Search results Next record Previous record Māori Lorna Hazel Smith Born 4 September 1922 - Died 22 January 2007 PDF Key details Service numberWWII W2921 AWMM Also known asGayton AWMM Armed force / branchAir Force AWMM Last rank WarWorld War II, 1939-1945 AWMM Enquire Lay a poppy Lorna Hazel Smith 1942 Women Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) No known copyright restrictions. View gallery Hide sources Show empty fields Identity About Contribute › Title ForenamesLorna Hazel AWMM SurnameSmith AWMM Ingoa Also known asGayton AWMM Service numberWWII W2921 AWMM GenderFemale AWMM FEMALE Public - Gina - Other relative - 3 July 2016 - Lorna was female Iwi Hapū Waka Rohe Religion Images and documents Images Contribute › Report › Report › Report › Documents Contribute › Civilian life About birth Contribute › Birth4 September 1922 Public source New Plymouth, Taranaki Public source Date of birth Place of birth Birth notes Address before enlistment Post war occupation Next of kin on embarkation Relationship status Service Wars and conflicts Contribute › WarWorld War II, 1939-1945 AWMM Campaign Armed force / branchAir Force AWMM Service numberWWII W2921 AWMM Military service Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers Military decorations Contribute › Medals and Awards Training and Enlistment Contribute › Military training Branch Trade Proficiency Enlistment Occupation before enlistment Age on enlistment Embarkations Contribute › Embarkation detailsWW2 Royal New Zealand Air Force, Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) AWMM Prisoner of war Contribute › Capture details Days interned Liberation date Liberation Repatriation POW liberation details POW serial number Medical history Contribute › Medical notes Last known rank Contribute › Last rank Biographical information Biographical information Contribute › Lorna was the daughter of New Plymouth Liberal party MP Sydney George Smith and Catherine nee Bint. Lorna was the grand daughter of New Plymouth Liberal party MP Edward Metcalf Smith and the great grand daughter of Sergeant Nicholas Golding of the 65th British Regiment who served during the Taranaki Maori wars (Source:Public Source)Wife of Douglas Arthur Gayton (s/n 32865) (Source:Public Source)Their children were Judy Ranford (New Plymouth), Phillipa McGregor (New Plymouth), and Russell Gaynor (Auckland) (Source:Public Source) AWMM In 2002, Lorna's lifestory was published in a book of women's war stories called 'Doing Our Bit - New Zealand Women tell their stories of World War Two by Jim Sullivan [this book avail in NZ libraries]. Sections from Interview by Virginia Winder with Lorna then aged 81. Lorna (then Smith) became a WAAF in 1940, at the age of 17. She was drawn to the air force because of her father's flying contacts, her father was Sydney George Smith, Minister of Education in the mid-1930s and he was a friend of famous aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. Interestingly, New Zealand's darling of the airways Jean Gardner Batten was age 18 when she first became inspired to be a pilot after Charles Kingsford Smith took her for a flight in his Southern Cross plane. When World War II broke out, Lorna heard that a women's air force was to be formed, so she wrote away for information. "In due course I was called up." Her first posting was to pay accounts in Bell Block, where there was a training school for Tiger Moths. Being a woman, Lorna could not become a pilot. However, she did get to fly. "The boys out there said one day 'Would you like to go for a flight?' and I said 'Yes, I would'." Sitting in an easy chair in her New Plymouth home, Lorna laughs: "They scared the daylights out of me. We looped the loop and flew upside down. I had never been so scared in my life. I don't think I had a spine at all - I think it had completely left my body." Lorna tells of one homecoming when she expected to surprise her family. "I remember turning the key in the front door and my mother saying 'Is that you Lorna? I thought you would be home today.' "It was actually the same when she got the telegram to say my brother had been killed." The neighbour came over to deliver it, but Lorna's mum didn't need the message - she already knew. "She said 'It's Ray, isn't it?'" Major Ray Smith was in charge of B Company in the 26th Battalion, which took part in the Battle of Sangro in Italy. "He was killed on Christmas Eve Day, 1943," Lorna says. "He was shot through the back of the head by a sniper. I understand it was at a little place called Castel Frantano." Lorna says that her brother's batman (attendant) rescued his body from no-man's land. "He was given a proper burial in Italy, but when the (New Zealand) War Graves Commission collected bodies from here, there and everywhere, his grave could not be found. So his name has been added to the names at Cassino." In May 2004, Kiwi war veterans attended a special commemorative service marking the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Cassino. "As an aside - he was the highest ranked officer that was killed in action from New Plymouth Boys' High School," Lorna says. Three other siblings were in the armed forces during World War II. Lorna's eldest brother, Captain Ned Smith was in the second echelon of the New Zealand Army in England and was taken a prisoner of war (POW) in Greece. He spent his time in an Oflag near Munich. An Oflag is what Germans call a POW camp for officers, while a Stalag is a camp for non-commissioned troops. Youngest brother, flight Lieutenant Harry Smith, piloted bombers in Africa and later flew with the Chindits dropping supplies over the Burma line. A Chindit was the name given to a member of the Allied forces behind the Japanese lines in Burma from 1943-45. Lorna's elder sister, Ethel, was also in uniform. "She was a WAAF, but she did not go overseas and spent most of her service in Levin and New Plymouth." Lorna's married Douglas Arthur Gayton in 1945, Douglas had also served and had been a Prisoner of War. From 1963 to 1984, the Gaytons lived at and ran the Kawaroa Swimming Pools, now known as the New Plymouth Aquatic Centre. "Between us we were involved in and gave over 100 years to swimming." While Lorna was in charge of administration, Doug was always on the edge of the pool. Over those years, he taught thousands of children to swim and trained hundreds of others. Public - Gina - Other relative - 3 July 2016 - Family papers and also Lorna's life story published in a book of women's war stories called 'Doing Our Bit by Jim Sullivan [this book avail in NZ libraries]. Sections from Interview by Virginia Winder with Lorna then aged 81. Read more Death About death Contribute › Death22 January 2007 Public source New Plymouth, Taranaki Public source Date of death Age at death Place of death Cause of death Death notes Cemetery Cemetery name Grave reference Obituary Memorial name Memorial reference Memorials Memorial Contribute › Memorial name Roll of Honour Remember Lorna Hazel Smith by laying a poppy. Lloyd Malcolm Smith Lola Mabel Smith Lorna Hazel Smith Louis Albert Smith Louis Archibald Smith Lay a poppy for 2021 Leave a note Leave a tribute or memory of Lorna Hazel Smith Leave a note Contribute › Processing Sources Sources Contribute › External links DocumentsInformation kindly provided by family AWMM Contributors Processing Command item Command item Add new record Refresh DateFirst namesLocationRelationshipContact 03 July 2016GinaAucklandOther relative The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. 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