NIGHT CONVOY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24555, 10 April 1943, Page 4

NIGHT CONVOY

TUNISIA RENDEZVOUS

NEW ZEALAND DIVISION (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) SOUTHERN TUNISIA, April 7 Coming round a shoulder of the road, out of the grey mist of dust in the half-light of a growing moon, trucks of a night supply convoy commenced to pass by. We stood waiting beside our own trucks to attach ourselves to the convoy. Travelling was forbidden during the daylight, as dust clouds might attract the attention of enemy aircraft. The journey ahead led an indefinite number of miles into unknown country, and we must go on until we reached the last of the red lights set by the Provost Corps to guide us. At the end of the thin red line lay the New Zealand Division, preparing a new rendezvous in Tunisia. Twenty-four hours earlier, following the same red lights through the darkness, the Divisiorf had made another of its famous night moves, arid now, somewhere ahead, it lay waiting for the supplies pur convey Was carrying. Ten Hours of Jolting We knew in general terms the nature of the supplies, and could almost distinguish the trucks carrying 25-pounder shells from those carrying rations, petrol and water. We followed the convoy, and toward midnight passed through the outskirts of a village. It was apparently deserted, except for silent watching figures beside red lamps. Occasionally the convoy halted and then rumbled on again. During one of the halts the -idling engine of .our hitherto trustworthy truck developed an ominous stutter.- Ten hours' continuous jolting had caused a break in an oil feed pipe. We could not stop. We must go on to reach the Division during the hours of darkness. Arrival Before Dawn The truck was coupled with a towing chain to the one in front, and three minutes later the convoy moved inexorably 011 again At last, two hours before dawn, a green-helmeted form in the darkness advised us that our location lay only half a mile up the road. There was no road, and it was considerably more than half a mile. It was not long, however, before we skirted the grey shapes of two tanks and came to rest. Not five minutes later we burrowed into the chaos at the back of the truck, fouud bed rolls and crawled inside. We at this stage had not the slightest interest in the morning: and what it might show us.

BOOKS OF THE DAY RATIONED REVIEWS Jn "Towards Total War" (Angus and Robertson). Professor D. B. Copland, who is at present Commonwealth Prices Commissioner in Australia, explains what is involved in the development of a total war effort in any country. He clearly analyses the three stages through which a country must pass to reach this objective, and shows that the effects upon the civilian community will be different at each stage and that the types of control necessary will also vary The author applies his analy. sis to Australian conditions, which helps the reader to follow his argument and appreciate its significance. Vivid Realism Among the ships in Manila Bay the day the Japanese attacked were six motor-torpedo-boats of the United States Navy. Built largely of three-eighth-inch plywood, unarmoured, driven each by three Packard engines on aviation spirit, manned by a dozen men apiece, their job was to "roar in, let fly a Sunday punch, and then get the hell out of it." Four young officers of the squadron, almost the only survivors, told their story to W, L. White, who records it in "They Were Expend-1 able." (Hamish Hamilton). It is a tale of unpreparedness and courage, of life on Batan, air raids, and fierce action at sea, told with vivid realism.These were the boats that took General Mac Arthur on the first leg of his journey to Australia, and the officers give a lively account. And one has a touching love story to tell Heroic Deeds "Air Commentary," by Group-Captain W, Helmore (Allen and Unwin) is both informative and inspiring. Here in book form are twelve of this able radio commentator's talks broadcast during the end of 1941 and the beginning of 1942 vital months when the great- changeover from the defensive to the offensive was taking place. With each page we learn something more of the wonderful work of the men who fly and of the heroic deeds that have so often cost the lives of those in action. The latter part of each commentary is devoted to an anecdote of some courageous action oy the fighters of the air. The book is illustrated by many fine portraits of airmen by Eric Kennington. Mr. Philip Guedalla Two valuable little have just been issued in Hodder and Stoughton'a Black Jacket Premiere series. In "The Liberators," Mr. Philip Guedalla. noted historian, publishes his broadcast talks on outstanding figures in history from I Cromwell to Lenin. "Two names have i been added . . . says the author, ! "because I felt that Franklin Roosevelt I and Winston Churchill will leave the world a good deal freer than they found it." The other volume, by Mairin Mitchell, is entitled, "The Red Fleeti and The Royal Navy." It shows _ho_w maritime co-operation between Britain and the U.S.S.R. has been of the greatest importance in this war. Poems of Greece There is a delightfully refreshing charm about the verses of Mr. S. F. A. Coles, traveller and poet, whose latest book, "Cities of Troy," is just published by Lund Humphries and Company, Limited. Here Mr. Coles recalls in verse the beauties and priceless treasures-of history he came across during peacetime travels in storied Greece. His lines have a lovely lilt and behind each musical verse is a wide knowledge of Greek history and legend and a deep love of all that was the very soul of Greece before the fateful days when war's tide grimly swept her shores. One of the loveliest of his pieces is "Greek Temple, Segesta," that rises "thro' breakers of yellow fannel," and beyond which is "the azure smile of the sea." Pick of Punch This year's "Pick of Punch" (Cliatto and Windus) contains more reading matter than any of its predecessors, and the humour that fills its pages is as richly inimitable as ever. The contributors have provided articles, sketches, verses and cartoons in which every aspect of English war-time life is revealed from the angle of the absurd so that even the most jaded can be assured of an unrationed quota of laughs. Literary Study In "Catholicism in English Literature" (, Frederick Muller) Edward Hutton has traced with some enthusiasm the Catholic tradition in our literature. The book involves necessarily a point of view, but it contains well-written chapters of very general interest and keen challenge