SERVICE JOURNAL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20618, 20 November 1941, Page 2

SERVICE JOURNAL

“TROOPSHIP TATTOO” OUTSTANDING EFFORT By the latest mail from overseas has come to Gisborne a batch of copies of the Troopship Tattoo, a journal published aboard one of the New Zealand transports which recently left for the Middle East. The production, apparently prepared with great care aboard the ship and printed at a port of call, is an outstanding effort of its kind, and reflects the practiced hand of at least one experienced working journalist. Transport journals naturally run more to humour than to serious subjects, and the Tattoo is fortunate iii having at its disposal a first-class cartoonist, whose sketches of personalities aboard and incidental drawings make a great contribution to a wellpolished production. The presence of a draft of W.W.S.A. members aboard the ship furnishes a good deal of material for jocular pens, but beneath all the humour there is a current of admiring comradeship for “the girls they didn’t leave behind them.” The Army Nursing Service is treated with the respect, due to a unit as old as the New Zealand Expeditionary Force itself, and the regard of the men for members of this service is described as one of jealous pride. Good Range of Talent For those who had anything to do with the production of transport journals in the last war, the range of talent shown in Tattoo would seem remarkable. Perhaps the average soldier to-day is more given to selfexpression through the medium of pen and ink. In any case, the latest product of its kind is an eye-opener to mer knowing the difficulty of getting ....aerial together and preparing lor publication. Articles, verse, biography, fantasy, satire, and a quiz department are all there, and there are also some excellent photographs of transport personalities. The secret of success is clear when a study of the editorial staff is made. Editor of Tattoo is Joe O’Shaughnessy, formerly on the Christchurch Press. The lady editor is Miss Joyce Gilmour, formerly of the Southland Times, and now a member of the W.W.S.A. draft. Others on the staff include Lieutenant Peter B. Smythe, late of the Christchurch Star-Sun; Corporal F. H. Pratt, Feilding; R. W. Watson, StarSun, Christchurch; Ray Quinn, late a contributor to the Sports Post; Sergeant S. T. Mahoney, Napier DailyTelegraph; and Private Ernie Beer, Gisborne Herald.