MR. FRASER IN ITALY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 206, 29 May 1944, Page 5

MR. FRASER IN ITALY

Met By General Freyberg .Official War Correspondem. The'New Zealand Prime Minis ter, Mr. Fraser, has arrived in Italy by air, after a fast and uneventful journey from Bn» land. He has come to meet officers and men of the Second New Zealand division and to discuss at first hand withi General Freyberg and his staft the P“rt Division has played in rec ® ll L? i l ' e 1 often and its role in the present Allied often sive The party includes General Puttck GOG and Chief of the. General Staff, New Zealand Military forces his aide Major G. Crossley, and Mr. A Mclntosh, secretary of the New War Cabinet. The American attache ill New Zealand has also accompanied Mr. Fraser in order “like personal contact with the division. He has already spent a good deal of tune with the Third New Zealand Division during its operations in the Solomons. , Mr. Fraser was met at the airfield by General Freyberg and Brigadiar M . G. Stevens. While General Freyberg waited for Air Fraser’s plane to arrive, ngiiieibomber’ and bomber ® ircraft l wer j?, l . t “^ l “ l f off from the airfield at regulai inteivals bn forays against the German foices retreating along the road to Rome. In the course of the journey the party made a stop at Gibraltar where they met tihe Governor, laeuteiiant-General Eastwood. Before continuing the flight thev were conducted nt the Governoi s invitation to the top of the famous rock and shown some of the hidden strength of the great fortress in the honeycomb of tunnels cut out of solid stone. Flyin" through clear and sunny weatner in the central Mediterranean area, Mr. Fraser and his party were able to see the scenes of some of the battles of the North African Campaign. iiicludiiio Tunis and Cape Bon. Approaching Italy, Mr Fraser spent some time in the copilot’s seat alongside Squadron Leader Charles Wills, R.A.F., captain ot the plane.