Bernard John George Sole
Bernanrd, known as "Bunny" was born on April 26, 1916 at Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Bernard was 5' 5" tall with blue/grey eyes.
Bernard left school during the depression in 1932, as few jobs were available he joined the navy when he was just 16 on July 16, 1932, initially for 14 years, and was given the service number NZD1154.
His initial training was on board the decommissioned cruiser Philomel. He completed his training at sea aboard the HMS Diomede then transferred to HMNZS Achilles as Seaman Boy 2nd Class. When war broke out in 1939, Achilles was dispatched to patrol the SE Coast of South America and took part in the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939. He was Mentioned in Despatches for his efforts in this battle.
Bernard trained as a torpedo man and served on various cruisers such as HMNZS Leander, ending the war aboard HMNZS Gambia as Leading Seaman.
For his service he was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945 with oak leaf, New Zealand War Service Medal, New Zealand Operational Service Medal, and the New Zealand Service Medal 1946-1949.
One June 13, 1940 he crushed his thumb in a torpedo handling accident and in June 1943, suffered a hernia. He married Nola in 1941 and became father of two sons.
After the war he retrained as an electrician and moved to Papatoetoe with his wife and family.
Bernard passed away, aged 85, on March 25, 2002 from Ischaemic heart disease. This is the narrowing of the heart arteries and is also called coronary artery disease or coronary heart disease. He was cremated at Manukau Memorial Gardens Cemetery & Crematorium, Papatoetoe, Auckland, New Zealand.