For the War1 Effort

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 191, 15 July 1941, Page 4

For the War 1 Effort

Interest-free loans and donations to the war effort now total £2.099,892. Twelve Shillings For a Flower. Over 12s was paid for a single orchid stalk during the flower sales at the Auckland city markets recently.

A Fine Achievement. In 10 days the combined staffs of a Dunedin firm raised the excellent sum ol £1939 10s 8d for the "Comforts for Fighters" Fund. Succession of Frosts. A succession of frosts has been experienced in the city on the last four mornings. This morning's was of 0.3 degrees and the other readings were: Monday, 6.Bdeg.; Sunday, 4.3 deg.; Saturday, 3.-4 deg. Dr. Barnardo's Homes. Mrs E. A. Leighton, of 33 Seaview Road, llemuera, Auckland, acknowledges a donation from "Sympathiser" to the Dr. Barnardo's Homes. Mrs Leighton recently made an appeal through, the "Manawatu Standard" for assistance for the homes. Official Bungling. Keen disappointment that men returning from overseas should reach Napnr without the knowledge of the Patriotic Council or those organisations working for the cause was expressed by the Mayor of Napier (Mr T. W. Hercock). Four men from the Napier district, one walking with the aid of crutches and another with his arm in a sling, arrived by the express on Friday night.

Danger to Power Lines. ! A clause in the report of the electrical engineer (Mr ~»V. A. Waters) to; the Mauawatu-Oroua Power Board, | yesterday, stated that a belt of treesj about three-quarters ot a mile long! was chopped down by the tree gangj during the past month, these trees being a menace to the adjacent 11.000-1 volt line. They were planted after the I line was originally erected. "Now that j the dairy industry is depending on the! supply of power for shift work, we | are cutting down all trees adjacent to) the lines where the owners will notl keep them trimmed," the report added.: Traffic in Manawatu Gorge. By six o'clock lust evening the j Public Works Department had cut a ( one-car track through the slip which , came down in the Manawatu Gorge early yesterday morning. However, care must still be exercised by motorists using the route. It is expected to. have the,work completed by to-morrow evening. Blasting was also carried out to-day to shift the heavy boulders that . were in a dangerous position for ve- j hicular traffic j

How Captain Lyon Died. How the late Captain W. J. Lyon, member for Waitemata, met his death during the fighting in Crete has been described by Lieutenant A. G. Hultquist, M.P. for Bay of Plenty, who served through the campaign in Crete and was evacuated from the island on June 2. Captain Lyon was killed near Lieutenant Hultquist. his death being due to aircraft machine-gun fire. According to the latter's information, Captain Lyon was killed instantly. The previous day he and Lieutenant Hultquist had been in conversation. The Merchant Navy; In his address to the Dominion conference of the Farmers' Union in Wellington to-dav, the president (Mr W. W. Mulhollaiid) stressed the fact that the Empire owes a great debt to its merchant seamen. "More particularly do we farmers owe them a tremendous debt," he said. "Month after month, j unflinchingly they sail the ships which I carry our produce to Great Britain,' maintaining her very life by the sup-j plies Of food which they bring, despite the great hazards from submarine, aircraft, and, as they approach their destination, mines. . . . Much as ■we admire the deeds of our airmen, we owe at least as much to these silent heroes."

Captured by Submarine. How three New Zealand officers were captured by an Italian submarine when attempting to escape from Crete was related by one of the wounded New Zealand soldiers who have reached Auckland. It happened in the late days of the campaign, when all shipping available was being pressed into service. The ships could only operate at night and had to leave in time to get out of Messerschmitt range ot the island by daylight. Three New Zealand officers, 17 privates, and four Australians secured a lighter and, working several nights, fitted an en- ' gino into it. Then they set off in the general direction of Egypt. Three days out they were captured by an Ita'an submarine. The officers were taken olf and the lighter, with the men on board, was sent back to Crete. To make sure, the submarine accompanied it for half a day. At daybreak the next morning when the submarine had disappeared, the men turned the boat about again and resumed their interrupted trip to Egypt. They headed in the general direction of Alexandria and ended up in Mersa Matruh. "They were only 400 miles out in their reckoning," added the soldier, "but at any rate they were safe."