TIGER SKIN MISSING FROM OFFICERS’ MESS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27406, 20 July 1954, Page 10

TIGER SKIN MISSING FROM OFFICERS’ MESS

The magnificent skin of a full-grown tigress, which has been the pride of No. 1 Officers’ Mess at the Royal New Zealand Air Force station at Wigram for nearly 15 years, may now be resting, as the trophy of a deft piece of goyveniring, in the officers’ mess at Whenuapai. The skin was in its usual position hanging in the foyer on the wall opposite the main entrance tp the mess on Saturday evening. After a mess party, which was attended by a number of Whenuapai officers who returned to their station in a No. 41 (Transport) Squadron Bristol Freighter on Sunday, it was gone. Yesterday morning a notice appeared in the lost and found column of “The Press” advertising the loss and asking the finder to advise the secretary of the Wigram mess. The secretary had been away during the weekend, and did not even know the skin was missing. He had not inserted the advertisement apd no other officer on the station has claimed responsibility for doing sp. The skin was pf a tigress shat in Mysdre, India, in April, 1020. by a former administrative officer at Wigram, Squadron Leader R. A. Anderson M.C., formerly of Christchurch A Sandhurst graduate. Squadron Leader Anderson was serving at the time with The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) He was appointed the first non-flying ad-

jutant at Wlgram in 1937 after being retired as captain in The Cameroniant Reserve of Officers in 1935. Squadron Leader Anderson relinquished his position at Wigram in 1952 to rejom his old regiment. He fought through the Burma campaign, was promoted lieutenant-coionel, and after doing staff work in New Delhi he retired- He was appointed to write a history of The Cameronians, a private record which was not published. Later, Lieutenant Colonel Anderson held an Army post in London before taking up his present service appointment at Winchester, England. SKIN TO BE RETURNED TODAY

TThe Presf Special Service AUCKLAND, July M. It was learned at Whenuapai tonight that officers from Whenuapai had sou venired the skin, put i t in a parachute bag, and placed it on board an aeroplane flown back to Whenuapai by the officer commanding Whenuapai (Group Captain T. J. de Lange). "I wouldn’t have the moth-eaten thing about my place,” said Group Captain de Lange tonight. “It goes back to Christchurch tomorrow.”