NOT IN WRITING

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LXII, Issue 75, 19 September 1941, Page 1

NOT IN WRITING

ARMY TRUCKS LOSE UNOFFICIAL NAMES

WIDE AND VARIED SELECTION

(N.Z.E.F. Official News Service)

CAIRO, August 26

The time has come to an end when the New Zealand Army truck driver could exercise his wit with a piece of chalk on his truck or affectionately name it after his home town or home-town girl friend. Orders have it now that no markings other than authorised identification marks will be carried on trucks. The silver fern, distinguishing mark of New Zealand Army vehicles, remains, but no longer is it accompanied by a prominent "V" for victory or a name which,- it if served no useful purpose, did give the truck some identity of its own. Long before the "V" campaign was launched, however, New Zealanders had adorned their trucks with chalk or paint.

i New Zealand drivers have proved I their mettle under all manner of difficult driving conditions in the desert and in Greece during the past eighteen months, and to them their trucks mean something. A vehicle _ may be called some hard names from time to time, but a commendable pride is taken by drivers and mechanics in keeping the trucks in top road form. No girl could have been other than complimented in having a Kiwi truck named after her. When Molly stepped smartly out along Queen Street trim in swagger-cut coat to office or factory, perhaps somewhere on a dusty desert road beneath a blazing sun another Molly was doing a wartime job too. And Waipukurau nestling in the Hawke's Bay hills. may not have known that one of its sons was at the wheel of desert truck with "Waipuk" chalked on the radiator. Names on trucks were many and varied. "Galloping Gertie" and all the old favourites were represented, side by side with many a pseudo brewery waggon or road service luxury coach. The majority favoured towns and districts, and it was common to see Poneke, Hawera, Seddon, Stockton, Outram, and many another locality whose sons are serving overseas. There was no limit, of course, to the choice of girls' names. There were Jenny, Molly, Mary, Nancy, and even good old Lizzie. Some went further and had "battling Bertha," "Little Nell" and "Tiger Lil." "Bitsa" was short for bits of this and bits of that— "The Geyser" explained itself, as did "Beware" and "Ben Hur."

Everyone remembers the part New Zealand drivers played in the Imperial advance in the Western Desert towards the end of last year. No matter how tough the going, the New Zealander can always take time off for cheerfulness, and it was in the Western Desert that such slogans as "Benghazi or Bust" and "West-bound Limited" appeared. Back from this campaign came many captured Italian trucks, huge cumbersome vehicles* which were soon christened. Among them were "Wop," "Big Benito," and "Thanks Musso." One labelled "I don't wanna go Home" may have been an indication that trucks as well as men found conditions better under Imperial forces. In Greece, too, the chalk was at work and names were suited to the country. There was "Achilles," who wasn't so fast after all, "The Grecian Goddess," and "Acropolis." In the desert the trend was more towards sandy and boiling things, such as the "Desert Wonder," or "Mind the Steam." Another was "Travel by Rail." In Egypt anyone whom you don't know is called George. It is strongly suspected

that somewhere there must' have been George the truck, but if so he must have lived far away "in the blue," which is anywhere out in the desert. With the launching; of the "V" campaign New Zealand drivers quickly caught the spirit and nearly every truck and many of the staff cars carried its "V."

One digger, wiping an ornate "Patsie" from his radiator, assured his mate that "anyway, you can still call them any nasty names you like, as long as you don't put it in writing."