REFUGEEES ON ROADS

Southland Times, Issue 25564, 6 January 1945, Page 3

REFUGEEES ON ROADS

PATHETIC SIGHTS IN ITALY

The refugee problem on the roads in Italy was a big one, said Major J. Milne, who returned to Invercargill yesterday with the draft from the Middle East. From Naples to Cassino, the roads were cluttered with them and many pathetic sights were seen. Cassino, as a town, no longer existed. Major Milne joined the 2nd Echelon, and was commissioned in Trentham. He was for a time chief instructor of the tactical wing of the School of Instruction at Maadi, and for a month was commanding officer. He was wounded at Minqar Qaim and at Cassino. High praise for the work of the New Zealand Clubs and Y.M.C.A. units overseas was given by Major Milne. The clubs were doing good work at Cairo, Rome and Bari, he said, and the work of the Y.M.C.A., especially the representatives with the battalions, was outstanding. THREE ENEMIES IN ITALY

The three enemies encountered in Italy were, in that order, the Germans, the weather and the terrain. No major battles had ever been fought over country like that encountered in Italy, he said. Deep valleys and swift rivers had to be combated and the enemy was always in well-fortified positions. Football had started in Cairo and he had seen several of the games. In one game, played at the El Alamein club between the Maadi base camp team and the Royal Artillery Depot, W. G. Sheriff, former Southland and South Island representative, had hooked against Dalarenzo, an English Rugby international. Sheriff had played an excellent game. J. Taylor, Otago and New Zealand representative, had played for the base team, and had played an outstanding game. Excellent Rugby talent had arrived in a recent reinforcement, and there should be some good games there at present.