Memories of Service 4 - Ken Bliss

Ken Bliss’s brief description of his father’s service in the Boer War is just one of the stories that make this interview essential viewing. Ken’s own military career began when he was called up at 18, in 1941. Too tall to be a pilot in the RNZAF, he became a radio mechanic and served in the war against the Japanese in the Pacific. Forming a surf lifesaving team on Bougainville to rescue American servicemen who couldn’t swim was an unexpected wartime duty. And having survived the war, a missed train in 1953 meant Ken also survived the Tangiwai disaster. 

I finished up on Great Barrier Island, looking for Japanese submarines. It was boring. So I put in for the Air Force.

– Ken Bliss

Key Cast & Crew

David Blyth

Director, Interviewer, Producer

Patricia Stroud

Research, Producer

Jed Town

Composer

Edward Larsen

Editor

Stephen Latty

Camera, Sound