Reporter’s diary

Press, 24 October 1984, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

23rd Battalion MEMORIES stretching back more than 40 years will be revived when former soldiers of the South Island’s 23rd Infantry Battalion and their wives gather in Christchurch next month for their thirteenth and possibly last, national reunion. Their numbers have dwindled. Few remain of the original officers and men, all volunteers, who sailed under Lieutenant Colonel A. S. Falconer from Lyttelton in the luxury Andes on May 1, 1940. They landed at Gurock in the Firth of Clyde, then travelled by train to Aidershot, where Brigadier Hargest, on their arrival said:“We are glad to be here. We would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. We enter this fight boots and all. “The 23rd fought with great distinction in the ensuing campaigns from Crete to Trieste. Of the 5110 men who served in the battalion, 2137 became casualties. The 23rd was organised on lines akin to the tribal basis of the 28th (Maorikßattalion — A Company men from Canterbury

B Company from Southland, C Company from Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast (the “Seddon Shielders”), and D' Company from Otago. About 600 old soldiers and their wives are expected to attend the reunion on the first week-end in November. A special guest at the reunion will be Tony Pittaccio, an Italian who now lives in England. As a teen-ager he was adopted by the 23rd at Cassino, and. acted as interpreter for the remainder of the Italian campaign, eventually being granted an honorary rank of sergeant. Now, in time of peace, the battalion’s role is a caring one. Members who are sick, at home or in hospital, are visited regularly and a built-up benevolent fund is put to good use. Forty years after the spirit of the 23rd lives on. Overkill? RESIDENTS near Williams Street in Akaroa may have thought that the biggest lawnmower in Christendom had descended on the.town on Sunday. In fact,

cous howl was emitted not by one motor mower, but by five, all being used simultaneously to mow one little patch of lawn. No doubt there were some traffic problems, but they say that many hands make light work ... Sheep mowers ON THE SUBJECT of mowers, the Malaysian Gov-ernment-owned National Petroleum Corporation (Petronas) is using sheep instead of motor mowers to cut the grass at its oil refinery. Petronas believes that mowers emit sparks that could send the whole establishment up in a ball of flame. The sheep, on the other hand, emits no sparks under normal working conditions, and even its exhaust emissions are biodegradable. Long memory LIKE THE ELEPHANT, the Government service never forgets; neither is it prepared to give much away, even after 40 years. Detective Sergeant Bernie Preston, of the Christchurch

C. 1.8., officially retired at 4.30 p.m. yesterday, aged 61. After the powers that be in Wellington had totted up his annual leave, retirement leave and so on, they deducated 14 days paid leave granted to servicemen at the cessation of hostilities in World War 11. Bernie Preston was not impressed by this, and let it be known. Grudgingly, the powers that be gave him back 12 days, but still deducted two, at eight shillings and sixpence a day. Such bureaucratic detail might have left a nasty taste in the mouth of anyone else who had served their country for so long, but luckily Mr Preston is a philosophical man with an excellent sense of humour. Bowls trophy THE NEW BRIGHTON Bowling Club holds the Takaro Shield, a trophy played for annually between the club and the Canterbury Commercial Travellers’ Association. It is an elaborately carved wooden plaque, measuring 660 mm by 556mrn, and a handsome piece* of workmanship by

any standards. All that is known of the trophy is that it was carved in 1927 at a cost of £9. Both the bowling club and the Commercial Travellers’ Association would like to find out who carved the Takaro Shield, or anything else about its origins. The shield may be seen at the New Brighton Bowling Club. Equal rights PERHAPS the differences between East and West are not as great as we thought The story goes that an American tourist was telling a Russian of the freedom of expression in the United States. “Any American can stand outside the White House and freely denounce President Reagan,” he said. “That is our democratic right” “We have the same democratic right in the Soviet Union,” replied the proud Russian. “Any citizen of the Soviet Union can stand outside the Kremlin and freely denounce President Reagan.”

— Peter Comer