General News

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24112, 23 November 1943, Page 4

General News

History of 2nd N.Z.EJF. For the purpose of gathering material for an official history of the New Zealand forces in the present war, some 200 eye-witnesses’ stories of actual battlefront experiences in the Middle East and the Pacific have been collected by Army Archives. It is desired that this collection should be amplified, so that the historian will have an idea of what the actual fighters thought about, and experienced, and stories of returned men will be welcomed by the officer in charge, archives, Army Headquarters, Wellington. The way in which such stories are written by the men concerned will not matter, as it is information that is sought to help in the making of a complete history of the 2nd Expeditionary Force.—(P.A.) The British and Music “The last war has dispelled the thought of a musical inferiority complex which British people had. The British, in music as in anything else, can hold up their heads to anyone, and our musicians are worthy of our support and praise,” said Dr. Vernon Griffiths, when commenting on British composers at Timaru last evening. Harvest Camp Appeals Although the selection of reservists for territorial harvest camps has been made to avoid as far as possible any disruption in industry some appeals against the month’s service have been lodged in Christchurch. An official of the National Service Department said yesterday that most of these appeals were the result of reservists changing their occupations without notifying the department. The appeals already lodged will be heard by the Armed Forces Appeal Boards within a few days. In addition, there have been a number of requests by employers that their men should be put into camp at specified convenient times. Overlapping of Milk Collection i The overlapping of routes followed by milk vendors in collecting milk from the producers was again discussed by the Christchurch Zoning Committee at its meeting yesterday. Subsequently the chairman (Mr E. H. Andrews, Mayor of Christchurch) said the committee had decided on a certain policy regarding the collection of milk, but details could not be announced for a few days. Coal Supplies at Greymouth The heavy demands of coastal shipping at Greymouth towards the end of last week cleaned out the bins at the various mines, and vessels during the week-end and yesterday were awaiting cargo. One ship was diverted to Westport, and another that entered port on Sunday evening did not start loading until last evening. The departure’ of another vessel for the North Island is delayed pending the supply of coal. Licensing Poll The latest available figures on the recent licensing poll were presented at the Auckland conference of the New Zealand Alliance recently by the secretary, Mr L. E. Falkner, With a few more votes to come, he said, the vote for continuance was 528,040, a decrease of 18,955 since 1938. Other figures were: State purchase and control, 123,388, an increase of 27,257 votes: and national prohibition, 269,615, an increase of 6407. With a more complete organisation, he said, the vote for abolition of the liquor traffic could have been greatly increased. What Parcels Mean to Prisoners “No matter what happens to the dietetic state of countries where our prisoners are quartered, so long as our boys continue to receive Red Cross parcels regularly they will never starve,” said Major Trevor de Clive Lowe in an address to the Auckland Junior Chamber of Commerce. In addition to keeping the men adequately nourished, he added, the parcels helped keep them happy and contented. The people who were responsible for making them up had shown great insight into just what was required by people on the verge of starvation. Although the parcels were valued at about 10s 6d, Italians had said they were worth at least £lO in lira, even goods had been obtained in their country. Local Body Elections The Napier Harbour Board has declined to support a proposal from the Otago Harbour Board that the local body elections be postponed until May, 1945. “I see no reason why the elections should be postponed,” said Mr T. M. Geddis, chairman, when pointing out that the board had always held that the elections should take place at the ordinary time. The Wiser Course An application was made by counsel in the Magistrate’s Court at Dunedin for the adjournment of a fencing dispute because of the possibility of a settlement being reached. "If the parties in fencing disputes are wise,” Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M., commented in granting the adjournment, “they will settle the matter between themselves. They usually receive little satisfaction from coming to Court.” Outsizes irf Army Boots Outsizes in Army boots, specially made by a Dunedin firm engaged in war contracts. Lave recently been manufactured for native troops in the Tonga Group. The consignment consists of 65 pairs, made up of sizes 11, 12, and 13. These hardy islanders, used to bare feet all their lives, certainly could not now be accused of being “too big fer their boots!” Incidentally. there is an authenticated case of an infantry soldier in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force who was sent back from the front line to base in Egypt as unsuitable for a line battalion because in the desert it was impossible to fit him with standard Army boots. He wore size 11. Tuberculosis Cases A decision to inquire about the Government’s proposals for increased accommodation to cope with civilian cases of tuberculosis was made at a meeting of the Southland Hospital Board. It was stated that civilians waiting to enter the Waipiata Sanatorium were being crowded out because of the necessity for giving preference to returned soldier patients. Members of iht board agreed that returned servicemen should be given preference. It was not a matter of not having made provision in time, said the chairman (Mr T. Golden), The statement by the Director-General of Health (Dr. M. H. Watt), in the early stages of the war that the Government intended giving preference to returned men. but that the Waipiata Committee need not concern itself about the accommodation question, had kept the committee inactive in regard to the matter.