User:Zawed/Sandbox3
Maurice Buckley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 August 1895 Seacliff, Otago, New Zealand |
| Died | 3 November 1956 (aged 61) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Allegiance | New Zealand |
| Service | New Zealand Military Force Royal Navy Air Service Royal New Zealand Air Force |
| Years of service | 1914–1915 (NZMF) 1915–1920 (RNAS) 1926–1950 (RNZAF) |
| Rank | Air Commodore |
| Battles / wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Commander of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in Despatches Legion of Merit (United States) |
Maurice Buckley CBE (3 August 1895 – 3 November 1956) was a New Zealand aviator and military leader who served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War.
Born in Seacliff in Otago, Buckley joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on the outbreak of the First World War. He served with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles at Gallipoli but then transferred to the Royal Naval Air Service in late 1915. After training as a pilot, he served in Salonika and Bulgaria before taking ill with malaria. After the war he worked in civil aviation in New Zealand until in 1926 he joined what became the RNZAF. On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he was in England in charge of RNZAF personnel tasked with ferrying newly purchased Vickers Wellington bombers back to New Zealand. He was appointed commander of No. 75 Squadron leading it until 1941 when he became station commander at Feltwell. Returning to New Zealand later that year, he held a series of local and overseas command and staff posts until his eventual retirement from the RNZAF in 1950. He died in Wellington on 3 November 1956, aged 61.
Early life
[edit]Maurice William Buckley was born on 3 August 1895 at Seacliff in Otago Province, New Zealand, one of eight children of a farmer. After completing his education at Timaru High School, Buckley laboured on the family farm at Fairlie.[1][2]
First World War
[edit]On 3 August 1914, Buckley volunteered for the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, a unit of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force being raised for service in the First World War.[2]
Interwar period
[edit]Buckley was discharged from the RAF in 1920 and, having returned to New Zealand, found employment as a pilot with the Timaru-based New Zealand Air Transport Company. He later worked for the Canterbury Aviation Company and made the first aeroplane flight to Stewart Island, flying a de Havilland there in 1921. He also landed a Avro 504K biplane at Golden Bay, near Nelson, becoming the first pilot to do so. In December, having stunted an aircraft at low level over Timaru and deemed a danger to the public, he was fined 20 shillings. A charge of trick flying, the first time this was raised in New Zealand, was dismissed.[2][3]
In 1924 Buckley formed his own airline, Arrow Aviation, but two years later joined the New Zealand Permanent Air Force.[2]
He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1935 Birthday Honours[4]
In 1937 Buckley was sent on attachment to England to serve with No. 38 Squadron, equipped with the Vickers Wellington medium bomber and based at Marham.[5] The New Zealand government had purchased 30 aircraft for the RNZAF and in June 1939 Buckley was tasked with forming a flight of RNZAF to ferry the aircraft back to New Zealand.[6]
Second World War
[edit]On the outbreak of the Second World War, the New Zealand government offered its Wellingtons and the RNZAF personnel to the RAF. He was mentioned in despatches in the 1941 New Year Honours.[7]
In late November 1943, Buckley went to Espiritu Santo in the South Pacific to take command of No. 1 (Islands) Group RNZAF.[8] This was tasked with keeping the various RNZAF units deployed in the South Pacific running with supplies, equipment and personnel.[9] He relinquished command in November 1944, returning to New Zealand to take up an appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff.[2]
Postwar career
[edit]He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1946 Birthday Honours[10] He retired from the RNZAF in 1950.[2]
A street in the Hobsonville Point community, in Auckland, is named for him.[2]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Hanson 2001, p. 104.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hobsonville Point. "What's in a Name: Buckley Avenue". Kāinga Ora (2024) Limited. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "Aviators Fined". Evening Post. 1 December 1921. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "No. 34166". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1935. p. 3604.
- ^ Franks 1990, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Thompson 1953, pp. 32–33.
- ^ "No. 35029". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1941. p. 34.
- ^ Ross 1955, pp. 169–170.
- ^ Ross 1955, pp. 159–161.
- ^ "No. 37601". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1946. p. 2836.
References
[edit]- Bentley, Geoffrey (1969). RNZAF: A Short History. Wellington: A. H & A. W. Reed. OCLC 816504017.
- 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.
- McClure, Margaret (2012). Fighting Spirit: 75 Years of the RNZAF. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-86979-610-5.
- McGibbon, Ian, ed. (2000). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558376-0.
- Ross, J. M. S. (1955). Royal New Zealand Air Force. Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45. Wellington: War History Branch. OCLC 606146817.
- Thompson, H. L. (1953). New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force. Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45. Vol. I. Wellington: War History Branch. OCLC 270919916.