Alan Cheyne Baxter (19 August 1911 – 14 July 1976) was a New Zealand politician of the
Labour Party.
Biography
Early life and career
Baxter was born on 19 August 1911 at
Egmont Village
Egmont Village is a settlement in Taranaki, New Zealand. State Highway 3 runs through it. New Plymouth is 12 km to the north-west, and Inglewood is 6 km to the south-east. Waiwhakaiho River and Mangaoraka Stream flow past to the west a ...
.
He gained his education at
New Plymouth Boys' High School
New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand.
The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site.
The school often collabora ...
and subsequently at
Feilding Agricultural College.
Before the war, Baxter was a shepherd in the
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...
. While living there he joined the trade union movement in 1939.
He joined the
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
(RNZAF) in March 1940 and was a
flight lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
.
He was awarded the
DFC in October 1942 for his actions in the
Dieppe Raid
Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment o ...
, with a Bar awarded in 1945. The citation for the 1942 award read:
On August 19th, 1942, he was observer in the leading aircraft of a formation which participated in the combined operations at Dieppe. When the formation was attacked by some 20 enemy fighters, Pilot Officer Baxter calmly gave directions to his captain, and subsequently his skilful navigation was an essential contribution to the success achieved by the formation and to its safe return to base.
According to one of his navigators, he flew more bombing missions over Germany than any other New Zealand airman (and came back alive). During one period of raids, he lost seven roommates in five days. One personal escape involved bending over to pick up a map, with a shot of flak shooting through the seat where he had been sitting only a moment before. On the bombing of Germany, he stated it was something that had to be done to stop
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
, but every time they were let go, he felt for "the poor blighters below".
Following the war he settled first on
Ōtorohanga
Ōtorohanga is a north King Country town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located south of Hamilton and north of Te Kūiti, on the Waipā River. It is a service town for the surrounding dairy-farming distri ...
, then in
Huntly
Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...
.
Baxter worked as clerk with seed and fertiliser merchants for two years in
Feilding
Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council.
Feilding has ...
and
Hawera. He later became a prominent member of a movement to increase living standards of rural employees.
Political career
Baxter contested the
1946 by-election in the
Raglan electorate for the Labour Party, but lost against
Hallyburton Johnstone
Hallyburton Johnstone (23 August 1897 – 10 August 1970) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Biography
Johnstone was born in Raglan in 1897, the son of Campbell Johnstone. He was educated at Te Uku, Whata Whata, an ...
of the
National Party. Later in the same year, Baxter defeated Johnstone in the
1946 general election by just 13 votes. Johnstone in turn defeated Baxter in
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
. Baxter later stood unsuccessfully for Raglan in the and s. He was the last Labour candidate to win a seat in the area.
A notable characteristic of his parliamentary period was that he was respected as a man who never compromised his principles.
[ Phil Amos, former Labour Cabinet minister, at Alan Baxter's funeral, 1976]
Later life and death
After he lost his seat in Parliament he worked in the coal mines in Huntly. In 1962 he retired and moved to Auckland.
Baxter died in 1976 after a short illness. He was survived by his wife Sylvia and three daughters.
Notes
References
*
External links
1946 photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Alan
1911 births
1976 deaths
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
New Zealand World War II pilots
Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel
New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1957 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School
People educated at Feilding High School