Porou, Tuwhakaiora] and Mei Rora [Te Okeroa] BRISTOWE (1907-1974) from Te Araroa. The newly-weds moved into a house Blue had been renting at 46 Aitken Terrace, Kingsland in Mt Albert. With hardly time for a honeymoon, Blue was back on deck at Philomel on 23 November for a couple of weeks to attend a Fleet Board, an assessment of his suitability for promotion.
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Note: ** Gail’s father was born Rawiri Puhirake Hira WAARA in 1898 at Koputauaki, Coromandel. A Bushman, Rawiri was one of 11 volunteers from Hauraki who enlisted for war service with the 1st Maori Contingent (later Maori [Pioneer] Battalion), NZEF. Enlisting at Gisborne in Oct 1914, 16/488 Pte. Rawiri HIRA listed his cousin, Hura WAARA, as his next of kin. Placed in ‘A’ Company, the Contingent was shipped to Malta for garrison duties on the HMNZT 20 Warrimoo in March 1915. Following the disastrous ANZAC Landings at Gallipoli in April, with the NZ Brigade being desperate for reinforcements, approval from Wellington was received to re-deploy the Maori battalion in June from Malta to Gallipoli to bolster the casualty depleted NZ battalions.
Evacuated to Cairo in August suffering from dysentery, together with 14 other officers and men from the battalion, Pte. Hira remained in the NZ General Hospital in Cairo until November beforebeing discharged to No.4 Training Battalion at Zeitoun, the NZEF Training Depot. Returning to Gallipoli on 7 November, he remained until the New Zealanders were evacuated under cover of darkness from the Peninsula in December. Pte. Hira was indeed fortunate to survive the high casualty rate among Maori. By December, from a strength of 112 Private soldiers in 1 & 2 Platoons of his battalion, just 22 Privates remained; of 3 & 4 Pltns – 28 Ptes; of 5 & 6 Pltns – 21 Ptes and of 7 & 8 Pltns – 30 Ptes remained. Officers, SNCOs and JNCOs accounted for many more casualties. Pte. Hira was transferred to France in Apr 1916 with the recently formed NZ (Maori) Pioneer battalion, remaining until war’s end. Returning to NZ in Feb 1919, Pte. Hira was discharge from the NZEF in May after 4 years 52 days service overseas.
On returning to Te Araroa, he joined the NZ Police. 1827T Constable R.P. Hira was the first Maori appointed a Police Constable in NZ. Stationed initially at Te Kaha, Const. Hira had a long career with the Police, being a widely respected, firm but fair and professional police officer. Const. Hira’s final post was Tikitiki from which he retired back to Te Araroa around 1960. 1827 T/Const. (Retd) Rawiri P. Hira died on 1st May 1966 at the age of 68.
1827T Constable R. P. Hira was awarded the following medals: 1914/15 Star, British War Medal 1914/18, Victory Medal, QE2 Coronation Medal (1953) and the Police Long Service Medal (1959).
Additional unclaimed medal: During the research of this case I discovered an additional medal that had not been claimed by Constable Rawiri Hira or his next of kin. As a Gallipoli veteran, Rawiri was entitled to claim the Anzac (Gallipoli) Commemorative Medallion that was produced by the New Zealand and Australian governments, as a memento for surviving veterans of Gallipoli, when the 50th Anniversary of the Landings was commemorated in 1967. Returned Gallipoli veterans were also entitled to a Lapel Badge, a miniature version of the medallion, impressed with the soldier’s regimental number on the rear. The badges could only be claimed by living veterans of Gallipoli and were not claimable retrospectively after the veteran’s death. The next of kin (or a close relative) was permitted to claim the medallion of any Gallipoli veteran who deceased prior to medallion’s institution in 1967. Many medallions remain unclaimed and remain available from the NZDF Personnel Archives & Medals today (upon application). As a consequence, Rob Thomson was also able to submit a claim on behalf of his mother Gail for his grandfather’s Anzac Medallion.
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Having passed the Fleet Board assessment, ME 1 Thomson was short listed for promotion to a leading rate and went back to sea on HMNZS Lachlan in Dec 1961 (so much for Christmas leave!) for another four month stint before being paid off.
From April to August 1962, ME 1 Thomson had the opportunity to complete and pass as Shallow Water Diving course. A commitment went with completion of this course which meant he joined a pool of qualified divers who be called out at any time an underwater task was required be it by the civil authorities or the military.
Promotion came at last in August 1962 when Leading Marine Engineer blue Thomson (LME – equivalent but senior to an Army L/Cpl) was drafted into the crew selected to go to the United States and crew a new supply ship back to NZ. Formerly the USS Namakagon (AOG 53), she was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker built for the US Navy during WW2 before being decommissioned as surplus to requirements in 1957. Purchased by the RNZN in 1962, the ship was to be refitted to RNZN specifications at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. In August 1962, the crew who would return with the ship were flown by RNZAF DC6 in three lifts to California.
The crew was based on ta large 30,000-man US Naval Station Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay, adjacent to Alcatraz! LMEs Blue Thomson and Merv Tyree were both part of the crew. During their three months on the island, the crew engaged in Fire Fighting training and several other skills-based maintenance exercises associated with the new ship. Blue and Merv managed to get themselves sent to Santiago factory where the ships Evaporators (sea water to fresh water) were being manufactured for some first hand specialist training. Needless to say there was also plenty of time for the odd ‘run’ ashore to do the touristy things and sample the local food and beverages. On 6 October 1962, the ship was ready and a commissioning ceremony conducted at Hunters Point. The USS Namakagon was no more – Antarctic supply vessel HMNZS Endeavour II (A184) became the RNZN’s newest acquisition as she embarked upon her maiden voyage, arriving back in Auckland in November.
Endeavour II’s predecessor, Endeavour I, had been a wooden-hulled net layer that had been commissioned to transport the New Zealand section of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition which included Edmund Hilary, to McMurdo Sound. This was the beginning of the construction of Scott Base. Antarctic service was not her only duty. When in New Zealand waters she would undertake a variety of tasks including transporting ammunition and dumping old stocks for all three services. She also carried out oceanographic research work, ran supplies to the meteorological stations on Campbell and Raoul Islands and supply duties to some Pacific islands. Endeavour I had continued to make voyages to Antarctica with personnel, building materials and equipment for the development of the Scott Base, until her useful life was done and she retired in November 1961.
The ship’s company was released for a couple of weeks leave ahead of Endeavour II (A184) making her maiden voyage to McMurdo Sound on 10 December, 1962, via southern ports, the first of two voyages to the ice in her first Antarctic season. LME Thomson went with the second voyage in Jan/Feb 1964, Gail was expecting their first child in July. With any luck he would be home for the birth of the baby.
Refs: Wikipedia; Torpedo Bay Navy Museum
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And baby makes three …
Blue was ashore when he got the news on 16 July from Auckland’s National Womens’ Hospital at Greenlane – he was a father :-)) Gail had given birth to a son who they named Robin Waara Thomson after his father, and in honour of Gail’s father. Blue had to wait a few days before he could visit his wife and baby son. On 19 July Blue hopped onto a bus near his home at 25 Crocombe Crescent, Beach Haven around 6.00p.m. in plenty of time to get to the hospital before visiting hours began. Conveniently the bus stop was almost opposite the hospital. Arriving at around 6.30pm Blue alighted from the bus and began to cross the road – Smash! – he was hit by a passing vehicle. Blue’s injuries were critical. In spite of the rapid attention he received and transfer into the hospital, Blue died of his injuries at 01.00 a.m. the following morning, 20 July 1964. He was 28. The fact Blue had no chance to see Gail or baby Robin must surely have exacerbated the heartbreak and grief she must have felt when given the tragic news.
Blue’s mate LME Merv Tyree was equally shattered, as was the whole of the Endeavour’s ship’s company. Great mates who had served together in the Engine Room of HMNZS Royalist for long periods overseas in peace and war, having seen the world, attended the same courses, members of the SW Dive team, numerous ‘runs’ ashore together and drunk a lot of goffas (soft drinks) – yeah, right! Blue was well known and well liked on board, just one of life’s good ‘b****rs. He had cut every head of hair on board many times over, and thoroughly enjoyed his job on board. As a leading hand in the Marine Engineering branch he was well on his way to his next promotion step, Petty Officer. Having a son had been the icing on Blue’s cake! Sadly, he had ‘Crossed The Bar’ way before his time.
On the 27th of July, NZ646960 Walter Robin ‘Blue’ Thomson LME was farewelled at a naval funeral with full military honours. The service was held at the Waikumete Cemetery Chapel attended by HMNZS Endeavour II ship’s company and the many RNZN and civilian friends of Blue and Gail. His remains were interred in the naval section of the cemetery.
Whatever happened to the baby Robin ?
Rob Waara Thomson was bought up in Auckland and eventually returned to Te Araroa, his mother and grandfather’s ancestral home. Rob has a Bachelor’s degree in Advanced Maori Environmental Studies which he undertook as he developed a passion promoting the health and wellbeing of whanau by sustainably managing natures’ natural bounty from the land and the sea. His desire to encourage whanau back to the marae was the impetus for him to established a natural remedies tree cultivation court (Rongoa Maori Rakau Marae Maara) at his marae. It is a place where whanau can to learn how to identify medicinal plants, shrubs and trees and can collect natural rongoa medicines, how to maintain and harvest taonga (treasures/goods) to make creams, balms and other healing rongoa for whanau and hapu.
Read more about Rob at http://thenewzealanders.com/post/152009503742/robwarathomson
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When Rob and I spoke for the first time, I outlined the nature of the reason I was searching for his father’s descendants. Rob was really pleased to hear his dad had had some unclaimed medals that technically his mum was entitled to as Blue’s next of kin. NZDF Personnel Archives & Medals (PAM) confirmed that no medals had been issued in the name of LME Walter Robin Thomson and that his unclaimed medal entitlement included:
- NZ Operational Service Medal
- Naval General Service Medal (1915-62) with clasp “MALAYA”
- NZ General Service Medal 1992 (Non-Warlike) with clasp “KOREA 1954-57”
- NZ Defence Service Medal with clasp “REGULAR”
- Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal
The medals required an application from the Next of Kin (Rob’s mother). I coached Rob through the process to complete the application and assemble the Proof of Kinship which can be a lengthy process acquiring birth certificates etc. Complete at last. Rob had Gail sign the application and sent it off to Trentham.
Medals reunited at long last
I had warned Rob there may be a considerable wait because of other priorities PAMs had at the time. A couple of checks with Rob over the ensuing months confirmed the medals had not yet arrived. After a little over six months I received a most unexpected phone call from none other than Rob’s mother Gail Thomson. Did I know what had happened to the medals? No, but I would follow up with PAMs. Gail and I had a lengthy chat during which she was able to fill me in on some of the unknowns re Blue’s death, what she had done afterwards, and her eventual return to Te Araroa. I asked if she had she ever been contacted by the RNZN or the NZDF re outstanding medals? – No. Probably hardly surprising since most of the medals due to her deceased husband only became available after 2000 following the medal review. It had been a particularly busy time for them as the staff were addressing the first of the un-claimed WW2 medals of 28th Maori Battalion soldiers, most who had died, a situation uncovered by an Auckland lawyer while addressing his own father’s missing medals. However, as good as their word, the medals arrived at Rob’s address in Ruatoria within 10 days.
Rob has now received the medals and passed them to his mum Gail which she will wear very proudly on the first available occasion. Sixty one years is a long time in anyone’s lifetime to wait for medals, the return of which made this case a particularly satisfying one to complete.
Merv Tyree, no spring chicken himself now (slightly older than Blue) is to be highly commended (C of N ?) for his passion and diligence in identifying sailors who have CTB, not only from ships he served on but any deceased RNZN member whose descendants might be entitled to claim medals that were instituted for retrospective service.
My thanks also too Janine, Tracey and Heather for responding to my requests, all of which were instrumental in drawing the threads together of Walter Robin Thomson’s family history and the ultimately location of his family. Blue would be proud of you all!
The reunited medal tally is now 495.