IN FOUR WARS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 17, 20 January 1940, Page 12

IN FOUR WARS.

AND ENLISTS AGAIN. CANADIAN'S FINE RECORD. LOST AW EYE IN 1915. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) CIIttISTCHUPCTT, this day. Veteran of four wars, and exceedingly anxious to take part in a fifth, Mr. J. AV. Willoughby enlisted in the city yesterday for service with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. A Canadian by birth, he had fought in France, in Mexico, in Bolivia, and in Spain. At the outbreak of the Great War of 101-1-IS, Mr. Willoughby. carefully glossing over the question of his age, enlisted with the 20th Battery in the Canadian Artillery. He was sent back to Canada in 1915 as. an instructor. On this occasion Mr. Willoughby was on the Arabic, a White Star liner, which was torpedoed without warning off Kinsale and sank in 11 minutes. Through a mishap suffered during this disaster Mr. Willoughby lost an eye. Mexico was the scene of Mr. Willonghby's next exploits. lie joined the Government forces and took part in the campaign against Pancho Villa, whom lie saw shot as he was re-entering Mexico! from the United States after being' reprieved. ! From Mexico Mr. Willoughby drifted, down to Bolivia. "There was on© of the usual revolutions on, so I took part, serving with the Government forces," he, said. For IS months he fought in Bolivia and attained the rank of captain, also; picking up a piece of shrapnel in a linger, the only wound lie has received, apart from the loss of his right eye. .In lietween wars Mr. Willoughby has worked in the Boeing aircraft factory at Seattle. He is an engineer by trade and at present working at this i occupation in Christchurch. i Nightmare Tramp. Of all his experiences Mr. Willoughby | considers that the Spanish campaign j was the hardest. The Government troops \ were poorly equipped, and in the latter stages there was little organisation. He fought on the Madrid front in winter. His boots wore out. There were 110 new boots available, so, like thousands of others, he wrapped sacks round the broken remnants in a vain effort to pretcct his feet. Mr. Willoughby and a companion made their way on foot to France just before the final collapse of the Government. They hiked from [Madrid and endured all the horrors of a nightmare tramp over the Pyrenees to reach the frontier, where Mr. Willoughby's knowledge of French-Canadian proved of great help. Subsequently Mr. Willoughby worked in France, in Belgium and in Germany. He set out for the Far East with the idea of having a look at the SinoJapanesc War, but changed his mind and' travelled to New Guinea, from which, bv way of Australia, he came to New Zealand. "I fell in love with this country, but I am ready to leave it for another war," he said. "War is a horrible thing, but the future of the Empire is at stake and there is a lot of campaigning in me yet." Asked whether lie had any decoration, Mr. Willoughby was somewhat modest — "only South American, and tlicy don't count," he said.