June Fear – the last Tui
June Fear, twice widowed, died on March 9, aged 95. She is survived by her son Alan Gilchrist.
June Fear (nee Morgan, formerly Gilchrist) was the last surviving Tui – a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps during World War Two. She died on March 9 at Merivale Retirement Village, with her son Alan Gilchrist saying she suffered from ‘‘nothing but old age’’. She was 95.
Born on August 8, 1920, Fear attended Christchurch Girls’ High School, leaving in 1938 and taking a job as a sales assistant at Ballantynes department store.
‘‘While still working at Ballantynes in 1942, there was a great fear in New Zealand of attack by the Japanese,’’ Gilchrist said.
‘‘Always wanting to do her bit, she joined a volunteer fire squad at the store – they stayed in the roof of the store to be spotters in case of any attack.’’
In an interview with The Press in 2012, Fear described the atmosphere when war was declared in 1939, with ‘‘agitated crowds’’ gathering in Cathedral Square ‘‘rushing for newspapers and clamouring for any extra news’’.
She left Ballantynes in 1942, was recruited into the army to work in the records office on Manchester St, and quickly applied for an overseas posting.
‘‘My parents were very sad and worried about me going too near the war zone, but I was determined to do my war effort,’’ Fear said.
Fear sailed on a troopship to Egypt in 1944, working in the New Zealand Forces Club in Cairo, set up by Army Commander General Sir Bernard Freyberg to give soldiers a place to relax while on leave.
She remained in Cairo for six months before transferring to Italy and finally London, before shipping home.
While travelling to Cairo, Fear met Peter Gilchrist, remaining in contact with him throughout her posting.
Rising to the rank of lieutenant commander, he was awarded a military cross for bravery during an operation in Takrouna, Tunisia, for assisting in the evacuation of a wounded comrade while under heavy shell fire.
They became reacquainted after the war, marrying in 1946 in Merivale, Christchurch.
They lived in Te Aroha, near Hamilton, where Peter worked as a solicitor.
The pair had two children – John Gilchrist in 1948, and Alan Gilchrist in 1954.
‘‘I was always honoured to be children of those parents, who had done so much for their country,’’ Gilchrist said. Her husband Peter died in 1960. She remarried in 1961 to Robert Fear, a farmer from Swannanoa.
‘‘She moved onto the farm in Swannanoa, and grew to love the country life, becoming very involved in the local community.’’
She joined the women’s division of Federated Farmers, rising to provincial secretary, a position she held for about 10 years.
Fear was the first female to serve on the Swannanoa Primary School committee, Gilchrist said, and ‘‘was one of the first woman school bus drivers in New Zealand.’’ She was widowed again in 1990. ‘‘Right up until she was 93 years old, she was very independent – living at home, driving her friends around, cooking family roasts, gardening and playing bridge,’’ Gilchrist said.
Fear’s son John died in 2004, losing his battle with cancer.
‘‘Two years ago she became frail and moved to Merivale Retirement Village.’’
He said she was ‘‘blessed with lots of visitors, her room was always adorned with flowers’’.
Over 200 people attended Fear’s funeral, which Gilchrist said was ‘‘a huge mark of respect to her and the family’’.
‘‘I had to turn down people who wanted to deliver eulogies and groups who wanted to give her a guard of honour.
Gilchrist said the RSA awarded Fear a life membership for her role as a Tui during World War II.
‘‘They wanted to give her a proper RSA sendoff, with a guard of honour, the reading of the ode and a bugler to play the Last Post.
‘‘It was very moving to give her that kind of sendoff – it shows what kind of woman she was.’’