W.O.s And NCOs' Assn

Northern Advocate, 29 October 1949, Page 3

W.O.s And NCOs' Assn

Personal War Records

With the adoption of a constitution at the October meeting of the Whangarei WOs and NCOs Association, the club, believed to be unique in New Zealand, is now firmly established as a liaison group between ex-service-men and the Territorial Forces.

Prepared by WO2 H. F. Ross, of the Area 3 staff, the constitution was adopted with only slight alterations, and came into force from Wednesday last. The constitution sets out the aims and objects of the association as:— (a) Initially to provide a pool ol WOs and NCOs for the Ist Battalion. The North Auckland Regiment. lb' To keep ex-NCOs of both wars abreast of current military trends. <c> To give members the opportunity to carry out voluntary military training if, and when, the opportunity presents itself. (d) To pass on any military knowledge and experience available to serving soldiers and cadets. (e) To provide social activities for members.

The club is open to all ex-WOs and NCOs of the three services, provided that the individual is accepted by a majority of the current executive. All serving WOs and NCOs of the New Zealand regular forces will be regarded as honorary members of the association and may become full members if they so desire, and arc accepted as such by a majority of the current executive.

AIK RESCUE SQUAD In the general business of the meeting further information was given on the formation of an Area 3 air rescue squad. Area H.Q. has been authorised to form such a squad which will consist of one officer and five other ranks, with one vehicle. To be worked in conjunction with the police and Air Force, the squad will operate over the whole of Northland when required. Six members of the association volunteered their services.

A new angle is to be provided by a young Auckland free-lance journalist. Mr W. B. Stewart, who intends to compile a war record from letters men and womc noversens wrote home tt 'their relatives and friends while or. active service.

Mr Stewart is confident that facts letters of other than a purely personal nature could be woven into a story which would live, as it would be the thoughts of the men under the stress of action or the relaxation of leave. It is the ordinary everday type of letter he wants as much as those dealing with the more exciting aspects of the war, so that actions as seen through the eyes of the men themselves may be preserved as a complimentary volume to the official war history, which, must, of necessity, deal with cold fact and figures. This will be the colour of the painting against the black lines of facts and figures. Letters from men who were later killed in action would have a particular value. All aspects of till campaigns from the early days on Greece and Crete to the final stages of the campaign in northern Italy, from the Battle of Britain to the RNZAF assault cm New Britain will be covered in the book if the information is provided. It is up to the men themselves, to their families and friends to lend the letters, which will be handled carefully and returned as soon as the story they contain has been noted. Letters should be addressed to W. B. Stewart, 3 Esplanade Road ,Mt Eden, Auckland.

When the matter was referred to him. the president of the Auckland branch of the RSA (Mr A. P. Po.stlewaitc) said that a book such as Mr Stewart intended to write would be a valuable adjunct to the official war histoi y.

He considered that every man who fought in the war would agree that the part of his life spent on war service was the most vital and interesting. and the records of impressions and experiences during that time should be preserved. Waipu RSA Social

1C I Thursday night was ladies' night at O the Waipu sub-branch of the RbA ..I when the menfolk arranged a musical : and social evening for the women j and look over the onerous task of ca,j lering from the usual committee of ~. washers-up. . “ j With the president (Mr M. Wilkin)gjt;on». ably assisted by the secretary (Mr C. Peat), as master of ceremonies, 111 a most enjoyable evening was assured, and as the programme progressed, all 3 agreed that the plan to hold such sof cials regularly was a sound one. ' h The president of the Whangarei 18 branch (Mr F. C. Eyles) and Mrs Eyles represented the Whangarei ItSA. n is •

That the association has fulfilled its initial objectives is shown by the fact that 80 per cent of the NCC volunteers for the North Auckland Regiment so far have been members of WONCO. 1 After the business of the meeting the social side took the form of another debate. That this idea is becoming popular is evidenced by the improvement in composition and presentation of subject matter by the speakers. The motion "That the rifle as a weapon of warfare is obsolete," evoked much controvcrsey on both sides. Each speaker had no difficulty in sustaining his allotted time. Judged on a system of points, the negative team, won by a narrow margin. For the next monthly meeting it is hoped to have the C.O. of the Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel R. H. Fergusoni as guest speaker. Farewell, Beau! A small, but extremely good aircraft will follow two large engines out of the RAF in the near future. It is tiie famous Bristol Beaufighter which commenced a long and honourable service with the RAF and Allied air forces as a nightfighter in the closing stages of the Battle of Britain, was modified as a torpedo bomber, ground straffer and general purpose aircraft, and remained in the front line for nearly nine years, almost equalling the record of the Spitfire. The only Beau squadron still operating in No 45 RAF, which has been in action from Kuala Lumpur against the Malayan terrorists. The Beau fighters will be replaced by the Bristol Brigand, another in the long series which commenced with the Blenheim, progressed to the Beaufort and reached wartime supremacy with the Beau. Owing to the two larg engines combined with 'he short nose and slender fuselage, the Beau as known as two engines followed by an aircraft. German raiders over London had cause to feel the sting of the 20mm cannons, while cannons, rockets, ma-chine-guns and tin fish made life untenable for German tramps and Eboats sneaking up the coast of Holland.

New Zealanders flew them on these raids when based in Scotland, while Coastal Command also had them with Rolls Royee Merlins.

The Japanese knew them as ‘‘Whispering Death.” when they swept over ground installations in the Far East. Production was handled in Australia and the Beau then became tbe third combat aircraft with the Beaufort, following the Wirraway and Boomerang, to be built across the Tasman.