Operation: Scramble

Date: 03rd July 1942 (Friday)

Unit: No. 213 Squadron. 243 Wing. 211 Group (motto: Irritatus Lacessit Crabro - 'The Hornet Attacks When Roused')

Type: Hurricane IIc

Serial: BN597

Code: AK-?

Base: LG 15 (Amiriya) Egypt

Location: El Alamein area

Pilot: W/O. Gordon Stuart Bolton NZ/403502 RNZAF Age 25. Killed

REASON FOR LOSS:

Scrambled at 15:35 hrs with 4 others over El Alamein. Enemy fighters, 109's of I./JG27 jumped the squadron shooting down 4 of the Hurricanes.

Two other pilots were killed:

Hurricane IIc BN537 Flown by 24 year old, W/O. John David Ritchie RT/78215 RCAF

Hurricane IIc BM981 Flown by 24 year old, Fl/Lt. Cyril Bernard Temlett 33530 RAF

Hurricane IIc BN128 Flown by P/O. L.O.H Boucher managed to bale out.

Hurricane Iic BN541 Flown by P/O. K.N.R Sissons, also baled out but wounded.

Only 29 year old, P/O. John Ellsworth Avise J/5472 RCAF returned to base. (Thought to be flying BP342 - later, missing 17th October 1942)

Burial and personal details:

W/O. Gordon Stuart Bolton. El Alamein War Cemetery. Grave XIII. A. 3.. Born on the 23rd March 1917 in Woodville. Educated at Woodville Boys High School. A farmer on his father's farm at Waipuna. Enlisted as a pilot under training on the 28th of September 1940 at Levin. With No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School 27th December 1940 with his first solo on the 04th January 1941. With No. 3 Flying Training School on the 08th February 1941. Pilots badge awarded on the 24th March 1941 and promoted to sergeant on the 03rd May 1941.

Embarked for England on 26th May 1941. At No. 3 Personnel Reception Centre 03rd July 1941. With No. 9 Service Flying Training School 23rd July 1941. No. 61 Operational Training Unit 30th September 1941 flying the Spitfire. 154 squadron 20th November 1941. 616 squadron 05th January 1942 completing 1 operational sortie. With 2 Personnel Dispatch Centre and embarked for Gibraltar 01st March 1942. Embarked on HMS Eagle in the same month. Flew a Spitfire off Eagle to Malta and joined 126 squadron on the 21st March 1942, carried out 4 operational sorties. Joined 213 squadron 21st May 1942.

Son of Joseph Cheney Hindmarsh (died 27th March 1942, age 51)and Jessie Lockett Bolton (née Abercombie, later Turner - died 21st December 1981, age 87), of Woodville, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Above: L-R: Rear; Eric Reginald Jones NZ/404375 died 27th May 2001, Arthur Ronald Cook NZ/404338 - killed 19th May 1943, Gordon Russell Cameron NZ/403940 0 killed 06th February 1942, Gordon Stuart Bolton NZ/403502 - killed 03rd July 1942, Donald Fraser Ayson NZ/402538 - died 14th February 1981, Henry Drury Alcock NZ/403928 - died 24th October 1972, RD McNabb, Neil Frederick McLean NZ/403876 - killed 31st October 1941, Louis George William Volzke NZ/404432 - killed 15th December 1941, RT Maunsey, GD Steel, Harold Kay NZ/404371 - killed 12th May 1942, Horace Victor Sole NZ/404419 - died 30th June 1973.

Front; Loch Lomond Bentley NZ/404936 - killed 23rd December 1941, Hansford Ward Chambers NZ/404334 - died 06th August 1977, HF Christensen, FB Forge, FB Gray, KF Heald, Edward Denis Cannon NZ/403424 - killed 09th February 1942, EJ Garnett, HG Viles, Thomas Young Wyllie NZ/404011 killed 08th November 1941, Clyde McGregor Simpson NZ/40415 - died 02nd September 2002, WStGR Wilson, Thomas Kay NZ/39557 - killed 05th June 1941, David Mitchell Keane NZ/404441 - killed 14th October 1942. (Courtesy Air Museum of New Zealand)

Others:

Fl/Lt. Cyril Bernard Temlett DFC. El Alamein War Cemetery. Grave XIII. A. 2. From Cardiff, Wales, no further information, are you able to assist? Enlisted in the RAF in August 1935 as an apprentice. Awarded his DFC on the 06th August 1940. Went with 213 squadron on HMS Furious and flew a Hurricane on the 21st May 1941 to Malta and then to Mersa Maru. Destroyed a Me109 on the 15th of June and on the 26th of June damaged a Ju87.

W/O. John David Ritchie. El Alamein War Cemetery. Grave XII. E. 12. Son of Allan Greave (died 25th December 1948, age 62) and Clara James Ritchie (died 08th December 1969, age 66), of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Epitaph: 'Always With Us'.

F/O. John Ellsworth Avise. Alamein Memorial. Column 263. Born on the 03rd October 1912. Educated at Mason City high school. Worked as an accountant prior to service. Son of Dennis Elsworth (died 02nd October 1942, age 63) and Edna Thraves Avise of Mason City, Iowa, USA and husband of Louise Avise of 212 Fourth street, northwest, San Francisco USA. Graduated United States Naval Academy, 1934.

On the 17th of October 1941 whilst stationed at the RAF base at Aboukir, just west of Alexandria took off at 11:20 hrs to deliver a Hurricane to Wadi Natrun, about 100 miles away. Another took off a short time afterwards to pick him up and return him to his base but it reached Wadi Natrun without seeing him or his aircraft and he had not arrived. The search was begun immediately and continued for many days but no trace ever was found of him or the pilot.

Researched and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot with thanks to the extensive research by Errol Martyn and his publications: “For Your Tomorrow Vols. 1-3”, Auckland Library Heritage Collection, Weekly News of New Zealand, Air Museum of New Zealand, Museum of Transport and Technology, Auckland, other sources as quoted below:

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