Norman Sutherland

Norman Sutherland was the youngest son of Hector and Margaret Sutherland of Okauia.  He attended Matamata Junior High School in the 1920s and in 1925 was a member of the 1^st XV.

 

He was later engaged to Miss Dorothy Palby but before they could be married he enlisted in the RNZAF and went overseas during World War II.   He became a Flight Sergeant and piloted a Lancaster Bomber with 207 Squadron of the RAF.  On the night of 16-17 August 1942 he and his crew took off from Bottesford airfield on a “gardening” expedition (the laying of sea mines) in the “Willows” area somewhere near Denmark.   The plane was lost without trace.