Kirkby, Eric

Eric Walker Kirkby

15494

Born April 5th, 1918 in Granville New South Wales

At 22 Eric Kirby joined the RAAF in 1940 and was quickly promoted to Sergeant then Warrant Officer. His duties were mostly with HQ Fighter Wing. He worked in the advance parties which set up air bases at Uranquinty, Temora, Wagga and Darwin. His duties required him to source all the equipment that a fighter base would need to operate. In wartime this would have been an extremely difficult task given the shortage of all commodities of the kind needed for such an enterprise. During his posting to Darwin he endured first hand the bombing raids of the Japanese on the Darwin airfields. Eric tells the story of when he was guarding a Japanese prisoner who tried to escape out of a window. Eric grabbed his boot but the heel came away in his hand, Japanese writing and all. What a memento of that memento!

After the war Eric had an interesting business life. He became Australian manager of the Roy Farrell Import Export Company and continued his connection with the air in civil aviation freight transport. He joining Cathay Pacific Airlines and was responsible for freighting any commodity on the DC3s that he thought could be retailed in Asia. He freighted everything from green cotton twill to day-old chickens. In 1948 Eric bought out the company Roy Farrell and began his own business importing soft goods mostly from Britain. In 1996 Dad was invited by Cathay Pacific to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Eric was a tireless and enterprising worker who built up a business which was long-lasting and successful. He was honest, reliable and his word was his bond and a handshake was an utterly unshakeable agreement. His met and married his wife Moreen in 1942 and they had 6 children and almost sixty years of a loving and devoted married life. With Moreen's help Eric achieved a life that stood out well above others. He will be dearly missed by his friends and loving family.

Edited from Eulogy by John Raymond Kirkby