Dannevirke's Phil Lamason in his Lancaster bomber before a mission over Germany during World War II. Photo / Supplied
Dannevirke's Phil Lamason in his Lancaster bomber before a mission over Germany during World War II. Photo / Supplied
Phil Lamason has long been considered a forgotten hero.
Now the Heritage Trust tasked with ensuring his story is shared and the New Zealand Remembrance Army are on a mission to ensure his name is memorialised.
Phil Lamason Heritage Centre Trust Inc chairman Mike Harold spoke at a meeting ofthe Tararua District Council community and wellbeing committee last week on the proposal.
Mike Harold said there were people in Dannevirke who felt the time was right for a memorial of Phil Lamason. Photo / Leanne Warr
Harold was first approached in August last year by the Remembrance Army chief executive and retired Army major Simon Strombom with a view to the memorial being the national focus project for Anzac 2024.
Flight Sergeant Phil Lamason beside a Stirling bomber at RAF No. 218 Squadron in 1942. Photo / Phil Lamason Heritage Trust
Lamason, a Dannevirke farmer, born and raised in Napier, served as a bomber pilot with RAF Bomber Command in World War II.
His plane was shot down during a mission over France in June 1944, but while he initially evaded capture, he was eventually captured by the Gestapo and sent, with 167 other Allied airmen, to Buchenwald, a concentration camp in Germany.
One of two New Zealanders among the group, he quickly assumed a leadership role and due to his efforts, two months later the men were transferred to a prisoner of war camp.
He and his wife, Joan, bought a farm at Rua Roa in Dannevirke where he lived for many years.
His story was documented not only in the book I Would Not Step Back, but also in a documentary: The Lost Airmen of Buchenwald.
Harold told councillors at the meeting that for people in Dannevirke, Phil Lamason’s story had become more well-known.
It was through the journey of producing the book that the trust also found out a lot about the former servicemen.
He said the Remembrance Army had found out a lot as well.
“They found that he ranks alongside Charles Upham and a handful of others as probably the most significant New Zealand heroic figure of the Second World War.”
Harold said one of the issues with the story was that it involved people internationally.
“So his story is really more of an international story than a national story.”
Kath Mulinder spoke about the NZ Remembrance Army's mission to ensure ex-servicemen were not forgotten. Photo / Leanne Warr
Kath Mulinder, the local representative of the Remembrance Army, said the organisation was about the memory of ex-service personnel.
“Bringing their names back to the forefront because a lot of them have been forgotten now.”
She said Strombom had been shocked when he read Phil Lamason’s story.
He’d also found out that not only did the New Zealand Army not know about it, “but neither did the New Zealand Air Force”.
Mulinder said every year the Remembrance Army did one major project of national significance.
“Phil’s story stands out as a forgotten hero and a national legacy and it needs to be told.”
Harold said they needed permission from the Tararua District Council to be able to use an area of Dannevirke’s Upper Domain, near the cenotaph, for the memorial.
He said they had support from not only the Lamason family but others in the community.
“There’s a momentum behind this. People feel that now is the time.”
They also had a timeline due to the process of design.
A New Zealand Defence Force-appointed artist would be engaged to come up with concepts for the design of the memorial.
Harold said the main stipulation from the Remembrance Army was that the memorial be public and able to be seen from the road.
The memorial was expected to be completed and unveiled the week before Anzac Day 2024.
