PERSONAL ITEMS

Sir Cecil Leys returned from Well. ! ington yesterday. Mr. A.. J. Murdoch, of Whangarei, is at the Waverley Hotel. Mr. Stanley S. Scott has to Auckland from Wellington. Commodore E. Ilotherham, R.ft left for Wellington last night. The Hon. W. E. Parry, Minister r,{ . Internal Affairs, returned to Welling, ton last night. Mr J. T. Johnson has been elected ' chairman of the Te Awamutu Electric, Power Board for the 23rd term. Mr. J. L. Menzies, Australian Trade - Commissioner, arrived in Auckland tsj. te relay morning and returned to Wellj ington last night. Dr G. W. Morel, delegate in New Zealand and Australia for the International Red Cross Committee, travelled to Wellington last night. Mr. J. E. Thomas, Dominion Food and Rationing Controller, arrived in Auckland yesterday. He is at the Star Hotel, and will leave for Hamilton to- • day. KING'S BIRTHDAY (P.A.) WELLINGTON. Thursday The following is a copy of a telegram received from the King in reply to th« message sent by the Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, on the occasion of His Majesty's birthday:— Please express to the Government and peoples of New Zealand my sincere thanks for their kind and loyal message on the occasion of my birthday. George E.I, 97T11 BIRTHDAY MAORI WAR VETERAN A veteran of the Maori wars, Mr. John George, of George Terrace, hunga, will celebrate his 97th birthday to-day. Mr. George was born in Auckland. His father arrived in the ship Louisa Campbell in 1812 and opened Auckland's first bonded store. The store* was constructed of raupo and was later replaced, when the ship Osprey ar-' rived with cargo, by a wooden frame building. The house in which Mr. John George was born was the only dwelling in Wvndham Street at the time. During the Maori War he served at sea as chief officer on the Government steamer Sturt, which, was engaged in carrying troops and supplies. The commander of the Sturt was Captain Fairchild. Mr. George subsequently settled at Onehunga, where his mother was oni of the earliest hotel-owners. Shs founded in 1863 the Onehunga Ladies' Benevolent Society, which is still functioning and is believed to be the oldest ladies' society in New Zealand. Mr. George's wedding took place at Onehunga in October. 1872. THE SAVINGS BANK 95TH ANNIVERSARY The 95th anniversary of the foundation of the Auckland Savings Bank falls to-day. Only seven years younger than the city itself, the bank has played an integral part in the development of the community for almost a century, sharing its early struggles and later keeping pace with the progress of the metropolitan area. Following a meeting held on December 3, 1846, to consider the establishment of a savings bank in Auckland, the bank opened for . business in the premises of Mr. J. J. Montefore. Queen Street, on June 5, 1847, having been granted a Government guarantee of £l5O. From these humble beginnings the bank has expanded to become cmf of the foremost financial institutions in. the Dominion. At the close of the last financial year 195.204 accounts appeared on its books 1 with depositors' balances amounting to more thai £10,000,000. In company with other banks in Auckland, the staff of the Savings Bank has constantly assisted in the handling of subscriptions to the patriotic appeals and war loans col-let-Tod in the city, while the bank itself has subscribed a total of £900,003 to these appeals. OBITUARY MRS. A. A. ROE The death has occurred of Jlrt. Annie Amelia Roe. of Rotorua, formerly of Mamaku. Mrs. Roe had bees closely associated with the -earij pioneering days of Mamaku. Her late husband, Mr. Alfred William Roe, was engaged in sawmilling there for over 30 years. She is survived by her sod and two daughters. FEARLESS COLONEL (0.C.) WELLINGTON. Thursday "A man without fear," was how a soldier who has returned from the Middle East, described the late Colonel J. M. Allen, who was M.P. for Hauraki. He saw Colonel Allen, on Crete, even carting water and provisions to platoons which were dug-in and could not move out for supplies. "No other army gets rations either in the field, in hospital, or at ba& camps as we do,'' said a non-commis-sioned officer. It was common knotledge, he said, that the princ.j al meal of the day served to New Zsalanders was equivalent to what some other troops got in two days. AIRMAN MISSING Advice has been received by Mrs. E. Gordon Fraser, of Biltmore House, Remuera, that her Youngest son, Flight-Sergeant M. F. G. Fraser, _ hai been reported missing on air operations. He is 22 and is an old boy of the Auckland Grammar School. He is the brothel of Wing-Commander Joffre Fraser, RA.F., officer commanding one of tis® R.N.Z.A.F. stations in the Nortl Island. Advice has been received by Mr. 3. J. Booklass, of Haast Street, Reiruera, that his son,' Pilot-Officer Gor&n James Booklass, has been sent to hospital with typhoid fever and is at present on the seriously ill list. He is at present in hospital' at Peshawar, Khyber Pass, India. Before leaving New Zealand Pilot-Officer Booklass was employed by the Fletcher Construction Company. He was a member of the Ponsonby Rugby Football Club. VETERAN OF TWO WARS (0.C.) WELLINGTON, Thursday Among soldiers who have returned from the Middle East is Sergeant D; Calder, of Papatoetoe, a veteran oi two wars. He went to the last war _aj the age of IS. Now he is 45, a married man with two grown-up daughtersWhen he enlisted this time, he gave his age as 34. He went over with tJ® Second Echelon, to England, and later to the Middle East, where be i'ougip in Greece and Crete. He got swav the last destroyer to leave Stida BaJ» Crete, with walking wounded. NAVAL CASUALTIES (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Thursday The following naval casualties wet® announced to-day:— Flannagan, Francis Patrick Joseph (Tempo?' ary Sub-Lieut.) (A), R.N.Z.N.V.R,, in flying accident —Mr. Rryce Ulander, New Plymouth (guardian). , Vintiner, Matthew Charles (Ordinary SeamaWj injured by enemy action —Mrs. Bridg" Vintiner, Christchurch (mother). WhitSeld, Colin Rics (Ordinary Seaman),J! jured by enemy action —Mr. E. G. W" 3 * field, Dannevirke (father).