Douglas Vernon Lunn was born on 3 December 1919, the son of Vernon and Elsie (nee Hay) Lunn. After he left New Plymouth Boy's High School he studied to be an accountant and began working for the Union Steamship Co Ltd.
Douglas had always been interested in aviation so at the outbreak of World War Two he applied for entry to the Fleet Air Arm and then left for the United Kingdom in 1941. After training in the United Kingdom and Canada he was finally posted to serve on HMS Condor where he served as a sub lieutenant.
While in the England he met Sarah Marjorie Harper. They married In Bulmer, North Yorkshire in April 1943.
Douglas was killed in an air accident near Crieff, Scotland on 10 August 1943, 40 miles from his base at East Haven.
He was buried at St Mary’s Churchyard Cemetery in Strensall, Yorkshire, which was his wife Sarah’s village. He was 23.
Related Documents
Memorial notice, Taranaki Daily News 10 Aug 1944
Books
Lest We Forget, Jack West p.226
Flying Navy: New Zealanders who flew in the Fleet Air Arm, David Allison, p.144
Auckland Museum Online Cenotaph
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