WILL TO WIN

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24554, 9 April 1943, Page 4

WILL TO WIN

NEW ZEALAND EXAMPLE PRAISE FOR THE DIVISION (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) y CAIRO, April 6 Tribute to the part played by the Dominions in the air war was paid by Captain Balfour, Under-Secretary of 1 State for Air, at the press conference ' in Cairo. He said the effort of the Dominions to supply excellent types of I airmen was remarkable. New Zealand had produced an outstanding number of volunteers whose fighting qualities were well known. "It is a wonderful example of what can be done when there is the will to ' win," he added. "New Zealanders, as lighter pilots, bomber crews, aircraft- ' men and administrative officers, are a ' credit to their country and the Empire. Air Training Scheme "The Empire air training scheme has paid enormous dividends. The Germans are more than ever feeling the strain. J , Never was the Royal Air Force ' stronger, better equipped and in greater heart, thanks to the support, of the Dominions." The prominent part played by the New Zealanders in smashing the Mareth Line is clearly recognised in Cairo. The British-Egyptian press ran headlines reading: "Kiwis' repetition of El Alameiu and El Agheila breakthroughs; leading way for Eighth Army." Spirit of Independence Tributes have been paid also by business people and civilians. There have been many queries as to why the New Zealanders are the best fighting soldiers, and the only answer is that it is their spirit of independence, physical fitness and desire to deal with the enemy in a proper manner without prolonging the war. Base trainees, basking in the reflected glory of the division, are proud of their comrades' achievements. The Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. .Tones, in addressing a group of railway operating engineers recently, said the work of the New Zealand raihvayj men had won world attention, and in j the course of his journey in America | he was pleased to discover interest in ! their work. The success of the Eighth | Army was due in no small measure to j the speed with which the desert railway extension was constructed and its efficient operation. LIFE AT BENGHAZI WORK OF DOMINION TROOP (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) CAIRO, April (i Men of a New Zealand Army Troop Company stationed at Benghazi are getting on with the war in their own way. They are engaged on tasks such as wharf construction, the putting up of power lines, digging and cleaning out ! of wells, and the manning of water- : points. In the town the company is quar- j tered in a former Italian hospital j There is a definite lack of entertainment in Benghazi. On occasions tlumen visit the cinema, but unit concert parties are infrequent. Beer is like nectar to the New Zealanders. but is i obtainable only at intervals, when they ; receive a bottle per man. The company is justly proud of its j football team, which has been unbeaten j in matches with English and South j African units. The New Zealanders had | the distinction of being the first iti ! Benghazi to be equipped with hot j showers. There has been only one air | raid in the past two months. LETTERS FROM SOLDIERS I AIRGRAPH SERVICE STARTED j (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) ">' CAIRO, April (i I New Zealand troops are busily enj gaged writing their first airgraph letters i on the new service. They are pleased with the inauguration of this scheme. | which will speed up letters between the ; Middle East and New Zealand at the ! acceptable low rate of threepence. ! Many thousands of airgraphs were filed : on the first day for immediate despatch. | CRUELTY TO CALVES OVERCROWDED IN TRUCK j 00.C.) PUKEKOHE. Thursday j A fine of £7 10s was imposed on Wili fred Seymour C'olbcck, who pleaded j guilty in the Pukekohe Police Court to j a charge that, on January 7, at Pukekohe, he permitted 70 calves and one pig to be ill-treated by overcrowding them in a railway truck. Senior-Sergeant T. Kelly stated that defendant was the collecting agent for the Pukekohe Calf Pool. When witness inspected a single-decker truck of calves consigned by defendant to the Southdown freezing works, he saw dead calves on the floor. A guard had removed 30 calves from the truck and when witness inspected it he would say it was comfortably loaded and would have held another 10 calves, but certainly not 30. Defendant told the police at Waiuku that he had ordered J trucks 10 days previously, but as they had not arrived when the calves were taken to the railway yards the carriers had to put. them in an H truck, which was not suitable, continued the senior-sergeant. The .1 waggons arrived at 3 p.m. that day, but there was no waggon available to transfer the calves from the truck. Mr. M. R. Griersou, for defendant, said that Colbeck was responsible for loading the calves in to the H truck, because it was the only one available. Defendant was not at the railway yards when the .1 waggons arrived later in the afternoon. The carriers could not take the calves back to the farms. Remarking that each calf had only 1 ft. fiin, of floor space, Mr. E. H. Levien, S.M., said that all he was interested in was whether there was cruelty to the animals. If the trucks were not there the carriers should have been told that it was no use collecting calves that day. There may have been an economic loss, but there was nothing that could condone cruelty wherever it was found