Tionga Waaka

Forenames

Tionga AWMM

Surname

Waaka AWMM

Service number

• NZ425007 AWMM
• WWII 425007 AWMM

Gender

Male AWMM

Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe

• Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM
• Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngā Iwi o Te Arawa, Te Arawa, Waka o Ngā Iwi, Ngā Iwi, Māori AWMM

Birth

20 Feb 1921 AWMM

Birth notes

Son of Te Wiremu Waaka and Ngahina Northcroft, of Whakarewarewa, Rotorua

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 25 November 2022 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/tionga-waaka

Address before enlistment

WW2 Rotorua AWMM

Next of kin

WW2 Brother: Mr N. Waaka, Whakarewarrewa, Rotorua AWMM

Relationship status

Single/WWII AWMM

War

World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Campaign

Italy AWMM

Armed force / branch

Air Force AWMM

Service number

• NZ425007 AWMM
• WWII 425007 AWMM

Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers

Royal Air Force, No. 70 Squadron AWMM

Military training

• British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 2 Wireless School, Calgary, Alberta, Canada AWMM
  Course 1: Class 48/50. Graduation Date: 5/04/1943. AWMM
• British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 6 Bombing and Gunnery School, Mountain View, Ontario, Canada AWMM
• British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 32 Operational Training Unit, Patricia Bay, British Columbia, Canada AWMM

Embarkation details

WW2 Vessel was Dominion Monarch AWMM Royal Air Force, No. 70 Squadron AWMM Royal New Zealand Air Force AWMM

Medical notes

Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Killed on air operations AWMM

Last rank

WW2 Flight Sergeant/Military AWMM
Royal Air Force, No. 70 Squadron AWMM

Tionga Waaka was the son of Te Wiremu Waaka and Ngahina Northcroft, of Whakarewarewa, Rotorua.

"I will come home", an article in Te Ao Hou, tells of the soil taken from his grave in Italy and returned to his home in Whakarewarewa in 1955 by Mrs Rora Fernandos (nee Iwikau).

Attended Te Aute College, Pukehou, Hawkes Bay (Source: RNZAF Biographies (R17845617))

323 hours as Wireless Operator/Air Gunner (Source: RNZAF Biographies (R17845617)) AWMM

Death

24 May 1944 AWMM
Age  23 AWMM

Cause of death

Killed in Action AWMM

Cemetery

Beach Head War Cemetery, Anzio, Italy AWMM XXII. G. 3. AWMM

Memorial name

• Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
• Whakarewarewa, Te Hokowhitu-a-tu Memorial Gateway, Rotorua AWMM

Related objects

External links

• Te Ao Hou
  http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/index.html
  Sources Used
• Waaka, K. (1955, 11 July). I will come home. Te Ao Hou. p. 21
  http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/issue/Mao11TeA/c12.html
  Further Reference
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
  https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2374192
  Sources Used
• RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Ue - Z. Archives New Zealand (R17845617)
  https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845617
  Sources Used
• List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. Archives New Zealand (R17845744)
  https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845744
  Sources Used

References

• The Weekly News
  1944
• Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
• Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press.
  Vol. 2 p. 228-9; vol 3 p. 488
• This record is a work in progress and was partially compiled from the “Database of New Zealand Airmen who took part in Advanced Air Training in Canada during WW2”. Researched by Ivan and Lorna Lindsey of Tauranga. N.Z. 2003 – 2012. Reproduced with permission.
• RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Ue - Z. Archives New Zealand (R17845617) - Former archives reference: AIR118
• Please note that the 11 volumes of the "RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945" held at Archives NZ (formerly known as AIR118) should be used in conjunction with Errol Martyn's "For Your Tomorrow". FYT reflects detailed examination of all of the AIR118 bios which contain many inaccuracies and omissions.
• List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [(New Zealanders Attached to R.A.F. [Royal Air Force]) (Officers), (Europe) - Airmen]. Archives New Zealand (R17845744)
• List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - Embarkation Lists, November 1940 - July 1942. Archives New Zealand, Wellington (R17845762).