ENTHUSIASM AT TIMARU

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25242, 22 July 1947, Page 8

ENTHUSIASM AT TIMARU

PEOPLE SIX DEEP IN STAFFORD STREET LORD MONTGOMERY STOPS TO TALK TO CROWD From Our Own Reporter TIMARU, July 21. As soon as Field-Marshal Montgomery’s car stopped outside the Theatre Royal, the crowd, which was six deep on the road in Stafford street, attempted to break the police cordon After being introduced to the Mayor (Mr A. E. S. Hanan). Field-Marshal Montgomery walked across to the crowd and spoke a few words and had a chat to Drum-Major A. D. Stewart, of the Timaru Highland J ipe Band. The crowd kept up its cheering all the time. The audience in the theatre rose to its feet to cheer him as he walked towards the stage. “Your name was a household word in this Dominion durir'» the war." said Mr Hanan. “Our faith in you and final victory never faltered. Our faith in you wes equal to the confidence we had in those gallant men who fought with you."

Welcomed as War Comrade Speaking on behalf of former servicemen and women in South Canterbury. Mr W. G. Tweedy said that the conferment of the gold life membership badge of the Returned Services’ Association on Field-Marshal Montgomery wss recogni ion of his outstanding services to the Empire. They greeted him not as a stran. er. but as a fellow member of the association and as a war comrade. The Minister of Defence (Mr F. Jones) said that wherever Field-Mar-shal Montgomery h=d gone, from Wellington to Southland, he had been warmly greeted. The young children had not given him his right *itle. but called him *Monty.’ “I have not been in New Zealand very long yet. a few days, but I have had a t.emendous welcome from the citizens of another city up in the North Island and I came down here to tht mainland.” said Field-Marshal Montgomery. “They told me that the North Island was an island off the mainland I have had a very great welcome although I am a soldier. I like to think that that welcome is meant as a mark of your regard and gratitude for all that was done by every fighter who served in the war, whether soldier, sailor, or airman, or nurse, or a lady who did welfare work.”

“Very Lovely Country” New Zealand had two good things. One was the very lovely country. Every place he went to was better than the last. As he had arrived in the dark he had not seen Timaru, but obviously he would say after he had seen it in the daylight that it was a very fine place. In New Zealand he was seeing places to where he would like to retire. “You do produce a very fine race of men and women, and when it comes to killing Germans they are the cat’s whiskers.” he said, “and they are not too bad at beating up Cairo if they want to and passing the blame on to the Australians, who usually get the blame for everything, because you wear the same kind of hat.” When he went out to Egypt all that was wanted in the Bth Army was someone to interpret the spirit of that army. It was a very fine army with soldiers from every part of the Empire It only wanted someone to get up and say “Let us see this chap off ’’ “We did,” Field-Marshal Montgomery added. “We pushed him into the sea and we pushed him into the sea at Tunisia and in Sicily, and then we eould not find any more seas.”