IN GOOD HEART

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 106, 31 October 1941, Page 6

IN GOOD HEART

READY FOR ANYTHING

(P.A.) AUCKLAND, October 30.

A tribute to the excellent spirit, fitness, and high morale of the men of the New Zealand Division in the Middle East and their readiness for anything that may come their way was paid by Colonel K. L. Stewart, 0.8. E., General Staff Officer (first grade) to Major-General B. C. Freyberg, V.C., officer commanding the division. Colonel Stewart, who served in Greece

and Crete, has returned to the Dominion on duty. He was brigadier, General Staff, to General Freyberg while he was in command of the Allied forces in Crete.

The division was in splendid shape, Colonel Stewart said, and hajd been fully re-equipped since the evacuation from Crete. Since June the time had been spent in re-equipping, training, and reorganising, and when he left the division recently the men were in good heart,'fit and tough,, and ready for anything. There was no question about their high morale and readiness to undertake any tasks set them.

The men were receiving their mail from New 'Zealand regularly, thanks to an efficient transport service and efficient postal organisation in the Middle East. That, together with good food, was largely responsible for the excellent spirits and morale of the men. The more mail the men got the, happier they were, said Colonel Stewart. Relatives and friends could scarcely write often enough to satisfy them. The excellent work of the New Zealand National Patriotic Fund Board through its Middle East representative, Lieutenant-Colonel F. Waite, was commended by Colonel Stewart. Funds at Colonel" Waite's disposal were, being utilised wisely and the work was greatly appreciated by the -.menV Wireless receiving sets had been, provided from the funds for separate units, and were being used out in the desert. 8.8.C. broadcasts were received, and the Egyptian broadcasting service had a daily session for troops, with a special one for New Zealanders once a week. The division's own broadcasting unit usually assisted in'those sessions, and had even rebroadcast recordings of sporting events in New Zealand.' Those sessions were greatly enjoyed by the men. The club in Cairo was extremely popular, not only among our own men but also among other troops. The Egyptian winter season was just starting when he left, ■ continued Colonel Stewart, and preparations were in hand to meet the Springboks at football. That was a fixture which would excite great enthusiasm among the men. ~' _. Colonel Stewart will leave for Wellington tomorrow.