Verner Grenville Cave

In memoriam

Service Number ~ RNZAF 415059 Military Base ~ Tortorella, Italy Unit ~ 37 Squadron Command ~ Mediterranean Ship ~ Liberator Bvi Occupation ~ Pilot Residence Place ~ Whakatane, Auckland, New Zealand Flight Lieutenant Cave Lost His Life When His Plane Was Shot Down By A Ju88 Night Fighter At Vinica, Yugoslavia During A Raid on Railway Yards At Graz, Austria, 4 Crew Evaded Jack attended Dargaville District High School where he excelled in all sports. He was the senior athletic champion, Swimming Champion and captained St. Davids interhouse swimming team. He was employed as a clerk at the Wellington Audit Office in 1938. Verner played rugby football for the Wellington Club with the senior second division team which won that grades 1939 championship. He represented the Public Service in both rugby and swimming. Verner joined the RNZAF Initial Training Wing at Levin as an Airman Under Training 7 September1941. He gained his Pilots Badge and was appointed Serjeant 24 April 1942, before moving to Halifax in Novia Scotia. Attatched at last to the RAF, VG Cave entrained for New York for embarkating to the United Kingdom on 8 October 1943. He arrived at 12 Personnel & Despatch Reception Centre 17 October 1943. He was posted to 20 Pilots Advanced Flying Unit at Oxford 23 November 1943 before being attatched to 1519 Blind Approach Training Flight Unit (still in Oxford) for about a week in January 1944. Finally on March 1944 he was sent to 11 Officers Training Corps to train with Vickers Wellington Bombers. On 23 September 1944 Flight Lieutenant Cave joined 37 Squadron doing 14 Ops in Wellington Bombers and then changing to fly Liberators for another 18 Ops. Liberator B.VI KH245/H took off at 1730 and was shot down by a night fighter over Yugoslavia. It crashed near Vinica. Four of the nine crew bailed out and by the 4th April had made their way back to the squadron. Their five comrades were buried at Vojnavac, but later reinterred at Belgrade. Flight Lieutenant Verner Grenville Cave died that night, 31 March 1945. He was 26 years old and had flown 1310 hours. He was on his 32nd Op.. Source: "Valour Remembered" Vol 2 By Author Sonia Edwards Q.S.M. Opotiki Above Bio by: nzkiwi 49281711

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