Ted Tovell & A.N.A.
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Ted Tovell & A.N.A.
In an online news item today (DM by Peter Vincent), I found a story of an orphan adopted by the AIF in France and brought back to Australia.
“During a rowdy Christmas dinner in 1918, a month into peacetime, Australian air force mechanic Tim Tovell noticed a starving boy wander into the mess hall in occupied territory in Germany.
The tiny French boy, Honore Hemene, was just 11 when he was invited to join Australian Squadron Four's table and earned his meal by captivating the airmen with his incredible story of survival.
It was an act of kindness that would go far beyond a meal - it changed the course of his life.
'Henri' as the Aussies called him, explained that his whole family - mother, sisters and brother - were killed during the war when his home in Seclin was bombed by German artillery.
He was seven years old at the time and his father, a soldier, died earlier in the war on the Western Front.
Henri survived on his own for four years by attaching himself to various French and British units and scavenging food from troops near the battlefields of northern Belgium.
But the members of Australian Air Force Squadron Four warmed to the boy, who was 11 by the time they met him.
He became their unofficial mascot, a joker and rat-catcher in the barracks, and was even taken for daredevil joyrides on the squadron's Sopwith Camel biplanes.
Eventually they dubbed him 'Little Digger'.
With his wartime service over, Private Tovell smuggled Henri, who had begun to see him as a father figure, on the boat to England in a sack.
When it came time to embark on the long trip back to Australia in late 1918, Henri was again smuggled aboard by Tim and his brother Ted Tovell, this time in a fancy dress basket.
Although discovered, he was allowed to stay and disembark in Australia when the ship Kaisar-i-Hind arrived in Australia on January 31, 1919.”
The story continued on a bit but the point of my post is the name “Ted Tovell”.
Ted Tovell was a member of the Bureau of Air Safety back in the 1980s. I recall when BASI visited Archerfield more than once alerting instructors of what they did (investigate). One of his main messages one year was telling us how many times he was sunburnt while on-site investigating weather related crashes.
He also provided me with some statistics of fatality rates for EFATO for single & twins. I wanted to emphasise to students on multi-engine training that they were in serious trouble if they had one.
And in a bit of co-incidence, a long time ago I found a book entitled “The Essentials of Air Navigation” (publishing date 1942) in a bookshop specialising in old books in Roma Street Brisbane. Written in pencil was the name “Ed J Tovell, A.N.A. Brisbane”.
So, does anyone know whether the Ted Tovell that I am referring to is related to the Ted Tovell in this story?
“During a rowdy Christmas dinner in 1918, a month into peacetime, Australian air force mechanic Tim Tovell noticed a starving boy wander into the mess hall in occupied territory in Germany.
The tiny French boy, Honore Hemene, was just 11 when he was invited to join Australian Squadron Four's table and earned his meal by captivating the airmen with his incredible story of survival.
It was an act of kindness that would go far beyond a meal - it changed the course of his life.
'Henri' as the Aussies called him, explained that his whole family - mother, sisters and brother - were killed during the war when his home in Seclin was bombed by German artillery.
He was seven years old at the time and his father, a soldier, died earlier in the war on the Western Front.
Henri survived on his own for four years by attaching himself to various French and British units and scavenging food from troops near the battlefields of northern Belgium.
But the members of Australian Air Force Squadron Four warmed to the boy, who was 11 by the time they met him.
He became their unofficial mascot, a joker and rat-catcher in the barracks, and was even taken for daredevil joyrides on the squadron's Sopwith Camel biplanes.
Eventually they dubbed him 'Little Digger'.
With his wartime service over, Private Tovell smuggled Henri, who had begun to see him as a father figure, on the boat to England in a sack.
When it came time to embark on the long trip back to Australia in late 1918, Henri was again smuggled aboard by Tim and his brother Ted Tovell, this time in a fancy dress basket.
Although discovered, he was allowed to stay and disembark in Australia when the ship Kaisar-i-Hind arrived in Australia on January 31, 1919.”
The story continued on a bit but the point of my post is the name “Ted Tovell”.
Ted Tovell was a member of the Bureau of Air Safety back in the 1980s. I recall when BASI visited Archerfield more than once alerting instructors of what they did (investigate). One of his main messages one year was telling us how many times he was sunburnt while on-site investigating weather related crashes.
He also provided me with some statistics of fatality rates for EFATO for single & twins. I wanted to emphasise to students on multi-engine training that they were in serious trouble if they had one.
And in a bit of co-incidence, a long time ago I found a book entitled “The Essentials of Air Navigation” (publishing date 1942) in a bookshop specialising in old books in Roma Street Brisbane. Written in pencil was the name “Ed J Tovell, A.N.A. Brisbane”.
So, does anyone know whether the Ted Tovell that I am referring to is related to the Ted Tovell in this story?
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XYGT
I am fairly sure the Ted Tovell to whom you refer served with my father in the RAAF during WW2. They were both attached to 299 Sqn RAF flying Stirlings.
There is another Edward John Tovell who did serve in WW1. Not sure if he is your man?
His record of service is on the National Archive:
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/Sear...aspx?B=8392592
FL
I am fairly sure the Ted Tovell to whom you refer served with my father in the RAAF during WW2. They were both attached to 299 Sqn RAF flying Stirlings.
There is another Edward John Tovell who did serve in WW1. Not sure if he is your man?
His record of service is on the National Archive:
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/Sear...aspx?B=8392592
FL
Last edited by Frontal Lobotomy; 25th Apr 2021 at 05:55.
