Eric Frederick Lloyd MONTGOMERY
m.i.d.

Service Number: Nil
Fleet Air Arm Trade: Pilot
Date of Enlistment:
Rank Achieved: Lieutenant Commander (A)
Flying Hours:
Operational Sorties:

Date of Birth: 2nd of January 1917, at Te Puke
Personal Details: Eric was the youngest son of Adolphus Montgomery (who died in 1941) and Martha Emily Montgomery of Te Puke. He went to Cambridge District High School, and Te Puke District High School. He worked as a clerk in the Whakatane branch of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company Ltd before joining the Royal New Zealand Navy. He was also secretary of the Whakatane Citizensl Band. Eric married Paula Mason, and they had three children.

Service Details: Eric gained his commission as a Sub-Lieutenant (A) on the 27th of September 1941. He was promoted to Lieutenant (A) approximately May 1943. And he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander approximately July 1944.

He commanded No. 841 Naval Air Squadron from June 1944 till November 1944. The squadron was operating twelve Fairey Barracuda II torpedo bombers at the time. They embarked on the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable in August 1944 for a week, disembarked at RNAS Grimsetter in the Orkneys, and then transferred onto HMS Implacable. It was from this carrier that he led No. 841 Squadron in anti-shipping strikes around the Norwegian coast in October 1944.

He was mentioned in despatches for "outstanding leadership, zeal and devotion to duty" as the Armament Officer of a Fleet Air Arm squadron in operations in Madagascar.

Died: 3rd of June 1984, in Tauranga
Buried: RSA Lawn Cemetary, Pyes Pa, Tauranga

Connection with Cambridge: Eric lived in Cambridge before WWII, and attended Cambridge District High School

 

 

________________________________________________________________