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FINE BOOKMARK

AUCKLAND INJUSTICE WHITE FEATHER White feathers, symbols of cowardice, are “fluttering" "through the post in Auckland, and, as elsewhere, grave injustices are being done to patriotic young men, says the Star. The annqnymous senders of the feathers are apparently just as irresponsible as they are despicable, for it is evident that they do not bother to ascertain a man’s * circumstances before they rush to brand him as a coward. That this is so is revealed by one Auckland case concerning a married man with two young children. When war was threatened many months ago, he was one of the first to volunteer for home .defence, and by religiously attending night parades and 'going into camp, he quickly rose from the rank of private. Then came the war and the need to rally to the colours to crush the Nazi aggressor. The call was made for men to serve their country and the Empire overseas, and the young man’s name figured early among the enlistments. He was placed in the temporary unfit class, but was given an assurance that he would have an opportunity of qualifying as an N.C.O. in the Second Echelon of/the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Came the time for camp, but greatly to his disapointment he was passed over. He promptly made inquiries in official quarters and discovered that he had been classed among the men engaged in essential services. He protested against this classification, and since has succeeded in arranging for a man to replace him in his employment. The result is that he is confident of being called on to serve with the Third Echelon. The chagrin of such a man can well be imagined when, during the Christmas season when the spirit of “goodwill to all” should be abroad; he received through the post an outsize ir. white feathers —no more and no less. Nevertheless, he has adopted the right attitude and is treating the white feather with the contempt that it deserves. In fact, it is being used by him as a bookmark during his studies of the infantry training manual!

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GISH19400109.2.8

Bibliographic details

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20140, 9 January 1940, Page 2

Word Count
349

FINE BOOKMARK Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20140, 9 January 1940, Page 2

FINE BOOKMARK Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20140, 9 January 1940, Page 2