William James Henry Berriman was born on 29 December 1915 at Waipara, Canterbury. He was the son of Ernest Henry and Mary Berriman. His father worked as a carpenter in Auckland.
Before World War Two William worked as a clerk in various places around New Zealand, including New Plymouth.
He enlisted with the RNZAF and began training in Levin in February 1941. In May that same year he married Joyce Morey at St Mary’s Church in New Plymouth.
He was sent to Canada for further training, first in Saskatchewan then Manitoba. Once in based in Great Britain he served as a Sergeant and flew in missions over Europe. During one mission over Germany his plane was attacked plane twice and twice caught on fire. However, the crew were able to continue their mission and bomb the target. On reaching their base the crew had to crash land as the plane was in a too damaged state to be able to land normally.
After the war William worked as a grocer and then a clerk in New Plymouth and Auckland. He died on 27 July 1990 in Auckland and is buried at the North Shore Memorial Park.
Related documents
New Zealand pilots adventures during raids, Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1942
Auckland Museum Online Cenotaph
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