Talk:Johnny Checketts

Johnny or Johnnie?

I have it on good authority, that the name "Johnnie" was his nickname and this was the spelling. I have been told that he was named in similar fashion to another fighter ace Johnnie Johnson, who is also mentioned on Wikipedia. However, the articles on the internet do use Johnny more often, as so this has become the modern spelling. Really it does not matter so much, and I am quite happy with either spelling. Wallie 19:09, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Johnny was my father and his full name is John Milne Checketts. The above is correct in that Johnny is a nickname and goes back to when he was born all his family called him Johnny. Insofar as the spelling is concerned Dad always used the spelling "Johnny"

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GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Johnny Checketts/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Ed! (talk · contribs) 16:26, 13 January 2019 (UTC)

Taking a look at this one. —Ed!^(talk) 16:26, 13 January 2019 (UTC)

GA review (see here for criteria) (see here for this contributor's history of GA reviews)

1. It is reasonably well written:

   • Dup links, dab links and external links show no problems.
   • Copyvio tool returns a yellow result, likely just based on similar phraseology. Could the wording be rearranged a bit on some similar terms? ie., "when the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau made a high–speed dash from Brest to reach safety in German ports."; "hecketts led a section of four Spitfires against eight Bf 109s and destroyed three of them. The other three New Zealand pilots in the section each destroyed one and Checketts damaged one of the two remaining 109s"

   • I have rephrased these two sections. Zawed (talk) 08:08, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable:

   Not Yet

   • There's a strong reliance on the Orange ref, which which a third-party source, risks favoring the article toward one historian's viewpoint. I'd recommend it needs some additional sources. Don't need to remove any Orange refs, just that a few should be backed up with other books/views.
   • Could a few details be cross referenced in other sources, in order to prevent over-reliance on one? Seeing [1] [2] and [3], which adds some detail about his perspective on the war which would be helpful addition.

   • Have added extra citations plus expanded on some smaller details. Zawed (talk) 09:08, 20 January 2019 (UTC)

3. It is broad in its coverage:

   Not Yet A few suggestions to place the detail here in context.

   • "although he had damaged others in the previous year he had never put in claims for them." -- Was this something he individually claimed or that historians later cite to him?

   • This is what his biographer states although from what I can make out from the notes, that is based on conversations with Checketts himself. Zawed (talk) 09:08, 20 January 2019 (UTC)

   • Any chance the DFC or DSO citations can be quoted?

   • Done now. Zawed (talk) 09:51, 20 January 2019 (UTC)

   • For both No. 485 and No. 1, any chance for the size of the command, or what's typical for these kinds of units at the time?

   • I have been able to add a citation for the official size of a typical fighter squadron such as 485 Squadron. Zawed (talk) 09:46, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

   • Any number of missions or flight hours tracked anywhere?

   • There is one mention already in relation to his wartime service as a wing commander, added another covering the period late 1941 up to August 1942. Zawed (talk) 09:08, 20 January 2019 (UTC)

   • And added another for the first half of 1943. Zawed (talk) 09:51, 20 January 2019 (UTC)

   • " "university of flying",[65] and when he graduated in August 1945 it was with a "Distinguished Pass."[66]" -- note punctuation inside and outside of quotes. Can be one or the other, just needs to be consistent through the entire article.

   • Have dealt with this. Zawed (talk) 08:08, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

   • Would be good to link List of World War II aces from New Zealand somewhere. What was his rank among the 80 aces from the country? What number of ace was he?

   • Done. Zawed (talk) 09:08, 20 January 2019 (UTC)

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy:

   See above.

5. It is stable:

   Pass No problems there.

6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate:

   • One imaged tagged PD as appropriate. Is there a chance for more supporting images? Thinking aircraft he flew or a map of where he was shot down might be appropriate. Also thinking the engine preserved in the museum, if a photo is readily available.

   • Have added an image of Spitfires, will keep my eye out for more as I work on this. Zawed (talk) 08:08, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

   • Have added a couple more. Zawed (talk) 09:46, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

   • Have you considered a table for victories, for reference? I did a few in my ace articles John F. Bolt and George Andrew Davis Jr. thought certainly not a requirement.

   • To be honest, my personal preference is to deal with victories in the body of the article rather than a table. Zawed (talk) 09:46, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

7. Other:

   On Hold Pending a few fixes. —Ed!^(talk) 17:43, 13 January 2019 (UTC)

   • Thanks for looking at this Ed!, I have made a start on your comments. I am tracking down some other sources to supplement Orange, but that may take a few days. Cheers, Zawed (talk) 08:08, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

• Not a problem. Just let me know when you're done. —Ed!^(talk) 23:58, 14 January 2019 (UTC)

• Ed!, I think this is ready for you to assess my changes. Cheers, Zawed (talk) 09:46, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

Perfect! It all looks great now. Based on this, going to Pass the GAN now. Thanks for your work! —Ed!^(talk) 01:24, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

His statement to Nash

The article says After the war Checketts, wanting to remain in the RNZAF, was encouraged by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice-Marshal Leonard Isitt, to consider a transfer to the RAF. Isitt advised that career prospects in the RNZAF were likely to be limited as it would be downsized considerably from its war footing. Checketts reaffirmed his desire to serve in New Zealand,[85] notwithstanding the comments of Walter Nash, the Minister of Finance, to expect a cut in pay. Nash's comments greatly angered Checketts, who pointed out that the government was quite prepared to pay more when pilots' lives were at risk serving their country when at war.[86]

I have bolded the statement I refer to in the heading. The number 86 referenc goes to Orange, Vincent (2006). Johnny Checketts: The Road to Biggin Hill. London: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-904943-79-2 p 148. I don't have the book so don't know if it is a good paraphrasing of its content, but it differs from the message given elsewhere.

Here's a quote, attributed to Checketts, from a New Zealand Herald obituary of 28 April 2006, written by Arnold Pickmere -- "You were willing enough to pay us to die but you're not willing to pay us to live.

I can confirm that the same quote is in Orange. However, since I hadn't quoted Checketts anywhere else in the article, for consistency I chose the wording as above rather than use the quote. I'm not sure that the overall message differs though - the point is that in peacetime, pay in the RNZAF was less than when on a war footing. Zawed (talk) 03:31, 9 February 2020 (UTC)