Freyberg Without Fear, Says Whangarei Officer

Northern Advocate, 24 August 1943, Page 3

Freyberg Without Fear, Says Whangarei Officer

(Special) AUCKLAND. This Day.! Two stories illustrative of the fearless-) ness of Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard] Freyberg. V.C., were t.cld to the Auek-j land Rotary Club yesterday in a luncheon; address by Captain IT. K. Brains,by, wfici was one of the general’s staff officers in the desert campaigns. Captain H. K. Brainsby has been! spending portion of his furlough with his! mot her." Mrs A.j T. Brainsby, Kamo Road,; Whangarei. where he was educated. Cne occasion was in a dug-out, where) the general was busy planning an attack.) With him was his chief-of-staff, Brigadier J Gentry, and ihe speaker, who was busy! doing" the “donkey work” on the wireless,; taking down reports and transmitting; orders. The bombing was particularly) heavy outside, and there was a terrific) noise going on. Through hours General! Freyberg sat peering at his maps and) papers and gave no sign of even not icing j what was going on outside . . though) those with him were most uncomfortably; aware of it. ! At last, said Captain Brainsby. there] was a terrific crash. A heavy bomb had: fallen jusi a short distance away. The; general glanced up briefly. “What was that, Gentry?’’ he said. “A, bomb?” . ! "General Freyberg never, at; any iimo.i showed any signs of fear," said Ihe cap-; lain. "I don’t think he felt any.’’ j He told then or ihe occasion when tne: leader of the New Zealand Division cle-i cided to equip himself with a tank. so. | that he could go forward with his,; armoured units. It, was a General Stuart ; ia “Honey”—nor very big, and the idea; I was that Freyberg should go in if with !one staff officer, a driver and one other; I crew member.

As the general was a big man it was found that the gun would have to be removed from the tank. When Captain Brainsby, who was the staff officer to go with him, suggested that a dummy gun should be fitted in order that the tank should net be distinguishable from other tanks, and therefore made a special target for fire, Freyberg replied: Nonsense!” He made a similar reply when it was suggested that a steel plate be put over the hole left by the removal of the gun. However, he was at; last persuaded to put in the dummy gun.