"Colin Ballantyne enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Forced on the 20th June 1941 and trained as a Radio/Wireless Mechanic at the trade schools at Harewood and Wigram over the next eight months. He completed his training and had been posted to Whenuapai to join No.1 Radar Flight, which operated and supported the radar units guarding the Auckland area. Colin had been intended to deploy to the Pacific with a RNZAF radar unit, however it was at this time that he fell ill with influenza in late June 1942 and was not deployed. This illness was followed by his development of mental health issues which led to his discharge from the air force on 30th October 1942. His secondment to the army was a part of this discharge process and was an administrative technicality." AWMM