ADMIRAL'S VISIT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25082, 21 December 1944, Page 6

ADMIRAL'S VISIT

SPEECH AT RECEPTION INVASION OBSERVATIONS After informally visiting the Royal New Zealand Navy's depot ship and dockyard ut Devonport in the morning and attending a civic reception given at midday in the Town Hall, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Keyes left Auckland yesterday afternoon by air for Welling, ton. He was accompanied by Ladv Keyes, who was the other guest of honour at the civic reception. It is expected that they will return to Auckland about January '26. Lord and Lady Keyes were welcomed at. the civic reception on behalf of the citizens by the Mayor, Mr J. A. C, Allum, and on. behalf of New Zealand and of the Government by the Minister of Internal Affairs. Mr Parry Mrs Allum presented Lady Keyes with a bouquet from the women of Auckland. Mayor's Welcome "You bring with you a record of service and valour in the nation's cause," said Mr Allum, "and to have the opportunity of associating that service with your presence personally among us not only inspires our hearts, but allows the spirit of affection within us to well over and express the deep regard and respect ir- which you are held." Mr Allum recalled that Lord Keyes commanded the destroyer Fame at the time he captured the Taku Forts during the Boxer Rebellion, and said this name had been a talisman and token of the admiral's subsequent naval career, Mr Allum asked that when they returned ! to Groat Britain Lord and Lady Keyes I should tell the British people how much j New Zealand admired their grit, j tenacity and heroism when tin shadows 'of catastrophe hung" over Britain. It would always be a wonderful inspiration to New Zealanders and to the generations to come British Kindness Mr Allum also asked Lord and Lady Keyes to tell the British people how much New Zealanders owed to them for their exceeding kindness to New Zealand servicemen who had been in-Eng-land during the present war in the course of their duty, particularly those men who had been there in training or on operations with the Navy and the Air Force. These men could never speak too highly of the hospitality extended to them. Lord Keyes thanked Mr Allum and Mr Parry "for the generous and kind tones in which he and Lady Keyes had been welcomed to New Zealand, and said that one of his special associations with New Zealand lay in the fact that it was through mutual relations who had heen in New Zealand about 50 years ago that he had met Lady Keyes. He also recalled his friendship with New Zealand Anzacs at Gallipoli, and said he had emphatic memories of their gallant effort and Contempt for death. Invasion of Europe Referring to the Allied invasion of Europe, Lord Keves said he had not been present on invasion day, but had gone across the Channel a few days later and had seen much of the wonderful achievement. All sorts of high-ranking officers in Groat Britain and the United States had thought such a landing was physieallv impossible, but nothing was impossible if there were the right spirit and the right leaders. Both hau been available for the invasion. ■ > "I think the Germans thought it was physieallv impossible for us to build up in France the great armies needed to drive them back to their own frontiers, said Lord Keyes. "They knew we needed great harbours, and they knew al«o that if they were forced to retire they would destroy th«? harbours they left. Thev believed that we would he ■ pinned to' the beaches until the robot ■ bombs, the V2V and other infernal machines had destroyed the morale or ; our people. They launched the attack hv robots on the very night of the landing, and I think they thought that the people would be so beaten by them that the Government would b • forced to attack across the narrow channel in an attempt to capture the bomb sites. British Secret Weapon "But they did not count on the spirit of our people. Personally I think the 1 robots were nothing like as uimleasatit ; as the bombing of tl ' : pur plans were not disturbed and the invasion went on. ~ ' "The Germans did not know anything ' about our secret weapon. We had no : harbours to go to, so we took our har- [ bours with us. It was an- mJ sio-ht, these enormous great artificial 1 harbours behind which t h °usands and ' thousands of tons of slnppingunoaded the tremendous quantities of supply which our armies needed. Out of the ships poured tanks, tho f e o 7 t . We bulldozers, everything we J* d . and at Cherbourg I saw the battleslllp I used to command in the Grandl ileet. She was part of the harbour, he 3 was broken., but she was still standing • proudly up to her duty. i LAND SALES OFFICES ' The North Auckland Land • Committee's office staff mo }j\ *f our th i dav into new quarters on the tour floor of the Dilworth Building, wh 1 the new offices of the South Auckland ; committee will be occupied today. L y ' ; floor m in t€ the *he» . mittees ' ' tasman flying-boat The following passengers left for W • nev bv a Tasman Empire Airways ny ing-boat yesterday;— Messrs A. • , W. Walsh, B R. Law, J. H. Hardw , . H K Smith, L. Bonnington, T. W. Bennett, the Rev. E R dames N. V. Norton, C. A. Turner, Bradley, M. P. Molesworth, Miss J. L. Beattie. PERSONAL ITEMS Mr F. Picot, Commissioner of Supply.' , is at the Station Hotel- ' The Rev. W. H. Norton, of Fitzroy, has been elected moderator of the anaki Presbytery. ; The Hon. W. EParrj. Internal Affairs, returned to AucKia ' from Whangarei yesterday. Dr E. H. Clarke, recently actingmedical superintendent of the - , ; Hospital, has been appointed roedjc superintendent at. the Dannevirke iio« pit.nl. , Dr B. W. Doak, acting-director or the plant chemistry laboratory, 1orston North, has been ejected. a fell of of the New Zealand Institute W. G. Mackintosh, commissioner of Crown lands, W?"' ng *? n 'tr 0 to retire at the end of tine l we V*" has been over 45 years with the dep ment, 19 of them as commissioner Mr H. H. Mountain who had been a member of the Bay of Islands H< Board since its inception has resigned.. Mr J. W. McAulay, who. had seriea on the board almost continuously 23 years, up to the last election, been appointed to fill the vacancy. Mr 1. J. Goldstine, Mayor of On® Tree Hill, has been appointed represen tative of the combined boroughs o Tree Hill, Mount Eden and on the Metropolitan Town Planning Committee. Mr W. A. Gray, consulting engineer, has been appointed r p j tative of the boroughs on the Techn Ad visor v Committee