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Robert Lawrence SPURDLE [Bob]

Robert Lawrence SPURDLE [Bob]

Male 1918 - 1994  (76 years)    Has 26 ancestors and 9 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Robert Lawrence SPURDLE 
    Known As Bob 
    Birth 03 Mar 1918  Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2] 
    Gender Male 
    Occupation Engineer  [3] 
    Military Service From 1939 to 1945  [4] 
    Death 05 Mar 1994  Whitianga, Coromandel, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location  [3, 5, 6] 
    Burial 09 Mar 1994  Mercury Bay, Coromandel, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 7] 
    Probate 26 May 1994  Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Person ID I1668  NZ Genealogy Project | SPURDLE Descendant
    Last Modified 23 Jun 2008 

    Father Frederick Maurice SPURDLE [Maurie],   b. 11 Sep 1879, Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 31 Dec 1943, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 64 years) 
    Mother Flora Park Cave CALMAN [Flossie],   b. 03 Mar 1883, Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 07 Oct 1973, Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 90 years) 
    Marriage 03 Apr 1907  Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location  [8, 9, 10] 
    Family ID F317  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Shirley Florence LOMAS,   b. 16 Jan 1919, Masterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 25 Mar 1975, Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 56 years) 
    Marriage 01 Dec 1943  New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 5, 11, 12, 13] 
    Children 
    +1. Living
    +2. Elizabeth Robin SPURDLE,   b. 1946, New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 26 Jul 2004, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 58 years)
    +3. Living
    Family ID F862  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 31 Dec 2024 

    Family 2 Mavis Dorothy Marion PATRICK [Dorothy],   b. 25 Aug 1917, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 23 Nov 1987, Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years) 
    Marriage 1954  Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 12, 14] 
    Family ID F6935  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 31 Dec 2024 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 03 Mar 1918 - Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 01 Dec 1943 - New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 1954 - Wanganui, Wanganui, New Zealand Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 05 Mar 1994 - Whitianga, Coromandel, New Zealand Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - 09 Mar 1994 - Mercury Bay, Coromandel, New Zealand Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsProbate - 26 May 1994 - Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    Robert Lawrence SPURDLE
    Robert Lawrence SPURDLE, D.F.C. 1942

    Documents
    Death Registration - Robert Lawrence SPURDLE    		Death Registration - Robert Lawrence SPURDLE

    Headstones
    Headstone - Robert Lawrence SPURDLE    		Headstone - Robert Lawrence SPURDLE
    R.L. Spurdle, DFC & Bar.MID, 1939-45 RAF, Sqn.Ldr, died 5.3.1994 aged 76 years.
    Plot: 8RSAL-PLOT-0019

  • Notes 

    • BIOGRAPHY

      The following is from the summary biography on Wikipeadia.

      Wing Commander Robert Lawrence "Peter" Spurdle DFC & Bar (3 March 1918 - 5 March 1994) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of ten enemy aircraft.

      Born in Wanganui,Peter Spurdle joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in 1939. After completing flight training in 1940 he was sent to the United Kingdom and transferred to the RAF. He flew Supermarine Spitfires with No. 74 Squadron during the later stages of the Battle of Britain and later flew with No. 91 Squadron. From late 1942 and into the following year, he was temporarily attached to the RNZAF, firstly in a training capacity in New Zealand, and then in the Solomon Islands campaign with No. 16 Squadron. He returned to Europe in 1944, flying with No. 80 Squadron as its commander. After the end of the war in Europe, Spurdle returned to service with the RNZAF and was discharged in 1946.

      In civilian life he worked as an engineer before taking up yachting. He died in 1994 at the age of 76.

      Source: https://en.wikipedia.org.

  • Sources 
    1. [S118] Robyn Spurdle & Janette Howe, Spurdle Heritage, (ESA Publications, Auckland NZ 1992).

    2. [S115] Webpage.

    3. [S39] David Bryant, NZSG Index - Probate records, (New Zealand Society of Genealogists Inc.).

    4. [S115] Webpage.
      http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/aces/spurdle.htm The New Zealand Aces. Copyright © New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum.

      Squadron Leader Robert Lawrence Spurdle. Bob Spurdle, born in Wanganui on 3 March 1918, attended Wanganui Collegiate School before being accepted early in 1939 for the last short service commission course.

      Training completed, Spurdle sailed for Britain in early June 1940 to attend a Spitfire Operational Training Unit before joining 74 Squadron on 21 August. Spurdle shared in the damaging of an He III on 14 September. Five weeks later he had a narrow escape when his Spitfire broke up in a high speed dive whilst chasing a Bf 109. He baled out and was attacked by a German fighter as he floated down to a safe landing.

      Spurdle destroyed five enemy fighters, probably three more and damaged a further four plus several probably destroyed bombers before he was posted in mid-April 1941 to join 91 Squadron. He probably destroyed another Bf 109 on 7 May and damaged another on the 23rd.

      He then volunteered for the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit, formed to provide Hurricane aircraft and pilots for service on catapult-armed merchantmen in order to combat long-range Focke Wulf Condors harassing Allied convoys in the Atlantic. Spurdle made two trips to the USA in the Camships 'Novelist' and 'Eastern City' but saw no action.

      In February 1942 he rejoined 91 Squadron and was made a flight commander in April. On 25 July he destroyed a Bf 109 and the next day an FW 190. Spurdle visited the latter's pilot in hospital and discovered that he was credited with the destruction of seventeen British fighters. With another FW 190 damaged on 28 July and a Bf 109 damaged on 3 August Spurdle was awarded the DFC. Scheduled to be posted to Malta, he was found to be 'operationally tired' and was sent on anti-aircraft co-operation duties to await a ship for New Zealand, where he would be attached to the RNZAF.

      At Ohakea Spurdle organised and commanded the Camera Gun Assessing School until May 1943 when he was appointed as 'A' flight commander with 16 Squadron, then preparing for its first tour of duty in the Pacific. The pilots were flown to Santo in the New Hebrides in transport aircraft, and the Kittyhawk-equipped unit moved to Guadalcanal in mid-July 1943 to escort American bombers attacking Japanese bases. Spurdle shot down a Hap fighter on 13 August; on the 25th he and another pilot sank three Japanese motor torpedo boats and damaged barges, and the next day he destroyed a Zeke fighter and damaged another.

      After returning to the United Kingdom Spurdle was posted to 80 Squadron in March 1944, became a flight commander in May and took command completely in July. The unit crossed to the Continent in September, where it joined 122 Wing.

      On 8 December 1944 Spurdle damaged two Ju 188's in what was to be his last encounter with the Luftwaffe. He came off operations in early January 1945 at the end of his fifth tour and was awarded a Bar to his DFC.

      Spurdle volunteered to be a Radio Control Officer and was attached to the 6th Airborne Division, flying by glider into Germany in charge of the three RAF ground control units, two of which were wiped out. He then joined the 11th Armoured Division motoring by tank to the Elbe River and directing the 'Cab Rank' fighters onto targets requested by the Army. The war over, Spurdle was repatriated to New Zealand.

      As far as is known Bob Spurdle, John Gibson and Michael Herrick were the only three New Zealand pilots to destroy enemy aircraft in both the Battle of Britain and the Pacific.

    5. [S1160] Death Registration.

    6. [S1982] Archives New Zealand Online - Probate File, (Archives New Zealand, https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz).

    7. [S437] Thames Coromandel District Council, Thames District Cemeteries Search, (Thames Coromandel District Council 2007).
      SPURDLE, Robert Lawrence; Date of Death 5/03/1994; Date of Burial 9/03/1994; Cemetry Mercury Bay Cemetery; Location RSAL-PLOT-0019; Plot Type Normal; Plot Status Used; Capacity 2; Funeral Director Funeral Director Not Stated

    8. [S161] GENDEX -- WWW Genealogical Index.
      CALMAN Family of Elie & Dundee, Scotland by JoyceHill [email removed for privacy] GEDCOM updated 23 Oct 2001. Flora Park Cave "Flossie" Calman. (Frederick) Maurice Spurdle (Husband). Marriage: 3 APR 1907 in St Pauls Presbyterian Church, Wanganui, New Zealand.

    9. [S148] Dictonary of New Zealand Biography, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Wellington, New Zealand. 2000.), none.
      On 3 April 1907, at St Paul's Church, Wanganui, she married Frederick Maurice Spurdle, a partner in a firm of hardware merchants; they were to have three daughters and a son.

    10. [S136] Jill Gilbertson and Dawn Bowley, Wanganui newspapers BDM extracts, (New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Auckland, N.Z. 2003.).

    11. [S182] Joyce Hill, Calman, Wilkie and Various Kettle Families, (September 02, 2003), none.

    12. [S172] NZ Marriages 1836-1956, (New Zealand Society of Genealogists, 2006).

    13. [S642] NZ BDM - Historical Records - DATES, (Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington, New Zealand).

    14. [S614] NZ Electoral Rolls, 1853-2010, (Ancestry.co.uk.), none.


 

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