Philip Kenyon Norcross served as a Sergeant (Pilot) with the Royal New Zealand Airforce during World War Two and was killed in active service at the age of 19.
He was the son of Frederick and Edna Ruby Norcross of Inglewood and was educated at Stratford Technical High School where he enjoyed most sports, especially hockey, shooting and mountain climbing.
When he finished school, he began working for the Inglewood County Council as a electrician. He enlisted with the RNZAF’s Initial Training Wing in Levin in February 1942 before moving to No 2 Elementary Flying Training School in New Plymouth on April 1942. In June he departed for Canada to train under the Empire Air Training Scheme. In December he arrived in Britian and was posted to No 12 Advanced Flying Unit, at Grantham, Lincolnshire, where he was trained on Blenheim and Anson Aircraft.
Philip was killed when a Blenheim Aircraft, of which he was a crew member, collided in mid-air with another aircraft over Harlaxton landing ground on 2 March 1943. He is buried in the Grantham Cemetery.
Documents
RNZAF Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945, Archives New Zealand Collection (R17845614)
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