FIT AND TOUGH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20601, 31 October 1941, Page 4

FIT AND TOUGH

NEW ZEALAND TROOPS DIVISION RE-EQUIPPED “READY FOR ANYTHING” (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, this day. A tribute to the excellent spirits, fitness and high morale of the men of the New Zealand Division in the Middle East and their readiness for anything that may came 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, who has reached Auckland from the Middle East.

Colonel Stewart, who served in Greece and Crete, lias returned to the Dominion on duty. He was a brigadier on the General Staff to Major-General Freyberg while he was in command of the Allied forces in Crete.

The division was in splendid shape, Colonel Stewart said, and had been fully re-equipped since the evacuation of 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. Mail Keeps Men Happy

The men were receiving their mail from New Zealand regularly, thanks to the efficient transport service and the efficient postal organisation in the Middle East. That, together with good food, was largely responsible for the excellent spirits and morale of the rhen. The more mail the men got the happier they were, said Colonel Stewart, adding that relatives and friends could scarcely write often enough to satisfy them. The excellent work of the New Zealand National Patriotic Board, through Its Middle East representative, Lieutenant-Colonel F. Waite, was commended by Colonel Stewart. The funds at his disposal were being utilised wisely and the work was greatly appreciated by the men. Wireless receiving sets had been provided from funds for separate units, and they 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. Events in New Zealand given in 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 commencing when he left, continued Colonel Stewart, and preparations were in hand to meet Springboks at football. That was a fixture which would excite great enthusiasm among the men. Colonel Stewart leaves for Wellington to-day.