My dad was born in Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand on April 8, 1920. When World War II broke out in 1939, he asked my grandfather, James Jenkins, to give his permission for him to enlist in the New Zealand Air Force. Dad served from 1939 through to the end of the war in 1945 with no injuries that I’m aware of. He flew Hurricanes, Spitfires and Typhoons mainly. My grandfather kept an album of the many photos Dad sent home to his family. I still have that photo album as well as Dad’s flying log.
Because I have a strong sense of history, I am going to post the photos and the flying log entries to this blog so that his efforts in serving his country, New Zealand, will not be forgotten nor will those of the pilots mentioned in his log. Dad died on February 5, 1988 at the age of 67 and this blog is a celebration of his wartime life – not of war itself.
For anyone interested in the history of World War II, I hope you enjoy reading the flying log entries. I’ll be posting photos and log entries regularly but to kick-start this blog, here is a photo of my Dad on leave in England.
During WWII, he was called Jimmy Jenkins and if anyone has information about my Dad or pilots who served with him, feel free to leave a comment.
