Our Picture
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…1000 memories My uncle, Norman Alexander Wickes (Alex) was born July 30, 1924, in Greymouth, New Zealand, and lived nearby at Kumara Junction. He enlisted in the RNZAF in 1942 and, after training, left for England in 1943. He completed a tour of operations in Bomber Command flying Lancasters. For meritorious service he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC; 12 Squadron RAF) and later the Air Force Cross. The citation for his DFC (December 7, 1945) states: Flying Officer Wickes has completed numerous sorties on his first tour of duty as a captain of aircraft. Throughout, he has displayed a magnificent example of devotion to duty and fine fighting spirit… On two occasions his aircraft has been attacked by enemy fighters but each time he has foiled the attackers and completed his allotted task. At all times this officer’s outstanding courage has been an inspiring example. After he left the RAF, Alex flew cargo planes and I was lucky enough to have him fly me part of the way to England from New Zealand in a cargo DC8. Alex passed away in England on September 6, 2008. This photo shows him and some of his fellow enlistees and could have been taken at the Initial Training Wing at Rotorua, No 2 Elementary Flying Training School at Ashburton or at the No 2 Service Flying Training School at Woodbourne in 1942–1943. It’s a wonderful record of the men with their names written on the photo as they did at the time. Does anyone know anything about the other men or my uncle? — Pauline Weeks, Sydney, NSW Contact Pauline at [email protected] your family 74 www.insidehistory.com.au Do you have a favourite family image you’d like to tell our readers about? We’d love to hear from you. Email a high-quality scan and the story behind the picture to [email protected] and we’ll publish it here. One picture…
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Do you have a favourite family image you'd like to tell our readers about? We'd love to hear from you. Email a high-quality scan and the story behind the picture to [email protected] and we'll publish it in our "One picture"
Transcript of Our Picture
…1000 memories
My uncle, Norman Alexander Wickes (Alex) was born July 30, 1924, in Greymouth, New Zealand, and lived nearby at Kumara Junction. He enlisted in the RNZAF in 1942 and, after training, left for England in 1943. He completed a tour of operations in Bomber Command flying Lancasters. For meritorious service he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC; 12 Squadron RAF) and later the Air Force Cross.
The citation for his DFC (December 7, 1945) states:
Flying Officer Wickes has completed numerous sorties on his first tour of duty as a captain of aircraft. Throughout, he has displayed a magnificent example of devotion to duty and fine fighting spirit… On two occasions his aircraft has been attacked by enemy fighters but each time
he has foiled the attackers and completed his allotted task. At all times this officer’s outstanding courage has been an inspiring example.
After he left the RAF, Alex flew cargo planes and I was lucky enough to have him fly me part of the way to England from New Zealand in a cargo DC8.
Alex passed away in England on September 6, 2008. This photo shows him and some of his fellow enlistees and could have been taken at the Initial Training Wing at Rotorua, No 2 Elementary Flying Training School at Ashburton or at the No 2 Service Flying Training School at Woodbourne in 1942–1943. It’s a wonderful record of the men with their names written on the photo as they did at the time. Does anyone know anything about the other men or my uncle?
— Pauline Weeks, Sydney, NSWContact Pauline at [email protected]
your family
74 www.insidehistory.com.au
Do you have a favourite family image you’d like to tell our readers about? We’d love to hear from you. Email a high-quality scan and the story behind the picture to [email protected] and we’ll publish it here.
One picture…
One picture…
…1000 memoriesThis is one of my favourite photos and is of my maternal grandparents, Reginald Lea (1880–1940) and Mary Maud Perrett (1880–1963), taken near the time of their wedding in 1904. The ceremony took place at St George Church in Paddington, Sydney. My grandfather had recently returned from the Boer War, where he served as a Trooper.
Reginald is a descendant of William Allman and Elizabeth Wills (both Earl Cornwallis, 1801), Michael Brennan (Anne, 1801) Elizabeth Smith, (Nile, 1801), Charles Fairclough (Francis & Eliza, 1815) and William Lee (Isabella, 1818).
Mary is descended from John Ross (Duke of Portland, 1807), Elizabeth Bennett (Canada, 1810), and Isaac Perrett (Hadlow, 1818).
Reginald and Mary lived in Bondi, where their four children were born, my mother being the youngest. I didn’t get to meet my grandfather as he died before I was born, but I knew my grandmother well. I stayed with her often, and loved her cooking. Their home in Bondi is still standing.
— Jan Koperberg, Winmalee, New South Wales
We’d love to hear about your photo stories. Email a favourite image and the history behind it to [email protected] and we’ll publish it here.
your family
70 www.insidehistory.com.au
One painting…
… 1000 memories
Sweden-born artist Gunnel Wåhlstrand graduated from the Royal University College of Fine Arts, Stockholm. For eight years, she has worked exclusively with a re-development of private photographs, using black ink and water, a technique that she masters to perfection.
Part of the collection consists of her father’s family photo album, but has now been expanded to a wider family group. One of the larger works, Mother Profile (left), is a rendering of a studio photograph of the artist’s mother. In 2010, Mother Profile was on display along with other family portraits at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, as part of the city’s 17th Biennale.
The precise and demanding task of depicting these historical documents in extraordinary detail is a way for the artist to physically and psychologically understand her family’s personal history.
We’d love to hear about your photo stories. Email a favourite image and the history behind it to [email protected] and we’ll publish it here.
your family
74 www.insidehistory.com.au
