NEWS OF THE DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 14, 17 January 1941, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Captors and Prisoners,

; How men of the German raiders dropped their role of armed guards } almost as soon as they had landed their > prisoners on Emira Island was described by Mr. P. J. Stiles, of the 1 crew of the Holmwood, in an inter- [ view on his return home to Lyttelton, states the "Press." "It was rather " comical," he said. "One minute they [ were armed guards over us, and the next they were sharing paw-paws with ' us. We would be up a tree getting l paw-paws, and a German would be up the next tree. There appeared to be no animosity." Extra Petrol Allowance. Satisfaction that soldiers on final ; leave would now be granted a small ; allowance of petrol to visit their friends was expressed by Mr. F. G. Farrell, ■ president of the Auckland Automobile : Association, at a meeting of the association on Wednesday, when a letter was received from the Oil Fuel Con- ■ troller, Wellington. 'T have been advised by the Minister of Supply (Mr. Sullivan)," stated the. letter, "that \ members of the armed forces going on final leave and members of the r naval forces who are granted seasonal . leave may obtain licences for a limit[ed amount of petrol in cases where special justification can be advanced. 1 Each case will be considered entirely ■on its merits and. application should be made to any postmaster." 1 "lyjama Girl" Mystery. 1 After having been kept for six years lin a formalin bath in a zinc-lined " coffin in a room at the Medical School :at the Sydney University, the body of . the unknown woman, described as the '■ "Pyjama Girl," is to be disposed of by the.police. The body was found >in a culvert near Albury in September, ! 1934. The girl had been shot and ; battered about the, head, and her body had been partly "burned. A reward of £1000 for information that would 1 lead to the establishment of her iden- : tity, and to the arrest and conviction of her murderer, has been offered, and descriptions of the girl have been circulated in every language throughout the world, but the Australian police : have been unable to solve the mystery. Otaki Health Camp. 'At the present time 97 children are enjoying a stay at the Children's Health Camp at Otaki, and at the end of the present month they will make way for some of the many children on the waiting list, which is a lengthy one. ; Six weeks is the minimum time for a stay in the camp, and if funds are . available the camp programme will be . continued for the next six months or so. The war, however, has had an 1 effect on the funds, and a number of past helpers are now devoting their efforts towards patriotic purposes. • Those in charge, nevertheless, are confident that the good work achieved by the camp will not be allowed to lapse for want of support. Extensions to the camp, at a cost of £14,000, are now-being carried out, and when these are completed the additional facilities provided will make for much greater efficiency. Christmas Parcels Appreciated. 1 The following is typical of the sev--1 eral letters received from soldiers at . the front expressing their appreciation 'of Christmas parcels sent to them:— "Will you please convey to the board and members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce my very sincere thanks for the magnificent Christmas parcel : sent me? It reached me safely out here in the Western Desert exactly on Christmas Day and was indeed a welcome surprise. Whoever made the 1 selection of gifts either knew me per- : sonally or had knowledge also of what one requires in the desert. I can assure you not one item was superfluous. The jersey and the socks have been most useful for, as is the . case with most of us here who have experienced part of a summer in the desert, I had no conception how bitterly cold it is in winter. Just at the moment I speak feelingly. Outside my tent rages a sandstorm, thick clouds of driven dust swirling everywhere. lam grateful for these woollen garments for more warmth. I thought too that enclosing a spare pair of tan laces in the 'housewife' showed what consideration had been given to the parcel. We are all very well out here and very anxious after so long to come to much closer grips with the enemy. But this did not prevent us from' having a grand Christmas, during which I think by far the most important of the innumerable toasts was that to relations and friends in New Zealand who had sent us their good wishes." Sports Gear for Camps. All the military and Air Force training camps in the area under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Provincial Patriotic Council have now been visited by the Hon. Vincent Ward, M.L.C., honorary secretary of the council, and sports gear and indoor games .valued at over £900 have been supplied to them since the middle of September. This equipment has included cricket, baseball, teniquoit, badminton, bowls, : snooker, chess, darts, and cribbage sets, as well as tennis balls, nets, and rackets, a boxing ring, hockey sticks, Rugby and Soccer balls, packs of playing cards, hurdles, and other athletic gear. Included in the expenditure was the cost of three sets of drums for Trentham Camp and seven radio sets for Waioiiru Camp. A considerable proportion of the equipment went to these two camps. The rest of the sports gear was distributed for the benefit of the men at the Central District School of Instruction, at Fort Dorset, Foxton, Weraroa, Miramar, Ohakea, Rongotai, Dannevirke, Waverley, Wanganui Racecourse, and at Spriggens Park, Wanganui. Mr. Ward proposes making another round of the camps before the next meeting of the council late this month. Gift Parcels for Forces. Gift parcels under the unaddressed scheme to be sent overseas with the next consignment for the New Zealand fighting forces are beginning to arrive at the National Patriotic Fund Board's good, store in Wellington. In a circular he has forwarded recently to the zone secretaries in the province, the Hon. Vincent Ward, W...L.C., honorary secretary of the Wellington Provincial Patriotic' Council, has included the text of a letter received from LanceCorporal J. Ahlfeld, a member of an Auckland battalion, expressing appreciation of a parcel he received in Egypt, and advising the council of the articles that give most pleasure. "About a week ago," the letter states, "a red-letter day occurred in the battalion when there arrived the" longawaited parcels from the various patriotic societies. Expressions of delight were heard all round, everyone being more than satisfied with the parcel he received. I myself drew one which had been packed by your society, and to say that I was pleased is putting it mildly. I would be very grateful if you would pass on my sincerest thanks to those concerned. For your information it may interest you to know that the most appreciated items in the par- , eels were tins of coffee and milk, tobacco and cigarettes, and tins of fruit. You will be pleased to know that we received the parcels in good order and condition. You may rest assured that the parcels were greatly appreciated and that all the men realise the" great spirit of the people back home in send- j ing us their gifts." I

Gossip a Crime. Australian Army Intelligence officers have announced a determined effort to stamp out talk which is 'aiding the enemy. Prosecutions under the National Security Act —which provided heavy penalties, including • imprisonment—would be launched against offenders. The officers aj pealed to the public for help in a new campaign against "gossips, rumour mongers, and defeatists." The public could help, they sai%d, by refraining from passing or rumours, and by reporting to the authorities anybody who spread them. Rotorua Reclamation. When the reclamation of the foreshore of Lake Rotorua on the western side of the wharf is completed to plan within the next few days, .the Rotorua Borough Council will commence to reclaim the raupo-covered area on the eastern side of the wharf, stated the engineer, Mr. F. C. Bunyard. The whole reclamation will eventually form the base for an ambitious reconstruction and beautification scheme for the lakefront, projected some years ago and carried onward steadily by the council as opportunity offered. Spoilt Beef' on Emira. Two engineers of the Rangitane who fancied themselves as cooks spoilt a meal for the prisoners landed by German raiders on Emira Island, according to Mr. P. J. Stiles, of the crew of the Holmwood, who returned home to Lyttelton on Wednesday, states the "Press." A 30-gallon oil drum had been burned out and cleaned, for cooking beef which had been slaughtered by the Germans for the use of the prisoners. "I told them it wouldn't take long to cook," said Mr. Stiles. "There was 1501b of beef in 101b pieces." However, he said, the two engineers stoked away all night, and then built up the fife for more boiling in the morning. And when the drum was inspected there was nothing left of the beef but a few shreds and some' perfectly clean bones. With rice and tinned meat, this residue was made into soup, which, Mr. Stiles said, was exceedingly good, but no substitute for the beef.