LATE CAPTAIN HAM

Southland Times, Issue 24684, 4 March 1942, Page 4

LATE CAPTAIN HAM

TRIBUTE BY FELLOW OFFICER “I am met on every side with proofs of the regard and respect all officers and his men had for him. Many describe him as a grand soldier, and the finest gentleman they knew and all feel a sense of personal desolation.” This statement was made by an officer in Suva in a letter to Mrs V. Ham, of Invercargill, wife of Captain T. H. M. Ham who died while on active service in Suva recently. In his letter the officer, who was in close contact with Captain Ham, pays tribute to his qualities and his popularity. “I knew Captain Ham in Invercargill and knew then the respect he was held in by all who knew him, but till I came to be with him in Papakura and here, I had no idea of what a great chap he really was. I wish I could tell you of my own sense of loss,” said the officer in his letter. “I had seen him in hospital on the Friday and he looked well, although tired, and was as cheerful as ever, and anxious to know what was going on in camp. So his loss on the Sunday came as a great shock. The whole camp was cast into gloom that day, and on the Monday everyone wanted to go to his funeral, which was a most impressive one, with full military honours, and there were very few dry eyes.” Captain Ham was born m Ireland, where he was educated privately. He was also educated at Nelson. He served in the Great War from 1915 till 1918. In 1923 he joined the territorials, gaining his efficiency decoration in 1941. He left New Zealand in December and died in Suva on February 1 of this year.