My Great Grandad was born in 1919 and was the son of Alfred Ottaway and Barbara Matthews. He was born in Gisborne as that was only because there was no hospital where his parents lived at Motuhora. Great Grandad Noel is my mothers Grandfather

Noel spent the next ten years at Motuhora, his father worked in the bush as a feller of trees and as a steam hauler driver. Noel had an adventurous childhood with the other school age children, roaming the bush, fly fishing, hunting rabbits. The family then shifted to Gisborne in 1930 where his father got a job at the local freezing works (Processing Meat for the butcher shops). Noel continued his education to 1933, and as jobs were hard to get as sometimes 50 people applied for one job, he finally got a job to work in a joinery factory with a hardware department attached, so began his career in the timber trade and he went on to become a great timber machinist, and had great knowledge of the running of the various timber mills he worked in until his retirement at 65 years of age.

He served in World War Two. He was 23 when he went to war and didn’t fight on the frontline but instead was stationed in the pacific in Tonga along with the Americans to build roads and upgrade the airstrips. He stayed all through the war with his life constantly at risk. Before he went to Tonga, he loved earoplanes and thought he could get into the Air Force. The Air Force was overflowing with recruits so it was hard enough getting in. Before you could get in, they do a thorough medical (a record of your medical history) and found out he was colour blind and he was turned down.

Noel fell in love with and married Edith Cameron and had five children. Mark was the eldest, Peter who passed away at birth, Robert, Christine my Grandma, and Keith.

Noel passed away in 2009 but will still be remembered for his service in the war and the actions he took to make this world a better place.