Stanley Charles DALLIMORE

Serial Number: A40467 / NZ40467
RNZAF Trade: Flight Mechanic
Date of Enlistment: 26th of January 1940
Rank Achieved: Sergeant (at least)

Date of Birth: 1st of April 1919

Personal Details: Stanley was the son of Henry Dickens Dallimore, a solictor, of Clare Street, Cambridge

Service Details: Stanley Dallimore served in New Zealand and in the Pacific, as a Flight Mechanic. Full details of postings and units he served on are not known but Stanley was based at RNZAF Station Rongotai as a Corporal till the 19th of February 1942 when he was posted to No. 7 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron at RNZAF Station Waipapakauri. Later he served in the Pacific on a Servicing Unit.

The following articles appeared in the Waikato Independent newspaper and show an interesting insight into life up in the Pacific, where the little things meant so much more.

Report from the Waikato Independent, 14th of January 1944 CHRISTMAS DINNER In The Pacific Cambridge Man Pleased Writing to his father, Mr H.D. Dallimore, from somewhere in the Pacific, Cpl. Stanley Dallimore expresses his pleasure at a surprise Christmas dinner. He says, “We had to work as usual, but we had the traditional Christmas dinner, even though most of it came out of cans. We were fortunate as the powers that be arranged for fresh eggs and such things as lettuce and tomatoes, new potatoes, to be flown up from New Zealand especially for the occasion. I'd not expected to see such things for a long time so they were appreciated more than ever.”

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A report from the Waikato Independent, 1st of November 1944 AIR FORCE SERGEANT Appreciates Patriotic Efforts Extracts from a letter written by Sgt. S. Dallimore to his father, Mr. H.D. Dallimore, from "somewhere in the Pacific," are as follows:- "The National Patriotic Fund Board has organised a rest camp up here for all N.Z. Units. I've just returned for a three-day spell down there, and a very nice change it was too. Nothing to worry about, and nothing to do, but take it easy, and do just as you wish. The weather wasn't very kind to usbut even so we enjoyed ourselves very much. "The meals were very nice, for a change. We had plenty of swimming, etc., so I think the spell did us quite a bit of good. It was hard coming back to camp and having to sleep on a hard bed again. The Y.M.C.A. here organised a reunion of all Waikato boys in our camp, so I went along with a friend of mine who comes from Hamilton. We had a very enjoyable evening, and I met quite a few chaps who come from round Cambridge and Hamilton." It is interesting to read of the rest camps organised by the Patriotic Board, and to know of the good work being done by that boday, as well as that of the Y.M.C.A., which is doing a magnificent job of work in the many outlandish places to which our boys are sent.

Date of Death: 13th of April 2002, at Nelson

Connection with Cambridge: Stan was a Cambridge resident before he joined the RNZAF

Sources:
Cambridge Museum records via Eris Parker
The Waikato Independent newspaper dated:
2nd of September 1940 - First Year Of The War
14th of January 1944 - Christmas Dinner
1st of November 1944 - Appreciates Patriotic Efforts
Errol Martyn