DELAYED DISPATCH
WAR-TIME VICTORY
RUNNER'S LONG MEMORY
(By Telegraph—Press Association.)
CHRISTCHURCH, This Day
Nineteen and a half years ago a captain in the New Zealand Forces sent a dispatch by runner to his superior officer announcing the locality of a victory at Passchendaele. The dispatch was never delivered, but a few days ago the incredible happened in Christchurch when: a cyclist who was passing the former officer jumped off his machine and said he was the runner concerned and handed back the message. This war story, in which the central figures are' Mr. J. F. Tonkin, of Dalgety and Co., Christchurch; LieutenantColonel Row, of General Headquarters staff, Wellington; and the Christchurch man who carried the dispatch can well, come into the "so-many-years-after" series begun by the recent tale of Private Alan Brown's bottle.
In the fierce operations at Passchendaele Mr. Tonkin was captain in command of the Ist Company, Ist Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, and his superior officer was Lieutenant-Colonel Row. The battalion's orders on the day in question, October 4, 1917, were to capture Abraham Heights and to continue on. After hard fighting the New Zealanders achieved their objective, but in the course of the battle Captain Tonkin was wounded. Before he was taken to the rear he wrote a b-ief dispatch to his colonel announcing that'the objective had been gained and that he was wounded and was handing over to his next m command. On the journey to headquarters the runner.was also wounded and the message was not delivered. On his way to the back lines Captam Tonkin spoke to Colonel Row and reported the result of the fighting himself. .
Needless to say, it was a very surprised Mr. Tonkin who was stopped by a cyclist in a city street a few days ago. Taking the message from his pocket book and handing it. over, ,the ex-runner laconically told Mr. Tonkin that he had been looking for him for. nearly'■ twenty y-sars to return the dispatch. ■
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19370226.2.120
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1937, Page 10
Word Count
327DELAYED DISPATCH Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1937, Page 10
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