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Otago Daily Times, Issue 17319, 20 May 1918, Page 2

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ARRIVAL OF OTAGO SOLDIERS. | Eighty-two invalided inon, including nino cot casos, for Otago reached Port Chulmers shoitly after 6 o clock oil Saturday morning, and wero met by Colonel Falconer, •Major llickey. and Captain Myers, representing tho Defence authorities. No lime was lost iu entraining tho men for Dunedin, whoro they arrived at a quarter to 8. u' (Mayor of Dunedin) was I oil tho platform, <uid welcomed th© men, j though ho inado no speech. Motor cars! provided by tho Otago Motor Club, wero I in waiting, and the Dunedin and suburban men were at onco taken to their homes. Men for north and south of Dunedin wero despatched by tho morning trains. Tho j,cot oasos wero brought to Dunedin in charge of Captain ■ Myers, at midday, and conveyed to tho Dunedin Hospital. The list is as follows:— Second. Lieutenant Stewart D. Macpherson, of Totara—injury of tho thigh. Private Charles Armstrong, of Kaikorai —injury of the thigh. Private James D. Cook, of Awamangu, near Balclutha—fracture of tho left leg." Private William M. Kennedy, of Winton —fractured thigh. Privato Francis "W. Lees, of Tawanui— gastritis. Private Alexander C. Smart, of Clintongunshot wound in log. .Rifleman Robert A. Stewart, of Invercargdl—fracture of leg above ankle. Private Augustus J. F. Watson, of Beaumont fractured femur and damage to kneecap- , One of the members of the ship's crew— B. W. Hudson—was also treated as a cot case being laid up with pleurisy. Captain Bone and members of tho Field Ambulance were at Port Chalmers to ass:st the cot oases, and accompanied them to Dunedin r lho vessel had a fine passage, with* the exception of a few days after leaving her port of departure. Tho trip down the cu.r-it from Wellington was marked by good weather. On the whole, the walking cases are very fit. Some are limping, a few have an arm in a sling,and others are injured in various ways. Two deaths occurred on tho wav out. MORE RETURNING SOLDIERS. WELCOMED HERE LAST NIGHT. Tho southern section of the batch of returning soldiers who reached Auckland last week was brought on here yesterday by special train from Christchurch. The train got away from Christchurch at 25 minutes past 11, and made a fast run of only 7A hours, reaching here at five minutes to f. Of tho 150 men for Otago and Southland, about 30 were set down at stations north of Dunedin, and the remainder came on here. A large crowd was ready on the platform and outside the station to welcome the men, and though the authorities had apparently been somewhat liberal with next-of-kin passes, there was no confusion to speak of when the train drew in. The men were in charge of Major Fleming, and the great majority of them wero evidently in fair health. Among them were at least two holders of decorations —Lieutenant J. J. Moor, wearer of tho Serbian decoration and the Military Medal, and Private Lainchbury. Military Medal (Mornington). Tho Southland men were sent to the Leviathan Hotel, and will continue their journey by tho express "this morning. For the Dunedin men the Otago Motor Club had made liberal provision in the way of motor cars, and though the unreasoning behaviour of the crowd hampered their movements not a little, tho cars were got away with satisfactory despatch. Each of the soldiers was greeted with cheering as he appeared .at the doorway of tho station entrance.