John D Fenton - a pen picture

According to Laurie Ward's whakapapa: John David Fenton was born 24 July 1912 and died age 57 years on 16 December 1969. Esme and John (Jack) had a daughter, Mari Rona Fenton, her registered name, but also known as Marie Lynnette.
Anecdotes:
I knew little about Uncle Jack. He worked as the Head of the Technical Department of the Correspondence School in Wellington. He rode motorbikes and was a NZ champion. The war history of his military unit, the RMT, gives mention of him. He was awarded the MBE. Dad said that Selwyn Toogood was in the same unit and the autiobiography, 'Its In the Bag' shows photos of Selwyn and two of them include his superior, Uncle Jack.
Mari says of her Dad: I saw a lot of him during my teen years and he used to take me to play badminton at the Army Hall in Wellington. He had always loved the motorcycles, so started to race out at the Taita Speedway under the name of ‘John David’. He didn’t use his surname because of his position in the Army. He used to take me all the time to the Speedway and every Sunday morning I had to clean the very dirty bike and he would give me two shillings. My home was in Kilbirnie. My mother used to work at Adam Bruce’s for years.
LLEWELLYN, Peter - JOURNEY TOWARDS CHRISTMAS. Official history of the 1st Ammunition Company Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force 1939-45. Wellington: Dept of Internal Affairs, 1949. Boards. No dj. 457pp. 220 mm x 140 mm. Record of the achievements of the 1st Ammunition Company, 2NZEF, which were six years overseas, in the Middle East & Italy. Jack's name is mentioned in this book. Information from Jack McDonald
Uncle Jack had an incredible Army record before, during and after the WWII. His records are taking time to settle into a pattern. Here is a synopsis of the units Uncle Jack served with. He was a member of the Victory Contingent at the end of WWII; also working in Jugoslavia when Tito was in charge.

Cadets 89 Coy Taranaki Rifles Private 1926-30
Territorials Queen Alexander Mounted Rifles & Taranaki Regiment Private 1933-39
Special Forces NZ NCO - prospective Private 9-12-39
Officer Cadet Training Unit Officer Cadet - 12-1-40
Div Ammunition Column
Station Officer 2nd Lieut 14-5-40
Div Ammunition Column Workshop Officer Lieut 27-8-41
6NZ Reserve Motor Transport Workshop Officer Captain 14-10-41
1 NZ Petrol Company Workshop Officer Captain 2-3-43
6NZ Reserve Motor Transport Workshop Officer Captain 11-3-43
1NZ Supply Company Workshop Officer Captain 28-4-44
1NZ Supply Company BATTLE CASUALTY, WOUNDED Captain 2-6-44
HQ Command NZASC Chief Maintenance Officer T/Major 20-7-44
HQ Command NZASC Chief Maintenace Officer Major 28-9-44
HQ Command NZASC MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES Major 13-7-45
HQ Command NZASC AWARDED M.B.E. Major 31-3-45
ex 2NZEF Posted Reserve of Officers Major 22-8-46
NZ Territorial Service Candidate Regular Force officer course Major 23-1-47


He raced his motorcycle at the Taita track under the pseudoym of JOHN DAVID. He enjoyed driving a Ford V8; his brother Hip, had a Ford V8 Coupe, perhaps Uncle Ike did too. Uncle Fred joined Uncle Jack on the motorcycle racing circle but Uncle Jack attained the heights of NZ TT Champion in 1928.