THE DIVISION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26045, 8 January 1946, Page 4

THE DIVISION

DISSOLUTION OF N.Z.E.F. A GRIM FIGHTING FORCE BRIGADE GROUP FOR JAPAN (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 6. The famous Second New Zealand Division, for all practical purposes, has ceased to exist, says The Times. Except for administrative parties clearing up in Italy and the. Middle East the division now consists of a brigade group of about 4000 men who will be New Zealand’s contribution to the occupation forces in Japan. “The cost to ‘New Zealand of the maintenance of the 2nd Division in the field of battle from Greece to Trieste has been heavy,” says the special correspondent of The Times, commenting on the dissolution of the Division, but one valuable legacy for the men of the Division is maturity, unobtainable save by the exceptional few in so insular a country. Thousands of young men have discovered an understanding both of themselves and of those with whom they mixed and fought. Their propagation of that discovery will be a valuable contribution towards the battle for peace. The burden of casualties will be cfffficult to sustain, yet in terms of achievement the cost has not been out of proportion. The Division had a due share in silencing the Hilterian thunder.

“ Britons never could quite understand how the Division could possess discipline when hilarious privates greeted their commander with the famously inconsequent name of ‘ Tiny,’ and yet when the word was passed on that there was a job in hand the Division exhibited a dourness of concentration which was remarkable. To all its tasks the Division brought grimness and a determination almost fantastic in its unexpressed intensity. “It is a matter for pride to know of the Division’s esteem among the Commonwealth, and especially the people of the United Kingdom. It is also a matter for pride to remember the personal membership of the Division. There could be no comparable experience.’,’