SING IT IN GERMAN

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 252, 25 October 1933, Page 5

SING IT IN GERMAN

"RED FLAG" IN NAVY. LEAVE-ON H.M.S. DIOMEDE captain tauis to ratings. ;(By Telegraph.—i Press Association.) CHRISTQHUROH, this day. Trouble occurred with some of the crew of H.M.s. Diomede at Lyttelton on Monday afternoon and a demonstration -was made, the "Red Flag" being sung. The demonstrators were all New Zealand ratings on the ship. The alleged grievances which are said to lave been the cause of the trouble fere- the recent general tightening of conditions generally and the curtailment -extra leave which the crew was expecting on Labour Day. Men due for Hve expected to get away from the drtp-at one o'clock in the afternoon, and 'hen no parade for liberty men was called, they commenced a mild demonnation. No significance is attached to the singing of the Red Flag, which was merely an expression of disapproval over loss of leave. The men were eventually given leave at 3 p.m. The personnel of the Diomede is composed of mixed Imperial and New Zealand ratings and the demonstrators w 6re all New Zealand men. To-day the New Zealand ratings were Paraded before Captain Cosmo Graham, addressed them, explaining why leave had been reduced. When interviewed later Captain waham said the affair was very trivial. Ale Diomede had only recently completed flitting and it was because of the necessity for pushing on with certain *°|rk in view of an impending inspecthat the men were kept at work ™s.two hours in the afternoon on Labour a y. No extra leave had ever been promised, but the leave men had been "'Ven an hour and a half extra. To s ' l( ?w- how little importance attached to '"6 occurrence some hundreds of visitors Wre admitted to the ship immediately afterwards.

When the Diomede was commissioned a few months ago, Captain Graham added, he told the crew that any man could obtain access to him at any time to state a grievance or any other personal matter. That rule was still in force. He had had the New Zealand ratings paraded before him yesterday morning and had not even reprimanded them. °B[e stated to them that he and most of the officers were guests of New Zealand, having come out from England to give New Zealand ratings the benefit of their experience, and as guests they were entitled to courteous treatment.

"One request I did make," said the captain, "was that if they must sing that good old tune to which the words of the 'Red Flag' are written they should sing, it in the original German words, which are so much finer than the Eng[lish.'" I The* Diomede sailed this morning for Akaroa, as arranged, to meet the flagIship Dunedin.