Douglas St George

Douglas St George
Born
Douglas Fitzclarence St George

(1919-09-07)7 September 1919
Nelson, New Zealand
Died25 October 1985(1985-10-25) (aged 66)
Heretaunga, New Zealand
AllegianceNew Zealand
BranchRoyal New Zealand Air Force
Service years1940–1974
RankAir Vice-Marshal
CommandsNo. 17 Squadron
No. 14 Squadron
No. 75 Squadron
Flying Wing, Ohakea
RNZAF Ohakea
RNZAF Training Group
Chief of the Air Staff
ConflictsSecond World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Force Cross
Spouse
Minnie Darrow
​
(m. 1953)​
Children2

Douglas Fitzclarence St George CB, CBE, DFC, AFC (7 September 1919 – 25 October 1985) was a New Zealand aviator and military leader who served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War and in the postwar period.

Born in Nelson, he joined the RNZAF in 1940 and became a fighter pilot in No. 17 Squadron. He flew operationally with the squadron during 1943 and 1944, including a period as its commander. He remained in the service after the war and in his later career, he held a series of staff postings, including an appointment as Deputy Chief of Air Staff in 1970. He became Chief of the Air Staff in 1971. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in January 1974, he retired as an air vice-marshal later the same year. He died in 1985, aged 66.

Early life

Douglas Fitzclarence St George was born in Nelson, New Zealand, on 9 September 1919.[1] He was educated at Auckland Grammar School before going onto Seddon Memorial Technical College.[2]

Second World War

St George enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in February 1940. He was subsequently posted to No. 17 Squadron.[1][3] This was formed at Ohakea in October 1942, training on North American Harvards before receiving Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks.[4][5] It moved to Espiritu Santo in July 1943 and then on to Kukum Field at Guadalcanal in mid-September to relieve No. 16 Squadron.[6][7] On 23 September St George, now holding the rank of flight lieutenant, was flying as an escort to United States Navy Grumman Avenger TBFs on a sortie to Kahili on Bougainville Island, when he shared in the destruction of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. A second was credited to him as probably destroyed.[8]

No. 17 Squadron's tour of operations ended in October 1943 and its flying personnel were repatriated back to New Zealand. It returned to the South West Pacific in December 1943. By this time, the New Zealand Fighter Wing, of which No. 17 Squadron was part, was engaged in fighter sweeps to Rabaul, where a significant Japanese presence remained, from Ondonga Airfield on New Georgia.[9] On 24 December St George was involved in the Fighter Wing's most successful engagement of the war; above Rabaul, a total of twelve Japanese aircraft were destroyed with St George credited with the destruction of a Zero fighter.[10][11] The squadron's tour of operations was curtailed due to its losses, both in combat operations and due to illness, and in late January 1944 it was repatriated to New Zealand for a rest.[12]

Squadron command

In April 1944 St George, promoted to squadron leader, was appointed commander of No. 17 Squadron.[4] By this time, Japanese air activity had largely been suppressed and the unit, like the other RNZAF fighter squadrons in the area, was operating in a fighter-bomber role.[10] After overseeing its conversion of the Vought F4U Corsair fighter, St George led the squadron back to Bougainville Island, where it served from April to June and again from September to November. He then relinquished command of the squadron and returned to New Zealand.[1][4]

The following year he was appointed commander of the Fighter Leaders School at Ardmore. His service with No. 17 Squadron was recognised on 20 April 1945, with an award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC);[1][4] the announcement stated the DFC was "in recognition of gallantry and devotion to duty in the execution of air operations in the South-West Pacific Area."[13]

Post-war period

St George was granted a permanent commission in the RNZAF in December 1946.[14] In April 1947 he succeeded Squadron Leader Jesse de Willimoff as commander of No. 14 Squadron, then on occupation duties at Hōfu in Japan. Much of its work at this time involved patrolling the coastline to catch Korean smugglers. He led the squadron through its remaining period of service in Japan, which ended in November 1948.[1][15][16]

In June 1953, St George was commander of the RNZAF contingent sent to London for the Queen's Coronation Parade there,[1] and he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[17] Also in 1953, St George married Patrine Darrow, and the couple went on to have two sons.[18]

Promoted to wing commander in 1954, St George was commander of No. 75 Squadron, equipped with the de Havilland Vampire jet fighter, from May to August 1954, before being appointed to lead the Flying Wing at Ohakea. In June 1956, he was sent on attachment to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for two years.[1][3] In the 1957 New Year Honours he was awarded the Air Force Cross.[19] This recognised his service in the various flying posts that he had occupied over the preceding years. With his attachment to the RAAF concluded, in 1958 he was promoted to group captain and appointed the commander of the RNZAF station at Ohakea.[1]

St George, promoted to air commodore, was New Zealand's representative at the South East Asia Treaty Organisation in Bangkok from 1963 to 1965.[1][3] During his time there, he went to South Vietnam to discuss the potential use of RNZAF personnel and equipment with American officials of the Military Assistance Command. Their preference was for pilots to fly transport and liaison aircraft since this would free up personnel of the South Vietnam Air Force for combat duties.[20] In the event, RNZAF squadrons carried out regular supply flights from Singapore and New Zealand to South Vietnam but personnel only operated within the country itself on attachment to units of other Allied countries.[21]

Returning to New Zealand in 1966, St George served as the commander of RNZAF's Training Group for two years before being appointed Air Member for Personnel on the Air Board in 1969. The following year, he served as the deputy to the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Vice-Marshal William Stratton.[1][3][22]

Chief of the Air Staff

In the Birthday Honours of 1971, St George was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[23] The next month, he was promoted to air vice-marshal and appointed CAS, replacing Stratton as the commander of the RNZAF.[22][24] St George had to deal with limited financial resources but during his tenure, the BAC Strikemaster trainer entered service with the RNZAF and work on implementing into service of Pacific Aerospace Corporation's PAC CT/4 Airtrainer trainer commenced.[25][26] His services as CAS was rewarded in the 1974 New Year Honours with an appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath.[27] Succeeded by Richard Bolt, he retired from the RNZAF as an air-vice marshal the following September.[1][22]

Later life

In his retirement, St George was one of a number of former senior officers of the New Zealand military to protest the 1984 Labour Government's decision to make New Zealand nuclear-free, raising concern at the potential impact on the ANZUS Treaty.[28] He died at Heretaunga, near Wellington, on 25 October 1985, at the age of 66.[1][2] His wife, Patrine St George, died on 31 December 1994.[29]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hanson 2001, pp. 424–425.
  2. ^ a b "Air Vice-Marshal St George". The Press. 4 November 1985. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Rudge 2003, p. 339.
  4. ^ a b c d Ross 1955, p. 327.
  5. ^ Wright 1998, p. 76.
  6. ^ Ross 1955, pp. 193–194.
  7. ^ Wright 1998, p. 97.
  8. ^ Rudge 2003, p. 155–157.
  9. ^ Ross 1955, p. 221.
  10. ^ a b Bentley 1969, p. 108.
  11. ^ Rudge 2003, p. 236.
  12. ^ Ross 1955, p. 242.
  13. ^ "No. 37043". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 April 1945. p. 2103.
  14. ^ "Permanent RNZAF Commissions". The Press. 7 December 1946. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  15. ^ Bentley 1969, pp. 141–143.
  16. ^ McClure 2012, p. 131.
  17. ^ Taylor & Coddington 1994, p. 421.
  18. ^ Traue 1978, p. 239.
  19. ^ "No. 40962". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 1 January 1957. p. 47.
  20. ^ McGibbon 2010, p. 50.
  21. ^ McGibbon 2010, pp. 261–263.
  22. ^ a b c McClure 2012, p. 293.
  23. ^ "No. 45386". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1971. p. 5998.
  24. ^ "Leadership Changes". The Press. Vol. 111, no. 32577. 10 April 1971. p. 19. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  25. ^ Wright 1998, pp. 164–165.
  26. ^ "Defence Dollar 'Not Going Very Far'". The Press. Vol. 111, no. 32724. 29 September 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  27. ^ "No. 46163". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 1 January 1974. p. 35.
  28. ^ "Nuclear Issues and ANZUS: Officers Argue for Policy Change". The Press. 9 October 1985. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  29. ^ "Death Search: Registration number 1995/34597". Births, Deaths & Marriages Online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 20 October 2025.

References

  • Bentley, Geoffrey (1969). RNZAF: A Short History. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. OCLC 816504017.
  • Hanson, C. M. (2001). By Such Deeds: Honours and Awards in the Royal New Zealand Air Force 1923–1999. Christchurch: Volplane Press. ISBN 0-473-07301-3.
  • McClure, Margaret (2012). Fighting Spirit: 75 Years of the RNZAF. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-86979-610-5.
  • McGibbon, Ian (2010). New Zealand's Vietnam War: A History of Combat, Commitment and Controversy. Auckland: Exisle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-908988-96-9.
  • Ross, J. M. S. (1955). Royal New Zealand Air Force. Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45. Wellington: War History Branch. OCLC 606146817.
  • Rudge, Chris (2003). Air-to-Air: The Story Behind the Air-to-Air Combat Claims of the RNZAF. Lyttelton: Adventure Air. ISBN 0-473-08119-9.
  • Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  • Traue, J. E., ed. (1978). Who's Who in New Zealand (11th ed.). Wellington: Reed. ISBN 0-589-01113-8.
  • Wright, Matthew (1998). Kiwi Air Power: The History of the RNZAF. Auckland: Reed Books. ISBN 0-7900-0625-1.
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