Goldfish Club

The Goldfish Club

During the Second World War, several exclusive clubs were formed as a result of extraordinary action many airmen took during the war. These were the Caterpillar Club, for those who landed safely with the help of a silken parachute; the Late Arrivals Club, those who walked back to safety from behind enemy lines; the Guinea Pig club, those who faced multiple reconstructive surgeries formed by the pioneering New Zealand plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe, and the Goldfish Club. 

The Goldfish Club was founded in 1942 by C. A. Robertson who was the Chief Draughtsman of Messers P. B. Cow & Co limited, one of the largest manufacturers of Air Sea Rescue equipment during the Second World War. The club was formed to honour those who had survived after their aircraft ditched into the water, with the successful use of a "Mae West" (life vest), and a rubber dinghy, etc. The club's motto, summarising their experience, was "Gold for the value of life. Fish for the sea." By 1945, there were approximately 9000 members of the Goldfish Club.

In 1954, the Auckland Branch of the Goldfish Club was formed to incorporate the many Royal New Zealand Air Force members who had become members. Online Cenotaph has added the ditching details to many of the Goldfish Club members' records from the Goldfish Club Roll of Honour. These are some of their stories.

Pine, Madison. Goldfish Club. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 20 January 2020

Results

Displaying 1 - 50 of 97 records

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Family name A-Z Family name Z-A First name A-Z First name Z-A Force War Service # Relevance

Record ID	Photo	Family name	First names	Force	Wars	Service #		Preliminary
C27726		Aitchison	Murray Scofield	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ426088, 426088
91002		Angelo	Montague Bernard	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	414951
186376		Banks	Donald William	Navy	World War II, 1939-1945	3571, NZD3571
98883		Bagnall	Douglas Robert	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ2354, 43021
186373		Barr	John Thompson	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945
91098		Baker	Phillip Stanley	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	422172
186372		Bagnall	Rob	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945
C135369		Barnett	William Albert	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945, Regular Military Service, Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960	NZ413929, 133203
186374		Belcher	Ronald Joseph	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	40931
184001		Bell	William Pembroke	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ421006, 421006
186375		Bowly	Charles Cameron	Navy	World War II, 1939-1945	405174
91450		Brown	Alexander Raymond	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	405471, NZ405471
C17933		Brown	Andrew Alexander	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ404886, 404886
186378		Brisco	Donald Gilfrid	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ403786
C120894		Brier	Douglas Arthur	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ403755
188305		Brown	Errol Howard	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945, Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960	NZ1296, 1296
186377		Brougham	Henry Charles	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ4216668
91630		Cargill	Robert William Lawrence	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	405231
91591		Callaghan	Ronald Patrick	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ411739
C128442		Checketts	John Milne	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ403602
180159		Cocks	Douglas Walter	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ41878
186380		Colway	James Alexander	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ40735
C144924		Croall	Charles	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ41627
91954		Croft	Ernest Stokes	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	413935
C22740		Curtis	Reginald Richard	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ413252, 413252
C121108		D'Ath-Weston	Ernest Henry	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ403432, 403432
185989		Divers	Arnold	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ414601, 414601, 131390
186382		Drummond	Keith Victor	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ428233
C128630		Ensor	Maechel Anthony	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945, Korean War, 1950-1953	NZ402175, 402175
186383		Faris	Bruce	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ1902
97650		Fell	Archibald Lyster	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ412667, 412667
92489		Foster	Owen Ellice	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	415067, NZ415067
97657		Frame	James Stewart	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ41982
186385		Grace	James Noble	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	401206
92772		Green	John Robert	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	425656, 4311842
92973		Haugh	James William	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	413412
186386		Hanna	Noel Elliot	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ42396
92966		Harvey	Ronald Stewart	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	404538, NZ404538
C33652		Hedge	Hardie George	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ40791
182760		Heddon	John Cuthbert	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	404360, NZ404360
C130902		Hill	Douglas Charles	Navy	World War II, 1939-1945
C129570		Hitchcock	Frank Norman	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ4310172
186366		Hoskin	Bernard Lewis	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	40297, NZ40297, 132137
186419		Johnston	Gordon Eric	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ401208, 401208
186420		Kemp	Arthur Edgar	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ414638, 414638
193032		Kilian	John Rutherford Clark	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ1043
93617		Laird	Arthur Keith	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	436161
C121390		Langsford	Philip	Air Force	Regular Military Service, World War II, 1939-1945	NZ412343
93719		Lindquist	Frank George	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	414914
93730		Lloyd	Ivan Stanley Joseph	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	403014

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The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.