FLOCK HOUSE BOYS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 241, 12 October 1942, Page 2

FLOCK HOUSE BOYS

WAR SERVICE RECORD

"N.Z. WORTH FIGHTING FOR"

(By NELLE M. SCANLAN)

After the last war the New Zealand sheepfarmers made a practical acknowledgment of the debt they owed to British seamen—men of the Royal Navy and the Mercantile Marine. They realised that it was owing to the magnificent courage of these men, that New Zealand's wool (and incidentally its other produce) rcached its destination in the markets of Great Britain.

This gesture was expressed in Flock House. Out of the surplus funds they received for their wool at the end of the war, the sheepfarmers bought Flock House Station in Manawatu. There they established a training school for young farmers, and the pupils at the school were the sons of the men of the Navy and Mercantile Marine who had given their lives in carrying on the great tradition of British seamen. They were the sons of men of every rank, who had been killed during the war. Flock House was a living memorial, conceived in gratitude, expressed in generosity, and administered in wisdom. During the years when this work was being carried on, 750 sailors' sons from overseas were brought out from Great Britain, fed, clothed and trained as farmers, and finally launched in life from this institution. Many of them are now married men, farming in this country, and helping to carry on its primary production. Flock House no longer functions in this way; all the sons of seamen killed in the last war are now grown men, and the station is at present owned by the Government. But the trustees have, as far as possible, kept in touch with the Flock House boys, and after this war, when the full storv can be told, their exploits will make a brave chapter in our history. The trustees of Flock House are determined, in some way, to give the same help to the dependents of British seamen (and this time it wdl include airmen) after this war, as they gave after the last. Roll of Honour Many of the Flock House boys are now serving in some branch of the fighting forces, and m every theatre of war—the army, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm, also in the mercantile marine. One is a major serving in Egypt; two have been awarded decorations; ten have been killed in action (one being the first New Zealand soldier to die in Egypt in this war); twelve are missing, some of whom are believed to be stiil in the mountains of Greece and Yugoslavia; twenty-three are prisoners of war; twenty-five have been wounded. Here is just one instance of what Flock House boys are doing. There were five brothers in one family which came out in 1929-30. They were sons of a lieutenant in the Royal Navy who had been killed in action. Their mother came out later to join them, but has since returned to England. Jim, who writes from Jamaica, joined the R.A.F. in 1937. Harry, whose letter comes from Malta, joined the R.A.F. when war broke out. Ken, now married, with two children, is carrying on the family farm in this country. Warwick is in the Royal New Zealand Navy, and Dick is in the British Army.

"My Father Would be Pleased"

Here are extracts from one of the many letters received by the managing trustee of Flock House, Mr. Lees:—

Your letter finally reached me here in Malta, where I am at present stationed, after chasing me around various stations in England. It is great to think how you have kept in touch with us all these years, as though a friendly link joined us to those epic feats of our fathers in the last war. I am one who is humbly, yet proudly carrying the torcTi that they held so high, and you are playing an important part in keeping alive that cherished memory. I have striven to justify my father's sacrifice, and I am sure he would be pleased to know of my humble prowess. Through gradual degrees I enjoyed the privileges of being a sergeant pilot, then a flight sergeant, rising in my last squadron to be senior pilot, and then finally to be commissioned. I am now a deputy flight commander. I have five enemy aircraft to my credit, and had the thrilling experience the other day of in turn being shot up by three 109's, who attacked from behind. It was a narrow escape, and some say I was lucky. I know I did the best bit of flying of all my career to get out of it.

"When the story of this island (Malta) is written, it should make interesting reading. I recommend it to you, sir, because for so small a place, I don't think it has a rival for activity; it has been bombed from end to end, shrapnel pieces are as common as stones, but still we carry on, and why not? Is not New Zealand worth fighting for? I think so, just as many others do." That letter expresses the spirit of Flock House.