NOEL NORMAN PARKER - WW II Hero :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy
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NOEL NORMAN PARKER - WW II Hero

Journal by marlin1945

From data supplied by Diane & Peter, descendants of Charles Parker (see journal) :
Gerald Oswald Parker b. 8-8-1892 Crookwell NSW Australia. d. 22-7-1963 Canberra ACT Australia. m. 16-8-1913 St. Edmunds C of E Gunning NSW Australia. Florence McCarthy b. 25-11-887 Mittens Creek Grenfell NSW Australia.
d. 3-10-1954 Crookwell NSW Australia.
Gerald is the son of Even Oswald Parker and grandson of Charles Parker II, and Great grandson of Charles Parker I

Gerald had three children :
1 : Audrey Florence PARKER. b. 31-Mar- 1914 Crookwell NSW. d. 2-6-1993 Griffith ACT. m. 6-6-1939 St Steven's Port Kembla NSW Kenneth Stuart Bissett AMESS b. 3-1-1912 Balmain NSW.
2 : Noel Norman PARKER b. 8-8-1916 d.13-12-1966 Melbourne Vic. Australia. m1 Gwen STOCKS b 1917 M2 Gabrielle Ruth PAYNE b. 1923
Gerald left School at age 14 in Goulburn to be employed by the railway as station attendant Crookwell. At the oubreak of W W II he joined the RAF and trained as a pilot. He was in line for Squadron Leader but shell shock stopped him from becoming Squadron Leader after he was shot down over Belgium on 19 Nov 1943. He was aided by the underground movement to return to England after 5 weeks. During the early 1990's Noel, with wife and son David, attended his squadron reuinion in England. There he made contact with the German pilot that shot him down. I believe he boomed down the phone "SO YOURE the bastard that shot me are you?"
From and Article published in a Goulburn Newspaper in approximately 1950
"PILOT WHO LOST FOUR OF "100" LIVES"
Friends of Squadron-Leader Noel Parker D.F.C. of Camden, who has
returned to Sydney from England with a contingent of RAAF airman say he has 100 lives. They calculated that 96 of those are still intact.
The other four he lost in a raid on Leverkusen in the Ruhr.
A German night fighter sneaked out of the darkness and directed a burst of fire, which holed the Stirling bomber's petrol-tanks set it on fire, and ignited the incendiaries in the bomb-bay.
Parker was pulling on his parachute in the front when the plane blew up. Most of the other members of the crew perished in the blazing wreckage,
but Parker was blown through the perspex. That was No 1 life.
His parachute was still only half buckled when the explosion occurred.
It should have been torn off. Instead a projection evidently struck the
second buckle and clipped it into place. That was no 2 life.
BROKEN RIBBS, NECK
The explosion rendered him unconscious, so that he could not pull the
ripcord handle. But as he was catapulted from the smashed plane, a
jagged edged caught the handle and pulled out the silk, which floated
his unconscious form down into Germany. That was no 3 life.
He regained consciousness on the ground, suffering from three broken
ribs and a fractured bone in the neck. He hid the first day in a
farmyard, curled up in a box normally used to transport fowls. After a
week of hiding by day and traveling south by night, he was picked up by the Belgian underground and transferred to Spain. His friends
conservatively put his escapes down as no 4 life.
Squadron-Leader Parker has been in Goulburn over the week-end to see his mother, Mrs Ruby Parker who is seriously ill in the Goulburn District Hospital, He brought his wife and young son with him.
After the war Noel became a pilot with Trans Australian Airways, which
later became Qantas Airlines, until his retirement. He continued
flying courier planes around Victoria and NSW and he single-handed
brought out Partinaviour Planes from Italy.
Noel was also involved with boxing as a teenager, he used to box in the tent shows that travelled around NSW. I am unclear as to whether he tried to earn a living boxing.
Noel is buried with his father Gerald in Woden Cemetary in Canberra. He was cremated and his ashes placed in the grave.

Surnames: AMESS MCCARTHEY PARKER STOCKS
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by marlin1945 Profile | Research | Contact | Subscribe | Block this user
on 2007-01-28 08:52:48

marlin1945 has been a Family Tree Circles member since Sep 2006. is researching the following names: HOLMAN, KEEN, PIGG and 30 other(s).

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Comments

by dewie99 on 2012-08-28 03:14:25

Surely the Lord kept him safe...miracles!Thank God for brave men like him!

by dewie99 on 2012-08-28 03:22:56

Surely the Lord kept him safe...miracles!Thank God for brave men like him!

by kozmik on 2016-09-22 07:17:25

my mum who would have been 100 was the one who saved Noel parkers life by hiding the parachute tending to his wounds and hiding him in the family's barn and to get him to the resistance

by marlin1945 on 2016-09-22 09:51:30

Hi KOSMICK
Thank you for your comment. The history and bravery of the people involved in this war is amazing. Any data that you can provide would be great. Many of my family were involved in the conflict and we remember them for their patriotism and heroism.
Cheers,
Marlin.

by kozmik on 2016-09-22 10:10:30

i have many photos of noel and the coffins in the grave surrounded by German troops will send if i knew how?

by marlin1945 on 2016-09-22 19:49:55

holmanrob@westnet.com.au

by cno1234 on 2017-04-11 06:54:05

I am Noel's grandson. I'm researching his survival story during ww2. Does anyone have information regarding his survival from between when he crashed and when he arrived back in Neutral territory? Or any other information?

Much appreciated,

Cheers

by Rodparker on 2017-10-20 14:48:03

Hi my name is Rod Parker, I'm Noel Parker's son. I'm currently in England and soon traveling to the spot in Horrues, Belgium, where Dad's plane crashed. Please get in touch if you have any information you need or we can swap. Thanks. Rod

by AARPEG on 2022-05-23 05:41:58

Hi Rod,

My name is Aaron Pegram and I've been asked to write an entry on your father for the Australia Dictionary of Biography. I'd love to learn more of his life both in and out of service.

All the best,

Aaron.

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