More Info →Air Force Gun Salute at Kelvin Grove Cemetery

A dozen rifles fire the traditional salute for the deceased aircrew. The funeral is for the Air Force personnel lost on 25 November 1945 during a routine meteorological flight out of Ohakea. On March 19, 1949 the wreck of the RNZAF Ventura aeroplane with four crew members on-board was discovered; which had been missing since February 28, 1946. The crash location was three miles from Otaki in extremely hill country and the wreck was partially covered by scrub. The crew were: Flight-Lieutenant Walter Gordon Jacobs, the 27 year old Pilot; Flight-Lieutenant Sidney Howard Langton, the 24 year old navigator; Warrant-Officer Hedley Beaumont Newell, the 25 year old wireless-operator-air gunner; AC1 Anthony John Hayhurst, the 22 year old meteorologist. The men were given a combined military funeral at All Saints Church and buried at Kelvin Grove Cemetery in the Military Section. See A175/5 for further information.