PERSONALS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume IV, Issue 1065, 11 July 1917, Page 4

PERSONALS.

Mr O. P.. Pembcrton left last evening for Wellington. ,f His Lordship Bishop Julius returned last evening from a pastoral visit to the West Coast. . Captain Matheson and Mrs Matheson ~ arrived from Wellington by the ferry steamer this morning. Mr .T. A. Frostick, Commissioner for Canterbury on the National Efficiency Board returned from Wellington this 8 morning. 1 j Mr G. F. Wilson, manager of the Lyts telton branch of the Union Steam Ship £ Company, returned from the north this s j morning. At last night's meeting of the Heathc ! cote County Council a vote of sympathy s j was passed to the chairman (Mr Fla- - j veil) in the death of his mother. t? Messrs H. Barr (Wellington), T. Bui- j I j lock (Ashburton), D. C. Peacock (Wele I lington), and G. M. Tolhurst (Amber- . i ley) are staying at Coker's Hotel. a I Mr R. E. Alexander, director of the f ' Canterbury Agricultural College, left | f for Wellington last evening, in order to attend the conference of the Council of ; Agriculture. Mr Thos. Birch, wharf superintendent I for the Union Co. at Auckland for the past 32 years, has retired on superannuation, after 39 years of service. He j received presentations from the coiue pany's local staff and Auckland busi- - ness men. ' Second-Lieut. J. M. Barton, one of the recipients of the Military Cross for ' | his services during the Messines battle, is a son of the late Mr James Barton, jof Dunedin. He left with the sth Re-' inforcement and served on Gallipoli. Uoj •lis now attached to the 12th (Nelson); Company, Ist Battalion, Canterbury In- j ' I fan try Regiment. He has two other, brothers on active service. f The members of the United Bowling' , j Club mustered in force at Freeman's! 51 Cafe last night to bid farewell to Dr j Marks, who is leaving for the front f i shortly, and who is now on final leave. 5 j Mr Sopor, who occupied the chair, ro- . ferred to the many good qualities of Dr Marks, and, in presenting him with an attache case on behalf of the members, expressed the sincere wishes of all that Dr Marks would soou be amongst his club mates again. Dr Marks made a suitable reply. .! Mr Charles Aamodt, one of the best--1 known law clerks in Wellington, died I suddenly at his residence in Jessie 3 i Street, yesterday. The deceased, who - was about 56 years of age, was born and J educated at Wanganui, but he had re--1 | sided in Wellington for 30 years. He r | was for p long time engrossing clerk to -[Messrs Stafford, Treadwell, and Field, -1 and afterwards obtained an appointr nient in the city solicitor's office, reI j taining the position until his death. In i | his earlier days he was a prominent vol- ; unteev and a fine marksman. He was .secretary of the Wellington Guards for r many years, and was also at one time . I secretary of the Wellington Rifle AssoII ciation. j -Mr Thomas Cannon, whose death oc- | curred at his residence, Moncymore, ; near Milton, last week, at the age of 79 ' years, was a native of County Galway, ' Ireland, lie emigrated to the Victorian ' goldfields in 1857, when 1!) years of age,' ' and after three years came to New Zoa- , land's West Coast diggings in 1860. The Gabriel's Gully rush attracted him in the early sixties and he followed! .gold mining in Tuapeka and Adam's | Flat districts for several years. He! I afterwards forsook the goldfields. and! : for eight years worked a lignite coal ; J pit near Crichton. He afterwards pur- , j chased a farming property, and has rc- , j sided in Moneyniore district for the past ' j 38 years. I Mr Morgan O'Brien, who has been J for the past seven years licensee of the! i Waimate Hotel, is, according to a Press! ! Association message, about to leave to take aii his residence in Christchurch. Last evening a farewell social was tendered to Mr O'Brien by representatives lof the Racing Club, Agricultural and Pastoral Association, Caledonian Society, and representative business men. The guest of the evening was presented i with a gold locket pendant, engraved and set in emeralds, while Mrs O'Brien! received a gold bangle, and their children were presented with a purse of sovereigns. The staff of the hotel presented Mr and Mrs O'Brien with a silver shaving set and a dressing-case respectively. , Captain (temporary Major) Owen W. Williams, who -has been awarded the | Military Cross for gallantry in the bat- ' tie of Messines, is the fourth son of the i Rev. W. .1. Williams, of Sumner. Cap-I | tain Williams, who is a Master of Artsj of the New Zealand University, was for-! j merly a teacher at the Nelson Boys', [College and the Wellington Boys' College, being at the latter institution for live years. He left for Egypt in January, 1916, with the 3rd Battalion of the' ■;i'.'e Brigade as a captain. In Egypt! he met his three brothers, who had enliste I before him. From Egypt he '.cent, : to England, where he vas on the staff at [Sling Camp for a time. He had been ion active service for several months i before he was wounded at Messines in the engagement in which he won the Military Cross, lie received a gunshot wound in the head, which is reported as not serious. One of his brothers, Private B. V. Williams, was Killed in the same engagement. The wife and cb.ildren of Captain Williams reside in Christchurch'.

Mr Justice A. 11. Simpson, Chief Judge in Equity in New South Wales, I lias been granted 12 months' leave of absence, preliminary to his voluntary retirement from the Bench. Jle is in his 71>rd year, and has been Chief Judge in ' equity for 21 years, from 1896. Mr 11. Rands, M.A., B.Se., formerly senior science! master at Waitaki Boys' High School, who loft New Zealand' in order to take up research work for the Munitions Department of the Imperial Government, is at present engaged under Professor 11. B. Dixon at the Manchester University conducting experiments in the use of high explosives. Lieut. Eric F. Reeves, whose name a'ppears in the latest list of recipients of the Military Cross, is the eldest son of Mr F. K. Reeves, of (he literary stall' !of the "Evening Post." .lie was attached to the local office of the Public j Trust at the time he enlisted, and left New Zealand with the 9th Reinforce- [ meat. Ho is an old boy of St. Patrick 's College, and is well known in Wellington tennis circles. The deatli occurred at Tiniaru on Sunday of Mr James Straehan, who was the j first to develop the bathing potentiali--1 ties of Caroline Bay, and claimed to ; have put the first standard and wire j fence on the Levels Station. Mr Strai chan was born at Cupar, Vyi'o, Scotland. ! He was for a time on the goldfields at Gabriel's Gully, Nokomai, Arrow, ShotI over, and Cromwell, and also visited the West ('oast. lie was for a short time a member of the Timaru Borough Council. Sergt. L. M. Blyth, New Zealand Rifle i Brigade, who has received the, Military Medal for bravery in the field, is the! | fourth son of" Mr and Mrs T>. Blvth, of 149 Leith Street, Spreydon. Sergt'. Blyth , participated in the Semitic battle" in j 1910, when he was slightly gassed. On ; regaining his unit, he served until the ' attack on Messines, and for his brnvj cry in this battle he received his disI tinction. lie has three other brothers lin the Forces. Sergt. Blyth was wounded on June 13. I