LAC. Alan Wright
Royal New Zealand Air Force A Flight 489 Squadron
from:Norwich, Norfolk
I have six wartime group photos of RAF/RNZAF aircrew. Four of these show airmen by or in Hampdens and think that these are all of 489 Squadron.
One group photograph includes members of A Flight 489 (TB) Squadron RNZAF taken (I think) in 1942-3. On it, as far as I can make out from the signatures on the reverse, are: S F Watkins, Halpey, Dai Davies, M Percey, W Coaey (Swooner), W Little, E Priest, R J Lombey, L S Peat, Alan Wright, F Walker and two others whose signatures are almost impossible to make out. The aircraft is certainly a Hampden and certainly includes ground crew. One of these ground crew members appears on the short film upload of crew approaching an aircraft in a truck, that has been uploaded onto the web. This may help date the photos more accurately. I know that the squadron had Hampdens between March 1942 and November 1943 that they switched to Beaufighters in November 1943 until August 1945.
Another of the other photos is of (what appears to be) all of 59 Army Cooperation Squadron (157 servicemen) and a Beaufighter. The final group photo may be of newly qualified Aircraftsmen passing out in 1939.
I know that my father, Alan Wright, was stationed at Wick during the war (which may narrow the date down further March to 5 August 1942) but I cannot rule out that he may also have been stationed at Dallachy later in the War. He certainly talked about the base. I do know that he was transferred overseas to Ireland just as the squadron was starting to be issued with Beaufighters.
