FULL-DRESS PARADE IN CITY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 138, 13 June 1942, Page 6

FULL-DRESS PARADE IN CITY

AN IMPRESSIVE SPECTACLE

His Excellency and Lady Newall arrived at the base a few minutes be- j fore the parade was due to start, and were welcomed by the Prime Minister and Mrs. Fraser. A special enclosure was reserved for. members of the»Government and official guests. Banged behind his Excellency as he took the salute were the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General E. Puttick, Chief, of the Air Staff, Air" Commodore R, V. Goddard. and Chief of the Naval Staff, Sir Atwell Lake, and Oolonel J. H. Nankivell. representing Brigadier-General P. J. Hurley, j U;S.A; Minister to New Zealand. J Planes overhead roared a prelude to the big show as the band sounded the last note of the National -Anthem; v Heading the parade was the Air Force Band. They were played past the base by a military band, which was j stationed on the flank of the official: en- \ closure.' On the other flank was the | Pipe Band, which alternated with the military band in - playing selections throughout the parade. Prominent in the first section of the j parade was the muster of ' Home Guards. In numbers they made an impressive showing, and their, general bearing bore the imprint of many months of intensive spare-time training. Following them came an aerodrome defence unit, and the W.A.A.F. j band leading a detachment of smartlooking W.A.A.F.S. Prominent in the parade were members of the Mercantile Marine. This was the first time they had paraded in public in Wellington," and the enthusiastic appreciation of the crowd as they'swung past with the Red Ensign aloft reflected the general admiration of the fine work this part of the silent service is doing. ,A spectacular touch was added by the appearance of Lascar! seamen in their national dress. ' Accompanying the foot unit were tw: Home Guard bands and the Police Pipe Band. MECHANISED BRIGADE. There was a break of about 20 minutes before the long thin line of the j mechanised brigade started to uncoil itself through the densely-lined streets. First came the small scouting cars, and following them in proper formation came all the varied and—to the general public—some of the rather mysterious units that go to form a fighting .brigade. In addition..to the infatttry/frahspo^^ the radio cars, ambulance outfits, canteens, there were the business-like looking universal and Bren gun-car-riers, which rumbled past on their caterpillar treads, and the field guns and anti-tank, guns hitched to their big trucks. There were also the Beayerettes, a new addition, to the armoured cars, observation cars, and the Valentine tanks. As they passed the saluting base they dipped their guns. Threaded throughout ' the parade were the dispatch riders on their motor-cycles. ;. The tempo of the parade changed every now and again in order to meet traffic contingencies in the narrower parts of the city. At times the khaki yehicles merely crawled past the base. i and at other times the public saw Lthem go through their paces at a full j i3O miles an hour. ~ { These bursts of speed- were only of |brief duration, but they gave a stiricing snapshot of the pace at which a Modern army goes into action.

Wellington saw a striking picture of the grim and purposeful business that is war today, when a full-dress parade of a modern tnotorised brigade rolled through the city streets in celebration of TJmted Nations Day. The weather was fine and, for the most part, ' Stinny, and the people turned out in their thousands. Main thoroughfares were banked deep with orderly crowds, and all the city's feyaiJable supply of flags and bunting appeared to be on display. The official part of the proceedings took place outside the entrance to the grounds of Parliament Buildings, where from the saluting base the Governor-General. Sir Cyril Newall, took the salute as the parade passed by. . , The parade was in two sections. The first section consisted of t&e foot units, and after an interval came the motorised brigade, whose operations were, in fact, in the nature of a full-scale manoeuvre. The head of the parade passed the saluting base at 10.30 a.m., and it was not until two hours later that the final vehicle passed the base.