NEWS OF THE DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24525, 6 February 1941, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

COME stretcher cases, men from the Dominion who had beer, wounded Rt Sidi Barrani, were among a party of 200. Australian and New Zealand soldiers and naval ratings, invalided from the Near East, who have been landed in am Australian port. The majority of the men were able to walk to waiting cars, which took them to a convalescent hospital, where they were visited by relatives Most were suffering from illnesses contracted in the desert, while some had nervous disorders. The Royal Australian Navy personnel included were from units serving in the Mediterranean. All had been in ships which had destroyed enemy submarines.

A Missing Millionaire A missing Welsh Guards officer, who is' believed to be dead, Lieutenant the Hon. Christopher Furness, has been left the bulk of the £3,661,930 fortune of his -father, the first Viscount Furness. If the officer’s death is presumed, the title will pass to 11-year-old William Anthony .Furness, son of Lord Furness by a Second marriage. Lord Furness was founder of the Furness-Withy line of steamers.

Counsel to Witness ■ “I cannot hear the witness.” said Mr G. S. Thomas, who appeared for the defence at the hearing of a case in the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon Mr Justice Kennedy .said he thought that the witness was rather intimidated by the manner in which he was being cross-examined: Mr Thomas appeared rather surprised at this, and his Honor told him to go on with the case Mi Thomas then asked if his Honor would make an order that the witness should speak up. His Honor replied that he cotild not make any order of that kind Used Clothes Wanted

The sorting. and packing of goods for shipment to London has been resumed by the Mayoress’s central committee of the Lady Galway Patriotic Guild at the Provincial Patriotic headquarters at the Town Hall The committee would be pleased to receive gifts of suitable articles r' used or made-up clothes, blankets, etc. The goods are shipped by the Otago Provincial Patriotic Council direct from Otago to the High Commissioner’Tor New Zealand in London for distribution, to those whose homes have been destroyed in air raids

Marriage Contract and War An unusual basis for a conscientious objection to . military service was put forward by an appellant before the Armed Forces Appeal Board in Wellington. The appellant, who had married after the date fixed by regulation claimed that his conscience would not permit him to break the solemn marriage contract he had made with his wife. He had contracted to stay along side his wife, he said, and he intended to remain there. He did not consider that he would be in a position to de-fend-his wife if he was taken away for military service.

An Askari Decorated An Askari of the King’s African Rifles, who took charge of a post when his commander and others had been killed by a shell in operations against the Italians in Egypt, has received the Military Medal His name is given as Askari Willie, The post received a direct hit. killing three soldiers, including the section commander, and wounding four others The remainder of the section suffered considerably from shock. Askari Willie took charge of the post, reorganised the defence, and got a light automatic into action. By his example and presence of mind in collecting the survivors and detailing them to the defences, the post was held.

Night Spent on Cliff Two 18-year-old girls and a youth, aged about 19, had a narrow escape from injury when they were stranded in a precipitous gully running down t.q the beach between Clifton and Cape Kidnappers on Saturday afternoon Unable to move, they were forced to spend the night in the shingle-covered bed of the gully They were rescued with ropes by a parly which found them on Sunday afternoon Fissures caused by washouts in the bottom of the gully, some of them 50ft to 60ft deep, made the party’s position during the darkness extremely hazardous Had they moved from their position they were in danger of sliding in the shingle and falling from the mouth of the gully to the beach about 100 ft below. The party had climbed down the gully In an effort to reach the beach, and the girls were clad only in light attire. They spent the night clinging to r tree stump, and had been without food or water for about 24 hours. They were suffering from exposure when rescued. •

Lost Property During the past 12 months the Dunedin police have found in the streets, or have had handed to them, a wide assortment of articles that have been lost or mislaid by their owners. Indeed, 1 the number and the variety of the unclaimed articles would suggest A somewhat remarkable aptitude on the part' of a considerable number of people for losing or forgetting their property. The collection contains a large, number of unclaimed bicycles, Various sums of money, and an assortment of handbags, hats, ’vatches. tools articles' of clothing, and jewellery Persons who have lost property will be given until February 22 to identify and claim their belongings, after which the unclaimed- articles will be sold at public auction..

Where’s the Wind? High in a cloudless sky over Auckland, in a small plane, were an air force instructor and a pupil undergoing elementary training. The instructor (says -the Auckland Star) asked his pupil the direction of the wind at ground level.; Puzzled, the pupil looked at the ground 2000ft,away but soon his face cleared. “Southwest,” he said. The rapidity of the answer surprised the instructor, and he inquired into the means used to calculate. the result The answer was that all the cattle in a paddock were facing north-east, and that cattle graze with their backs to the wind. A quick descent .to grourtd level proved the truth of the statement. South-west il was.

A Legless Hero A legless pilot in the R.A.F, has received the award of the D.F.C. for gallantry. He is Acting Squadron Leader Douglas Robert Stewart Bader, D. 5.0., No. 242 Squadron. He received the D.S.O. as recently as September, when it was stated that during three engagements he led his squadron with such skill that 33 enemy aircraft were destroyed. He then destroyed six enemy machines. It was in 1931, only a year after he got his permanent commission in the R.A.F., that he met with an accident, as a result of which both his legs had to be amputated He was invalided o{it of the service in 1933 but learned to manipulate his two metal legs with such skill that he was readmitted to the R.A.F. in November last year.

Municipal Organ Recital The city organist (Dr V, E. Galway) has arranged an interesting programme of representative organ music for his next recital in the Town Hall on Sunday evening. Two items which are being played for the first time at these popular recitals deserve special mention, viz., “ Sonatina ” in A minor, Allegro-Moderato (Karg-Elert), and “Canon” (Haigh). Other interesting pieces to be performed are: Sinfonia “We Thank Thee, God” (Bach), Dirge for “ Fidele ” (Vaughan Wiiliams). Larghetto in A major (Mozart), “The North Wind” (Alec Rowley). Peer Gynt Suite (1) Morning (2) Death of Ase (3) Anitra’s Dance (4) In the Hall of the Mountain King (Greig). Dr Galway will be assisted by Miss Mary Frazer, who will play the first movement of Beethoven’s Concerto in C minor for piano and orchestra, the orchestral accompaniment being played on the organ Supplies of Fertiliser

“ The fertiliser situation is not quite so bad as was anticipated a month or so ago, and in any case Canterbury farmers will, ori present prospects, get all they need in superphosphates for cropping purposes/', the Minister of Agriculture,(Mr J. G.: Barclay) said in an. interview at. Christchurch. Of course, the Minister said, the shelling and destruction by enemy raiders-.of the loading facilities at Nauru Island had been a blow to New , Zealand s supply of fertiliser, but the British Phosphate Commission had given the Government 'to understand that it would be able to supply the Dominion to a large extent with phosphate rock from Nauru and other sources. Asker, if the Mines Department was, still investigating the serpentine deposits in the North Island as a likely internal source of fertiliser supplies, Mr Barclay replied; “It has gone further than a Mines Department investigation Some of the fertiliser works are installing plant for grinding the serpentine If silico-phosphate is a success, it will be a help to New Zealand in eliminating to some extent the importation of phosphate rock.” Faster Fighting Planes

Aeroplane speeds of from 600 to 700 miles an hour are in sight, according to an article in the Rotarian, in which it is stated that a fuel capable of propelling fighting machines at that rate has already been developed in the oil industry laboratories of the United States. Speeds of 400 miles an hpur are usual for United States machines and the British Spitfire, while the fastest German Messerschmitt is able to touch 350 miles. Authorities have already pointed out that the type of fuel used is often responsible for most of the difference between victory and defeat! The article in the Rotarian states that British iyers nave demonstrated their ability to take 1800 horsepower for brief periods from their Rolls-Royce Merlin engines with the aid of 100 octane fuel, whereas the normal rating with 87 octane (the best Germany can produce . synthetically from coal) is 1050 horsepower. The new fuel which it is now stated is to produce aeroplane spe< ds up to 700 miles an hour—nearly 12 miles a minute compared with a bullet’s speed of eight miles —has an octane rating of 150 or better. Its discovery has been largely due to Professor Vladimir Ipatieff, a famous Russiar scientist and army officer, an exile who has spent the last 10 years in the United Stales.