Danish WW2 Pilots

Arne Leth Møller

(1903 - 1976)

Profile

Fg Off. Arne Leth Moller enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1942. He was born in Denmark in 1903, but moved to New Zealand with his family at an early age.

Arne Leth Møller (or Moller) was born in Kattrup near Aarhus in 2 December 1903, the son of gardener Vilhelm Møller and Margrethe Møller (née Leth).[1] The family emigrated to New Zealand at some point during the 1910s. Vilhelm Møller was naturalised in New Zealand in June 1923.[2] Møller married Dorothy Christina MacPherson in 1929 in New Zealand.[3]

Møller enlisted in the Territorial Air Force 1 April 42 as an electrician. The fact that he was a flight sergeant on enlistment indicate that he was a man of some experience.[4] Møller was granted a temporary commission in the Equipment Branch and promoted from Flight Sergeant to Pilot Officer (NZ.423285) on 26 November 1942. A year later, he was promoted to Flying Officer.[5] On 15 January 1945 he was transferred to the reserve—as Flying Officer—in 15 January 1945.[6]

Representatives of Danes in service in New Zealand in front of the ambulance. From right to left: Mr. Peter Hansen, Mr. Kaj Mortensen, Mr. Knud Graae, Mr. Arne Møller, ambulance driver Mrs. Andersen, and Mrs. A. Hadrup.
Representatives of Danes in service in New Zealand in front of the ambulance. From right to left: Mr. Peter Hansen, Mr. Kaj Mortensen, Mr. Knud Graae, Mr. Arne Møller, ambulance driver Mrs. Andersen, and Mrs. A. Hadrup.

Møller was among the participants, when the Danish Association in New Zealand presented the donation of an ambulance to the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 10 October 1943.

He died on 20 May 1976 in Mairangi Bay, Auckland, at the age of 72, and was buried in Auckland.[7]

Endnotes

[1] DNA: Parish register, Kolt sign.

[2] Ancestry: New Zealand, Naturalisations, 1843-1981.

[3] Ancestry: New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-1937.

[4] Correspondence with Errol Martyn.

[5] Ancestry: New Zealand, World War II Appointments, Promotions, Transfers and Resignations, 1939-1945.

[6] Ancestry: New Zealand, World War II Appointments, Promotions, Transfers and Resignations, 1939-1945.

[7] New Zealand, Cemetery Records, 1800-2007.