TWO CITY WOMEN AWARDED M.B.E. IN HONOURS LIST

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28474, 2 January 1958, Page 2

TWO CITY WOMEN AWARDED M.B.E. IN HONOURS LIST

Two well-known Christchurch women have been awarded the M.B.E. in the New Year Honours list They are Mrs Adelaide Rose, president of the Christ- • church branch of the Plunket Society, and Second Officer Mary Vernon Morten, who recently retired from the W.R.N.Z.N.S. as • Superintendent of the Auckland Command, ajter 12 years in the ; service

I Mrs Rose has given outstand- • ing voluntary service to many • welfare organisations in Christ- ; church. She has been a mem- ' ber of the Plunket Society for 23 years, including a long period !as an executive member and vice-president before her election as president of the Christchurch branch, two years ago. Mrs Rose was treasurer of the Friends of St. Helens for 16 years, the entire period of the organisation’s existence. She has been a prominent leader of Jewish women’s affairs, holding office as Dominion president of the Union of Jewish Women for two years and as Dominion president of W.1.Z.0. for four years. She is also a member of the Canterbury Travel Club. During World War 11, Mrs Rose was an active member of the Welcome Club and of the Jewish

women’s branch of the Red Cross Society. Miss Morten joined the Wrens in 1942 as a mess caterer, stationed at Worser Bay, Wellington, and at the end of World War II she was in charge of Wrens based at H.M.N.Z.S. Philomel, Auckland. She returned to the service when it was reformed permanently in 1949 as a Wren divisional officer at Philomel, with the rank of third officer.

In 1952 she was appointed quarters’ officer in charge of the Wrens hostel at Devonport and a year later she was made Superintendent, W.R.N.Z.N.S., Auckland Command, with the rank of second officer.

Before joining the navy, Miss Morten had a long association with the Girl Guide movement in Canterbury and had held office as both district and divisional commissioner. She was also a camp adviser for the Canterbury province.

Miss Morten spent all her school days at St. Margaret’s College, where she was a prefect.

A telegram from the GovernorGeneral (Lord Cobham) announcing her award reached Miss Morten on December 31—her birthday. ‘‘lt was the best birthday present I’ve ever had,” Miss Morten said last evening.