Date of Birth: 17th of October 1924, in Cambridge
Personal Details: Bruce was the son of Mr Arthur Francis Hulme and Mrs Ruby Winifred Hulme of Thornton Road, Cambridge. Bruce's parents moved to Cambridge from Tauranga around about 1919. Bruce's mother was a nurse and had established St Winifred's Hospital in Lower Hutt. She continued nursing after her arrival in Cambridge, till she and Arthur established the Domain Tea Kiosk in Thornton Road in around 1926. It was later owned or run by Mr. T. Oddy but upon release from the RNZAF Bruce himself took over running the shop in November 1945. It is still there today though no longer known as the Domain Kiosk.

Bruce's paternal grandfather had been Colonel Hulme,who commanded the military forces that took the field of battle against Hone Heke in the Bay of Islands in 1846. His paternal grandmother's father had been the pioneering missionary Reverend Burrows.

Bruce married Miss Elsie Richmond Holmes of Bruntwood on the 18th of October 1946. Fellow airman John Richardson was his best man.

Bruce had been a keen tennis player, yachtsman and badminton player in his younger days. He had three sisters who became Mrs P. Beer (Cambridge), Mrs S. Baker (Runciman) and Mrs M. Otway (Te Awamutu).

Service Details: Bruce Hulme served as a pilot, and trained on Course 46B. He was posted to No. 4 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit at RNZAF Station Ardmore on the 30th of April 1944. Having trained there on Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks, he progressed to the Corsair Conversion Unit on the same station to progress to the bigger Corsair fighter bombers.

And he was then posted to No. 22 (Fighter) Squadron on the 19th of June 1944, flying Chance Vought Corsairs. This was a new squadron which formed the same day he arrived there.

However Bruce did not proceed to the Pacific with the squadron. He was the Non-Effective Pool at Rongotai on the 11th of July 1944, and then to the Reserve D on the 31st of July. He was discharged from the RNZAF on the 18th of March 1946, and returned to Cambridge.

Date of Death: 19th of October 1994, at Tauranga
Cremated: Bruce's ashes were spread at the lake in Cambridge

Connection with Cambridge: Bruce was born in Cambridge, grew up here and returned after the war.

Thanks To: David Duxbury for providing the initial details on Bruce Hulme, and to Bruce's daughters Alison Hulme and her sister Christine Fraser for providing extra information and the photographs on this page.

Above: A portrait of Bruce Hulme when he was in the Air Training Corps, prior
to joining the RNZAF (via Alison Hulme)

Above: Bruce's Initial Training Wing course at RNZAF Station Rotorua, with the
Hinemoa Hotel behind them (via Alison Hulme)

Bruce in flying kit next to a row of Tiger Moths, during his Elementary Flying
Training School phase of training (via Alison Hulme)

Above: A photo from Bruce's collection of the Waikato Aero Club aircraft.
Percival Proctor ZK-APH is closest to the camera. (via Alison Hulme)