Date of Birth: 6th of February 1924, at Hawera, Taranaki
Personal Details: Hal was the youngest son of John Charles Hawkes and Edith Mildred Hawkes (nee Mytton). He married Arrabella Marjorie Dench at St Paul's Methodist Church, Cambridge, on the 21st of May 1949

Service Details: Little is yet known about Hal Hawkes and his RNZAF career but he apparently joined the Air Force in an aircrew trade on the 3rd of May 1943, and following final leave in the Cambridge district (at Karapiro) he embarked for aircrew training in Canada aboard the Mariposa on the 24th of February 1944.

Hal was one of the 1476 RNZAF personnel who returned to New Zealand from Britain aboard the troopship Andes, docking at the Port of Lyttleton, Christchurch, on Wednesday the 24th of October 1945

Date of Death: 21st of June 2001, aged 77, in Rotorua
Interment: Hal's funeral was held at the J.H. Gray Memorial Chapel, Rotorua, on the 23rd of June 2001

Connection with Cambridge: It seems that Hal must have lived at Karapiro or nearby before joining the RNZAF.

Thanks To: Errol Martyn for details of Hal's full name and some service details.

Waikato Independent reports that mention Hal Hawkes
Farewelled from Karapiro by CWI with leather hold all 9 Feb 1944
Airmen return home 24 Oct 1945