"Aub." Koch Has a Charmed

Life

CIAPTAIN Aubrey Koch, well known as j a commercial pilot in New Guinea in the years before the war, was in charge of the Qantas flying-boat which was forced down onto the sea near the North Australian coast by bad weather, on April 22.

Most of the considerable number of people aboard (the majority were ser vice personnel) were lost. Captain Koch was one of those who saved themselves by swimming a long distance to land, through a rough sea. He thus repeated his memorable performance of early 1942, when the plane in which he was bring ing refugees from the East Indies to Australia was shot down by Japanese fighters, off the coast of Timor. Koch, although badly injured, somehow swam ashore. He later was taken to Darwin— in time to experience the first great Jap air raid there. He later recovered, at his home in Sydney.

Among those lost on the flying-boat was the purser, Mr. W. R. Bartley. Before the war, he was on the staff of Steam ship Trading Co., Port Moresby.

It is notified in the “Western Pacific Gazette” of March 19 that the following have received commissions in the Solo mon Islands Labour Corps: Captain H.

F. Waters, Lieutenants H. Cameron, H.

C. Corry, H. M. Davies, G. Harkins, C.

E. Hart, A. E. Morris. P. H. Mulvey, J.

Y. Svensen, R. C. Symes, C. T. Try.