I have found little on him. He was probably married to Agnes Gilby in 1941.
I found he might have been married to Dorothy S. Windsor in 1949 and later to Susan H. Beer in 1970. Little else is known about one of the Saviours of Ceylon.
Time to pay homage to Flight Lieutenant Peter Nugent Kenny. I have not found his photo on Ancestry, but I think I found something more about him.
Flight Lieutenant Peter Nugent Kenny was in the water when the Japanese strafed the crew that had escaped from the sinking Catalina. He was lucky to have survived this ordeal as well as his internment in Japanese POW camps.
As always I had started my search on him with this image.
This is a tribute to Flight Lieutenant Peter Nugent Kenny where I took this image from.
Being a Flight Lieutenant Peter Nugent Kenny was most likely the co-pilot of the Catalina.
Peter Nugent Kenny was born on January 11, 1915 in Ootacamund in the British India. His father was James Leonard Kenny and his mother was Minnie Kearney.
Peter Nugent Kenny married Queanie Vandervell on October 27, 1945 in Hampstead, London, England. Her paternal grandfather was Henry Eugene Vandervell, but I am sure you have looked him up yesterday…
Last week I have completed something I had started six years ago. It wasn’t a model airplane. It was about someone’s final mission on Earth. I was somewhat acting as his co-pilot on that mission.
Time to pay homage to Sergeant Ian Nicholson Davidson. He was also a wireless air gunner. I found this photo on Ancestry. His sister Nina is on the left and his aunt Rachel on the right.
Sergeant Ian Nicholson Davidson was in the water when the Japanese strafed the crew that had escaped from the sinking Catalina.
I looked for his parents Mr. and Mrs. A.C.F. Davidson, of Portree, Isle of Skye.
Ian Nicholson Davidson was born in 1920 most probably in Scotland. His father was Alexander Cook Fullarton Davidson (1876–1952) born in Longtown, Cumberland. He died on February 7, 1952 in Portree, Inverness-shire, Scotland.
His mother was Margaret Nicolson.
Margaret Nicolson (1888–1928) was born in Portree, Isle Of Skye, in Scotland. She died on September 7, 1928 in Glasgow.
Ian had two brothers and one sister. James Davidson (1919-2013), Alastair MacKenzie Davidson (1922- ) and Christina (Nina) Davidson (1924-2018). All became orphans in 1928.
I don’t know if Ian was married. What I know is that a relative had remembered him on Ancestry.
Genealogy is as addictive as building model airplanes. It’s hard to stop.
August will be a month where I will look forward to complete the He 111 which I started last November.
Epilogue
I am certain Wing Commander Birchall never thought that he, alone, was the Saviour of Ceylon.
Next time all about Peter Nugent Kenny, his wife Queanie and her famous paternal grandfather…
Time to pay homage to Warrant Officer Colarossi. He was a wireless air gunner.This is the only photo I could find.
Lucien Angelo Colarossi’s body was never found.
He was married to Norah May Seed.
Lucien Angelo Colarossi was born on October 15, 1914 in England. His parents were Angelo Colarossi and Elsie Graham. Lucien had one sister Phyllis Mary Colarossi (1910-1998).
Lucien’s father is somewhat famous.
At the age of 15, he modelled for Gilbert’s most famous statue Anteros (1891) on the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus.[1] He was later employed by an English firm of aircraft manufacturers.
Granville Charles Onyette was born on July 18, 1917 in Huntsville, Ontario. His parents were Montague Onyette and Lizzie Keetch. Grandville had one brother and one sister. They became orphans when their mother died in 1922. Montague Onyette remarried in 1924.
I have also found this webpage where someone had documented the Onyette family.
Granville Charles Onyette is not listed but his brother and his sister are. I will probably contact this person to let him know about an unsung hero.
Grandville was the navigator who told Wing Commander Birchall to continue the search to be able to get a better fix on their position. This is why the Japanese fleet was found.
Birchall arrived in his patrol area just as the sun rose. Hour after hour, the Catalina flew 150 mile-long east-west lines, spaced 50 miles apart, at an altitude of 2000 feet over the water. While they were flying the last assigned leg, Birchall’s navigator, Warrant Officer Onyette, the only other Canadian aboard, pointed out that if they flew an extra leg, he could confirm their actual position by using the moon, which was then rising. Since they were required to remain airborne until after dawn the next day in any case, Birchall agreed.
Two messages were sent before the radio was damaged by a swarm of Zeros. I had always thought Warrant Officer Onyette was the wireless operator who had sent those messages.
This is where I found who was the wireless operator in Wing Commander Birchall’s crew.
How to go about it now? When frustration settles in, you hit the pause button...and take a deep breath. The painted masking tape didn’t not work out and I know why.
I made little progress since pausing and watching YouTube videos on the PBY.
I have used painted scotch tape and this is how it turned out.
They will need some touch-ups later but I don’t see any more problems.
Modelers always have to face big decisions.
I have to decide if I should use paintbrushes to finish this project as I don’t think I can use my airbrush in the near future.
Speaking of big decisions… this project is dormant right now waiting for me to mask all the windows.
This one has to get the airbrush treatment so it will probably be done before the PBY.
What should come next? Finishing my three helicopters while I procrastinate masking the He 111 windows?
I need to pause for awhile as I am trying to get everything right with my build.
I have just noticed the PBY Catalina Mk I had twin Vickers .303 machine guns and not Browning .50 calibre machine guns which adds to my frustration.
I found the proof on YouTube.
See for yourself.
You can sing along while watching…
Lyrics
If you ever go down Trinidad
They make you feel so very glad
Calypso sing and make up rhyme
Guarantee you one real good fine time
Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar
Oh, beat it man, beat it
Since Yankee come to Trinidad
They got the young girls all goin’ mad
Young girls say they treat ’em nice
Make Trinidad like paradise
Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar
Oh, you vex me, you vex me
From Chicachicaree to Mona’s Isle
Native girls all dance and smile
Help soldier celebrate his leave
Make every day like New Year’s Eve
Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar
It’s a fact, man, it’s a fact
In old Trinidad, I also fear
The situation is mighty queer
Like the Yankee girl, the native swoon
When she hears the Bingo croon
Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar
Out on Manzanilla Beach
G.I. romance with native peach
All night long, make tropic love
Next day, sit in hot sun and cool off
Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar
It’s a fact, man, it’s a fact
Rum and Coca-Cola
Rum and Coca-Cola
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar
While I am pondering the next step and taking a deep breath, let’s look at how the PBY was really built.
I can’t use the same technique for the canopies I had used because they have faintly molded frames.
I have tried using masking tape but after an hour or so I called it a day when I noticed the tape I was using was leaving glue residue and was smearing the clear parts.
I found another technique which I had used in the 70s.
…a desire for very fine edges makes adhesive-backed foil a good choice. Aluminum or gold foil is less reflective than others, which makes it easier to see. Apply a little more than you need and burnish it down.
I had Elmer’s Spray glue and lots of aluminum foil. I tried it, however the frames are still too faintly molded. My other option is using painted masking tape which I had used before with good results.
Moving along I painted a strip of masking tape with my homemade zinc chromate to see if it will hold the paint.
And let it dry…
After I will try to mix up some homemade paint using the information I found with the decals I have bought from Aviaeology.
I can tell you right now the painted masking tape didn’t not work.
