THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT

RAWNSLEY Ivan Edward

Flight Lieutenant, Royal New Zealand Air Force

CITATION

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) military

Gazetted 11 July 1940

This officer left New Zealand for service in the Royal Air Force in the last war on the 18th February 1918.  He was commissioned on 25th October

1918 as a Second Lieutenant.  He returned to New Zealand at the end of the war and was demobilised.  He was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the

New Zealand Air Force in June 1923, and has been an active member ever since.  On the formation of the Territorial Air Force Squadrons, he was

appointed Flight Commander of the Wellington (T) Squadron.  He has been involved in civil flying since 1931, and for several years until the outbreak

of war, was Chief Instructor to the Wellington Aero Club, and as such trained a large number of pilots for the Air Force.  On the outbreak of war he

was appointed as Chief Flying Instructor at N. 2 Elementary Flying Training School, New Plymouth, and by virtue of his hard work, organising ability

and strict supervision, he developed a high degree of efficiency in the flying training of that station.

KNOWN AWARDS

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)

NOTES

Born 14 January 1898 Wellington, New Zealand

Died 20 February 1993 Wellington, New Zealand

Buried Karori Cemetery, Wellington [Section Lawn, Plot 89J]

BIOGRAPHICAL

Ivan was the son of Ethel Mary Rawnsley nee Duret originally from England, and Richard Edward Dutton Rawnsley born in India. Richard's mother was Mary Rawnsley and his father was Captain Edward John Rawnsley of the 108th Regiment, Madras Infantry, based in Madras, India to participate in the Anglo Boer War. Edward sailed to India from Gravesend, London on 24th Feb 1846 aboard the ship Madagascar.