PERSONAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2523, 31 July 1915, Page 5

PERSONAL ITEMS

'Archbishop Redwood returned from Napier yesterday. _ ' Cable advice was received in Wellington yesterday stating that Private Eard■ley H. Aston, son of Mr. J. Aston, Karon; Road, was in hospital at . Malta, having undergone an operation for appendicitis,- He was. progressing satisfactorily. Consequent upon-the resignation •of Mr; Herbert Bloy as conductor of the Royal Wellington Choral Socioty, Mr. Bernard F. Page (City organist)' was approached a few days ago by the 6ocioty, •who asked him to accept the. position. Mr. Page met tho full committee la_st evening, and after discussing details accepted the post. The position is an annual one, the conductor _ being appointed at each annual meeting.. Mr/ W. J. Birch, of Marton, has beeii' re-elected treasurer of the New Zealand Farmers' Union. The death has occurred at Waterton, near Ashburton, of Bombardier J. M. •March, who' was invalided back from Egypt some time ago. . 'The body was buried with military honours'. At tho Farmers' Union , Conference yesterday, appreciative reference was made to the unremitting vigilance displayed by the New Zealand High Com'missioner (the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie) in protecting the_ interests of the farming and mercantile community.' The conference expressed its approval of his re-appointment, Dr. Hardinan Good, of . Whangarei, leaves the'north in a few days to join tho' New Zealand Medical Corjjs. Prior to his .departure from Whangarei, Dr. Good was presented with a puree of sovereigns by the. Mayor, Mr. D. .W.' Jack, on behalf of the citizens. At tho conference, of.' New - Zealand Chambers of Commerce 'to be held in (Wellington on August i the Auckland Chamber will be zepresented by its president, Mr. Robert Burns, and the vicepresident, Sir. E. Anderson. The Auckland'delegates leave for Wellington by the riSdday express on Tuesday next. Mr. A. C. Marshall, of Auckland, the New Zealand Rhodes scholar cf lH 2, is . on active' service with the Royal Engineers in tho Dardanelles campaign. Sir. Marshall was at Balliol College, Oxford. 'By this week's mail from Egypt Mr. •IP.. Gulliver-Cradwick recoived word that his son, Leonard Gulliver-Crad-wick, who left as a private in. tLe. Ist Canterbury/ Infantry with the Main Force, had received a lieutenant's; commission, and would probably be posted .to the Indian Army. He made good' lise of his time in jthe military training school of instruction at Zeitun,'/and iii his examinations was. awarded 97 per cent, of marks for battalion drill, 97 per cent, for company drill, and 95 : per cent', for section and jilatoon drill. It was expected that. his certificate ■would be a Jirsf-class one, equal to passing out of Sandhurst. Lieutenant GullTrer-Cradwick is the first to win a commission'out of tho Ist Canterbury men. Ho was born and educated in Rangiora, and received his first military training in the Rangiora, Rifle ■ .Volunteers. When he enlisted for "the front he was a member of the Bank of Now Zealand staff at Christchurch. '.NoWu has been received in ' Christchurch that Sergeant W. Rodger, cf the 'A. Company of the Ist Canterbury Battalion, which performed such gallant deeds at the first landing on'Gallipoli, has been awarded 'the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry in action. The'news was conveyed to Sergeant Rodger's, parents by the following letter fiom the Hon. James Allen, Minister of Defence:—"l have very-much pleasure . id'informing you that I have received a cablegram from General Godley, the general ofiiceivcommanding : the-: New Zealand Expeditionary Forces on Gallipoli, advising that His Majesty : the King has graciously conferred the Distinguished Conduct Medal npon Sergeant W. Rodgen" • Sergeant ltodger enlisteu for service on the first night of the. call for men, and was assigned to A Company, under Lieutenant-Col-onel Macßean Stewart. He'had been a. Jfeen volunteer for 12 year's, and was in the Highland Rifles np to the time of the introduction of. tho territorial system. Sergeant Rodger was very prominent in sporting circles. He was captain of the om'istchurch Swimming Club for a number of years, and was also a. prominent member of-the Meri,vale Football Club, Captain Donald ] Simson, N.Z. Engineers, British section, who" has .been on a visit : to Auckland since his return to New Zealand by the steamer Willochra,. is in (Wellington on Defence Department business. _Mr. Edward Vear, who has been retired: on superannuation from the staff of the Government Printing Office after thirty years' service, was'the recipient of a presentation last evening., ■ Reference was made 'by several speakers, to . tho good terms existing between Mr. iVear and the staff. :.- •. . i A pioneer settler, Mr. R. T. Warren, 'died at Konini on Thursday, aged 74 - (says a. Press Association telegram). ' Deceased arrived in New Zealand in 1858. ' In the early 'sixties he took up the Mangatoro Run, with the late Mr. G. G. Hamilton, "and was afterwards manager of the North Island proper- I ties of the late Mr. John Studholme, of .Canterbury. 1 _ Mr. A. E. Jull, of Wai'pawa,.is on a Ivisit to Wellington. .

The Prime Minister has received a cablegram from the High Commissioner stating that Lieutenant-Commaiidor Bernard Freyberg, D.5.0., Hood Battalion, 2nd Royal Naval Brigade, who was ! reported as rejoining his unit on 'June 8 last, has been again reported .wounded on July 20, This is the lourth, time' Lieutenant-Commander Freyberg lias been wounded—threo times at the Dardanelles and onco at -Antwerp. News has also been received in Wellington as to how Lieutenant Oscar Freyberg, Collingwood Battalion, 2nd Royal Naval Brigade, and a-brother of Lieu-tenant-Commander Bernard Freyberg; met his death on June 7 last. It was at the attack _ of; tho hill called Achi Baba, 742£t. high, on the southern end of the Peninsula. The Naval Brigade wero occupying a trench on the slopes of Achi Baba, and shortly after noon 500 , of them were, ordered to lis bayonets and charge a Turkish trench 200 yards ahead.. It was during this charge that , /Lieutenant Freyberg'inet his death. A l .withering firo met the attackers, and the Naval Brigade lost heavily, but acquitted themselves most gallantly, takj ing the trench, though with the loss of ' many men and 25 out of 30 officers, 11 of whom were killed and the remainder j .Wounded or missing.. \ Advice has been received by Mr. James Y. M. Cowrie, of Runciman, says a Press from Auckland, that the Distinguished Conduct . Medal has been awarded to his son, Private J. Comrie, Field Ambulance. ' Mr. Norman Reid, youngest son of •Mr. Nicholas Reid, Wellington, is at present seriously* ill with pneumonia in Kensington Street Private Hospital.. Mr. Geo. B. Pitkefhly, head of the art department of the Wellington Technical College, handed in his resignation at last night's meeting of the Technical 'Education Board. Mr, Pitkethly, who has been iii-the servico of tho board for over eight years, is leaving tu take up a similar position in the Working Men's • College, Melbourne. The resignation was accepted with regret, and tbo chairman (Mr. D. Robertson) was requested to ■writo a letter in appreciation of Mr. sPitkethly's services while with the board. It was decided to promote Mr. H. L. Richardson, R.8.A., to t-lio position of art master, and prpmote Mr. J. Ellis to ho assistant art master. Major (temporary) _ H. Peacock, N.Z.S.C., having relinquished command ' of the Ist Maori Contingent, reverts to Ijhis former rank of caDtam, N.2AO. "