Anthony Cork Hodson

[Dyan]

Hi Board members

This is a "fishing trip"

I saw the thread about the "Hodson Crew" and as my family name is Hodson and Maurice was a family name and we have our origins in Sheffield I decided to look further, I could not link him at present to the family, however, I found this person and I wondered if any of your records showed anything.

What I know is that Anthony Cork Hodson was born in Birmingham in 1907, he gained his pilots licence with the Birmingham Aero Club on DH 60 Cirrus 80-85 on 21.5.1933 and the card is anonated Military, next time I find him he is on a what appears to be a hospital ship the "Maunganui" leaving Wellington NZ and arriving in Southampton on 10 Jan 1946, he is listed as Cpl and his number on the manifest is 805351 and he is in the RAF and listed with no disabilities. I loose him again then I find him living in 1969 in Wellington NZ with a son Joseph who is now in the RNZAF. AC Hodson died in 1996 does anyone have any records/knowledge of this person, it is a long shot I know but you have worked the oracle before.

It is only a twig on my tree but he has peeked my interest.
Thanks
Dyan

[Hilary]

Hi there! I believe your Mr Hodson may have served with my grandfather in WWII, so I have quite a bit of info for you!

If he was on the Maunganui arriving Southampton Jan 10, 1946, he was a POW returning from the Far East. He would have been on the Maunganui from Wellington due to his poor condition at liberation.

I checked the rescue roster for my grandfather's POW camp, Innoshima, in Japan, and found the following:
Hodson, Albert,Corp,805351,RAF,605 Sqn

The first names do not match, obviously, but the surname and service numbers do. I find it hard to believe that we are not talking about the same man.

Here is the link to the rescue roster and more info about the camp:

http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/hiroshima/hiro_5_innoshima/hiro_5_british_roster.html

Hope this is useful to you! As he was in the same squadron as my grandfather, I may be able to fill in some more gaps for you.

Best,

Hilary.

[dennis_burke]

I'm looking at that RAC liecense card now and I don;t know where the 'military' annotation is on it Dyan? The only military reference is the standard field "Rank, regiment, Profession" and it only says the Anthony Cork HODSOn was an Assurance Representative.

his name appears in the Londong Gazette
TRAINING BRANCH.
The undermentioned are granted commissions
for the duration of hostilities as Acting
Pilot Officers on probation: —
1st Feb. 1941.
Anthony Cork HODSON (63535).

TRAINING BRANCH.
Commission relinquished.
The undermtd. (on enlistment in R.A.F.V.R.): —
Plt. Offs.: —
A. C. HODSON (63535). 9th Feb. 1944.



The airman in 1946 is listed as Cpl. A Hodson 805351
Checking the AIR78 archives on The UK natioanl archives
The Hodson names

[dennis_burke]

My stupid computer had a fit in the middle of posting that message, the last bit was lining up to read:

The AIR 78 card for Hodson 805351 gives his name as just Albert HODSON, there is no middle name listed.

And there is one for Anthony Cork HODSON 2248108 stamped Militia.

[Hilary]

Ahh, so it does seem that we could very well be talking about 2 different men. Thanks for that clarification, Dennis! :-)

[Dyan]

Lokks like we have two different people Anthony Cork came to NZ and died here in 1996. Serves me right for not looking very very closely at the records on Ancestry.
Dennis what does the "Militia" mean on the form? You know I am thick!!!

Dyan

[Ross_McNeill]

Hi Dyan,

Post 5 in the thread gives brief intro

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?13135-RAFVR-National-Service

Post 6 in this thread explains

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?13143-Yorksire-Airfields-1940

Regards
Ross

[Dyan]

Now I understand - should have known the answer was somewhere in this great Forum. Apologies for being thick!

Dyan

[dennis_burke]

None of us knew what the militia meant properly until last week!!