BRITISH TROOPS IN KOREA

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26967, 17 February 1953, Page 11

BRITISH TROOPS IN KOREA

Farewell To Retiring General NEW ZEALANDERS IN GUARD OF HONOUR £NJZ. Army Information Service) KOREA, February 14. New Zealand’s K Force was represented by an 11-mftn detachment in the guard of honour which paraded at the Commonwealth Division’s farewell to Lieutenant-General William Bridge-® ford, retiring Commander-in-Chief of the • British Commonwealth forces in Korea. General Bridgeford, who has been succeeded by Lieutenant-General Henry' Wells, of Australia, was on his last visit to the Commonwealth Division in Korea. The officer in charge of the New Zealand detachment was Lieutenant Murray Connor, R.N.Z.A., of Auckland, and the senior n.c.o. was Sergeant' D. V. Forrester, R.N.Z.A.S.C., of Gisborne. The men w6re drawn from the 16th New Zealand Field Regiment and the 10th Transport Company. Lieutenant-Colonel J. Burns, the new commanding officer of the regiment, was in the official party. A small detachment from the New Zealand Base Signals Troop was included in the guard of honour which paraded for Genial Bridgeford yesterday at an airport near Seoul. General Bridgeford was given a stirring farewell by both civilians and military personnel today on his departure from Kure. Hundreds of troops, including many New Zealanders, lined the streets and gave spontaneous cheers for a man universally regarded as a soldier, a leader, and a friend. There were six New Zealanders in the special Commonwealth guard of honour which presented arms to General Bridgefora as he left the Kure Officers’ Club after a luncheon. The commander of K Force, Brigadier R. S. Park, was among those who said good-bye to the Commander-in-Chief at the ferry terminal before he left for Iwakuni where he will board a plane for Australia. On Monday the Deputy-Mayor of. Kure and other Japanese dignitaries presented General Bridgeford with bouquets and expresed gratitude for the harmonious relations between Japanese and Commonwealth troops during his term as Commander-in-Chief. '