SERVICEMEN REMEMBER

Press, 29 July 1978, Page 17

SERVICEMEN REMEMBER

Soldier Country. By Jim Henderson. Millwood Press. 216 pp. $10.50. (Reviewed by Michael Pugh) Jim Henderson takes a worm’s eye view of history. In his latest book he

has assembled a collection of stories, jokes and anecdotes from New Zealand’s returned servicemen. The items are arranged into groups according to subject matter, with, for example, sections on heroics, battle, sport, women, prisoners of war, and “the Brass.”

The section entitled “There’ll Always Be An Aussie” includes the following gem: “I bolted, but the M.P.s (Military Police) were, gaining on me when I suddenly turned a corner and saw a nun standing on the pavement. Her habit was billowing in the breeze so I dived behind her and hid while the cops galloped past. When the coast was clear I stood up feeling a bit foolish and said: T really don’t know how to thank you, sister.’ 'Don’t try cobber,’ drawled the Australian reply, ‘l’ve been AWL (Absent Without Leave) for two years’.” There are sad and moving tales too. Readers who were not participants may find that pure anecdotage has its limitations, for this amounts to a j bumper nostalgia trip. There is no ' harm in that. We get a very good , indication, moreover, of the kind of things that old sweats remember best — incidents associated with extremes of emotion. And there is also plenty of material here for a more extensive study of Kiwi humour.