OFFICERS' WAR RECORD.

DECORATIONS CONFERRED. ! CONSIDERABLE SERVICE. PROMOTIONS IN THE FIELD. Many of the officers who returned in the iahiti saw considerable service in the war and some were decorated for gallant services., in the field. Major W. McK.Geddes, M.C., who returned- as officer • commanding the troops, w. a son of Mrs. McKail Geddes, of Wynyard Street. He was ' educated at the Auckland Grammar School/ and before going on astive service was in- the employ of Brown Barrett, Ltd. He received hi first mihtary training M a member of J SMS mca ? acJtet «<l by wounds durmg the attack on fiapaume. He was promoted to the rank of captain in the field and after returning from hospital in Enriand cwf ,v :? a m^ ty / and Wars *£?% £ • th ? Ninth Battery with the nd . Br ?gade. He remained in Franc! VSKr fer^t i won of if 0 " ,He se ? hricade and uon of great, value to his brigade and throughout the operations his dirine and gree to the success of our artillery " A* R- Woodhouse! principal •sawSL£ C k, accoi ?Panying the draft, lf rabl6 S6rVlce in the ™. Some Sf of t£? SV****** t° medical is?fe En*lJK? gton H ?»P ita1 ' but h« «nB«£l g j Wben war broke out. He DivW, a 'il- WM atteched to the Guards fild % Mf" 1 ?.? 0 !? Particularly identified with l ; he Irish Guards. He 'has been awarded the DS.O., the MiliLrTcW of U.e b Wl«° d I ? e , also weare the" ribbons iL W!• C rl al ad the Mo Medal .home is , n Dunedin, but he intends to wSln!2 a i5 oSlt ? on , on the staff of the elJmgtoo Hospital. ' Three Brothers at the Front. i Captain S. J E. Closey, M.C.. was formerly m business as a contractor at Otorohanga His home is at Russell, Bay of Is.ands. He left New Zealand ae secondj lieutenant, attached to the 3rd Battalion of the. Rifle Brigade. Later, he was in command of the 3rd Entrenching Battalion | for a period of six months, and subse- . quently was in charge of the New Zealand | Divisions Lewis Gun School. He was | awarded the Military Cross for his gallant !™J* a L* first battle of the Somme, in xt m brother, Second-Lieutenant R. :i- ..V lO ! 6 ?' who also returned on the \ iarnti, lelt as a private in the seventh ; reinforcements, and in the course of his war service was wounded five times. Ho received his commission in March. 1918. A third brother, Sergeant F. W. Closey, is still i„ England. He was awarded the Military Medal for his work at the second battle of the Somme in 1918. Captain A. W. Short, M.C., was formerly a master at, the Auckland Grammar School. He originally left New Zealand for the froiut in 1916, but was invalided home. Subsequently he left again as officer commanding the forty-first reinforcements. The reinforcements were at Sierra Leone at the time of the serious influenza, epidemic in Africa, but no cases occurred on the ship. The New Zealanders coaled the ship at Sierra Leone, in order to pre- ; vent any infected people from the shore coming on board. Captain G. V. Russell, M.C., of Ararnoha* left the Dominion, with: the ,twelfth reinforcements, attached to the 3rd Company Engineers. He was formerly a surveyor in he Public Works Department, stationed at Taomarunui. Captain F. C. Pascoe, M.0., was formerly in the Auckland office of the Union Steam Ship Company. He left with the fifth reinforcements. Lieutenant R. E. Andrew was awarded the Military Cross for his gallant services at Passchehdaele in October, 1917. He left New Zealand in 1916, and prior to joining the forces was a school teacher at Devonport. i Prom Private to Lieutenant.

Second-Lieutenant A. S. Clark. M.C. and bar, is a brother of Mvs. M. Wilson, of Bell Road, Rer'.uera. He was educated at. Wellington College. He left as a private -with the fifteenth reinforcements, and sat? service in Franco continuously for two years with the First, Canterbury, Battalion until the signing of the armistice, going- through all engagements with the exception of Passchendaele. He' received his decoration for conspicuous service at Eosignoi Wood in June, 3918, and the bar at Welsh Ridge at the end of the following September. Second-Lieu tenant R. A. Boyd, whose parents reside at Mount Eden, was awarded the D.C.M. for conspicuous gallantry at Passchendaele in October, ISI7. He left New Zealand with the eighth reinforcements, and prior to enlisting was engaged in the money order branch of the Post and Telegraph Department. Second-Lieutenant F. R. Slevin, who was awarded the Military Cross, belongs to Waihi. He left New Zealand as a private in '916. Second-Lieutenant W. Bargh, of Te Kuiti, aleo returned in the Tahiti. He v.a« awarded the Military Medal. -Lieutenant K. O. Armstrong belongs to Devon port. He was a private in the seventh reinforcement*, and received his commission in the early part of the present year. Three Royal Flying Corps officers also returned, among them being Lieutenant F. Bloomfield. son of Mr. J. L. R. Bloomfield, of Auckland. Lieutenant Bloomfield received his preliminary training at the jj ew Zealand Flying School at Kohimarama.