SUMMER 2015
YOUNGSTERS TELL WW1 STORIES
School students let their creativity loose when given the chance to make an artefact that made a connection with a New Zealand story from World War 1. • See page 8. News
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Defence News
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Remembering
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What’s New
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Tauranga among the top awards
Global Hawk flies high in Kiwi skies
Coincidence leads to Crete odyssey
Landmark book for nursing centenary
The Tauranga RSA has won the ‘community organisation’ section of the city’s annual business awards.
An American remotely-piloted aircraft system has been used in New Zealand for the first time.
A chance meeting and discovery of common ground led two women – one Kiwi, the other German – to Crete together.
Sherayl McNabb has devoted much of the last five years to a labour of love – her history of military nursing is now complete.
VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.RSA.ORG.NZ
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RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
News The official publication of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association Volume 91 No.4 Summer 2015 Published December 22, 2015
In this issue 02 News 06 National 07 Letters 16 Last Post 22 Support 24 Lost Trails 26 What’s On 34 What’s New For RSA Review enquiries and subscriptions, contact: RSA Review Anzac House, 181 Willis Street PO Box 27 248, Wellington 6141 Phone 04 384 7994 Fax 04 385 3325 rsareview@rsa.org.nz www.rsa.org.nz Last Post, What’s On and Lost Trails are placed in RSA Review as a free service. PUBLISHER: James Lynch Ph (03) 983 5500 james@waterfordpress.co.nz EDITOR: Dion Crooks Ph (03) 983 5505 dion@waterfordpress.co.nz ADVERTISING: Paul Crowther Ph (03) 983 5503 paul@waterfordpress.co.nz Dave McKee Ph (03) 983 5518 davem@waterfordpress.co.nz PRODUCTION MANAGER Luke Lynch luke@waterfordpress.co.nz DESIGN & LAYOUT: Mike Parker, Samantha Stuart, Liki Udam, Anton Gray, Jessica Ann, Mike Perry, Emma Bone Ph (03) 983 5560 / art@waterfordpress.co.nz OFFICE / ACCOUNTS: Helen Bourne, Jill Holland, Alex Cohen Ph (03) 983 5500 helen@waterfordpress.co.nz CUSTOMER SERVICES: Ann-Marie Frentz, Sarah McQuilkin, Charlotte Frentz Ph: (03) 983 5554 annmarie@waterfordpress.co.nz GENERAL MANAGER: Rex Lynch rex@waterfordpress.co.nz
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Views and opinions expressed in the RSA Review are not necessarily those of the RNZRSA, Waterford Press Ltd or publisher. RNZRSA accepts no responsibility for loss of manuscripts or photos.
KAPITI MERGER ‘BEST DECISION’ A new-style merger between two clubs, one of them an RSA, could offer a model worth following. Chris Turver, president of the Paraparaumu RSA which has linked with the Kapiti Club in forming Club Vista on the Kapiti Coast, describes the move as “the best decision we’ve ever made”. Both clubs have retained their identities and both continue to run as individual entities in their own right. Sitting across them as an “umbrella trading body” is Club Vista. The partnership agreement – believed to be the first of its type in New Zealand – allows both clubs to preserve their identity. Members of both clubs combine under a new constitution, which has been remodelled and incorporates many of the rules of the RNZRSA. The arrangement has brought two of the area’s oldest clubs – the RSA has been going for 94 years and the Kapiti Club for 49 – together under one roof on the waterfront at Paraparaumu Beach. Each of the two clubs had about 900 members, but both were struggling financially. They got their heads together late last year and began talking about amalgamation. This resulted in the launch of Club Vista by governor general Sir Jerry Mateparae and Kapiti mayor Ross Church in September. While the business arrangement was a landmark in its own right, Turver believes the most significant development has been the 625 new members who have joined in the last two and a half months – with “a fair percentage” of them also joining the RSA. Club Vista is governed by a four-person board (two from each club) and an operations committee (three from each club). The partnership agreement was formalised by a memorandum of understanding and a deed of trust prepared by local lawyers, peer-reviewed by a Wellington legal firm, and then peer-reviewed by a local RSA lawyer to ensure Paraparaumu RSA interests were safeguarded. Chris Turver says one of the most heartening features of negotiations was the commitment of the Kapiti Club to respecting the role and purpose
Governor general Sir Jerry Mateparae and Kapiti mayor Ross Church at the launch of Club Vista.
of the RSA. The RSA retains its full status as an incorporated society, continues to operate as an RSA with its own elected executive, has its own budget to fund ceremonial and commemorative functions, flies the flag on the Club Vista building, and is bound by the RNZRSA rules. At the launch, the governor general congratulated both clubs for “proactively managing change, facing up to challenges, and finding a pragmatic solution”. He described the agreement as a great example of what was possible when the basis for discussion and decision was goodwill. Ross Church says both clubs have done a great deal for their community and have the support of the Kapiti Coast District Council. The old Paraparaumu RSA building is up for sale and the proceeds will help fund development of Club Vista. The proceeds will be ring-fenced under the partnership agreement to ensure that
should the new club fail, the RSA’s contribution goes to the RNZRSA. Chris Turver says it has been a huge wrench for RSA members to give up their old building – constructed largely by the voluntary labour over nine decades – because it encompassed a wealth of local history. “We looked at all sorts of options for survival, but everybody recognised we could not go on as we were. The overwhelming vote of 240 to five (at an extraordinary general meeting in May) in favour of amalgamation said it all.” It took six months to develop the partnership agreement, a huge amount of discussion with lawyers because of the unusual nature of the proposal, clarification on gaming and liquor licences with the authorities, and consultation with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies who approved the new constitution.
Palmerston Nth RSA rises from the ashes Sue Russell The difference between seeing something as an ending and seeing it as a beginning is often all about a positive and flexible attitude. And that seems the case with the happy re-birth of the Palmerston North RSA. The ability to regroup and turn a threat into an opportunity at a time when some RSAs have closed and others are facing uncertain futures has been a vital element for those connected with the re-opening of the Palmerston North RSA. “When the old Palmerston North RSA closed (because of major financial problems) in 2012 just four years shy of its 100-year anniversary, there was a real sense of loss,” says Joe Hollander, a retired Royal New Zealand Engineers lieutenant colonel. “Our RSA was one of the oldest in the country and had been a significant organisation in a city which has strong military connections given its proximity to New Zealand Defence Force bases at Linton and Ohakea.” He is quick to credit the establishment of a new RSA with a fresh focus and direction as coming from an open willingness on the part of the refounding members to work with determination and imagination to secure its purpose. Many NZDF personnel stationed at Ohakea and Linton live in and around Palmerston
The new RSA sign outside the Distinction Palmerston North Hotel.
North, and Hollander recalls the real concern from many of them who valued and honoured the history and place of the old RSA. “The previous commander of 1 (NZ) Brigade, Col Nick Gillard, from Linton Camp, was really concerned that the earlier close of the Palmerston North RSA had left a big hole in the community. When the RSA closed, its members naturally
joined other local clubs that offered the activities they once enjoyed at the RSA, which is understandable.” But, instead of accepting the demise, Joe Hollander and several other members decided to do something about it. Along with fellow members Harry Komene and John Thorn, he met with RSA National Office staff to discuss a proposal to form a new RSA as an incorporated society. This initiative received positive support from RSA National which, at a critical time, provided the impetus to continue with the development of a constitution, a new structure, and venue arrangements. This has evolved over the past two years and created the necessary format for a new RSA. A public announcement was made after the Anzac Day 2015 civic parade, and a community meeting was called with three purposes in mind – to profile the new organisation; to gather expressions of interest in becoming members; to gain community feedback on a vision of what the new RSA could be. There was standing room as more than 300 people turned up to the May 26 meeting. RSA National President BJ Clark and Chief Executive Officer David Moger supported the initiative and attended the meeting. To page 4
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RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
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RSA’S BOLD STEPS RECOGNISED Kelly Deeks
Takapuna’s Neville Clarke back on terra firma. Photo: North Shore Times
WW2 vet takes plunge on 94th birthday What’s the best way to celebrate your 94th birthday. How about a near-3000 metre skydive? That, the North Shore Times reports, was Takapuna resident Neville Clarke’s answer any way. He’s a fellow with a bit of history. He’s a World War 2 veteran and a former airline captain who logged more than 20,000 flying hours before retiring from Air New Zealand in 1976. His family gave him a balloon ride for his 90th birthday and afterwards he said he’d really like to do a skydive. When asked about his 94th birthday present, that was his choice. He reckons jumping through the air was a breeze strapped to a skydive instructor: “You sort of stick your legs out and it’s one, two, three and you’re away. It was interesting having flown a lot. “You wear goggles and you’re tightly strapped to the bloke behind you; it didn’t feel like anything, it was like diving off a board into a swimming pool.” Under an expert eye, the instructor made a really smooth landing – “what pilots call a real grease-up,” says Neville.
Recognition as the city’s top community organisation in the Tauranga Business Awards is reward for a bold change of direction by the Tauranga RSA six years ago. Tauranga is the only RSA in New Zealand that runs in conjunction with a full hospitality business, and this award is testament to the success of that decision and the club’s excellent governance, management and staff, says general manager Graham Howard. The ‘community organisation’ category of the awards recognises management excellence in organisations outside the private sector, including not-for-profit, schools, and local government. Entrants were judged on: leadership; people management and development; customer service; planning; customer and market focus and branding process; systems and quality management; workplace health and safety; and business financial performance. Competition entries were accompanied by an executive summary to help judges establish an overview of each business, how it operates, and its key influences and key challenges. With the new trophy on the shelf, the RSA is looking forward to a merry Christmas when up to 300 people will be served a “slap-up” Christmas dinner in the club’s restaurant. The Tauranga RSA went through some difficult times when it went ahead with a big development and construction of a new hall in 2002. The club became asset rich and cash-flow poor, says Graham Howard. “This, along with ageing club membership, led us to the point of taking a good look at ourselves.” By 2006, he had written a projection on where the club would be in 10 years. Based on this, a
Tauranga RSA management and staff celebrate winning the city’s top community organisation award.
futures committee was formed to look at making changes to secure the club’s future. “The committee looked at options over the next three years, and decided the one thing the club had to do was diversify,” says Graham. “We had a big focus on non-member income. We looked at building, we looked at amalgamating, then we investigated purchasing the Greerton Motor Inn. That ticked a lot of our boxes – it just meant we had to adapt the club to run in conjunction with a business. We’ve gone through a huge transformation.” In 2009, the former clubrooms was sold and the motor inn bought. Howard now manages the club, the 22-room Greerton Motor Inn, the 250-seat Oak Tree Restaurant, and a handful of commercial rental properties. He says the RSA is always looking at options
for improving the club for its members and for the community. “This is what gives us the basis to complete our welfare objective and support the veterans in the community. That’s what it all comes down to. We need a solid base to be able to fulfil our role of support services. We have help available to assist where Veterans Affairs does not, and we’re also in contact with a lot of other agencies. We can help any member of the club, not just returned servicemen.” The Tauranga RSA is now focusing on youth development. A new youth development fund supports Tauranga’s three cadet units and awards to local high schools for outstanding community services. The club is now considering further support for high-school students with scholarships for training after leaving school.
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RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
RADIATION ‘PROBABLY LESS THAN AT HOME’ Kiwi sailors on New Zealand’s two protest frigates at the 1973 French nuclear testing at Mururoa had no more, probably less, exposure to radiation during their one-month deployment than their families back in New Zealand, a governmentcommissioned report concludes. “The on-board monitoring results indicate that crews of neither ship were exposed to significant radiation attributable to the weapon tests,” the report concludes. It also discounts radiation exposure from drinking distilled seawater. The report, produced by Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd, puts this down to lower natural background radiation levels over the oceans and minimal exposure to other sources of radiation crews. Veterans’ affairs minister Craig Foss requested the report in response to a two-year campaign for an investigation by the Mururoa Veterans’ Group. The group represents the 650 veterans (and their families) who were on board HMNZS Canterbury and HMNZS Otago and their supply ship, Australian tanker HMAS Supply, which were sent by the New Zealand government to French Polynesian Mururoa atoll in 1973 to draw international attention to the French testing. Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd was commissioned to consider three factors:
• external does rate of radiation to veterans from nuclear testing; • internal dose rate from seawater used in ships; • hereditary effect on offspring. The Mururoa Veterans’ Group had hoped the report would prompt a closer look at the effects of radiation on their children and grandchildren, many of whom are showing signs of inter-generational conditions they believe are linked to nuclear fall-out. However, the ESR report does not touch on the heredity factors. Having discounted dose rates as having any significance, heredity became irrelevant in ESR eyes. But Mururoa Veterans’ Group president Wayne O’Donnell describes the report as a “whitewash”, claiming it is “ridiculous” to say these sailors were not exposed to more radiation than people at home. The ESR report has used data that contradicts easily-available data from French and Tahitian authorities, he says. Because measuring equipment on the Otago failed and was not installed on Canterbury, there are no records of salt water, fresh water or food testing. “There’s nothing in the report that you or I couldn’t get off the internet. He says the group is worried for their descendants, who could be hurt by this report: “My main
concern is, when I go toes up, who’s going to look after my kids, my grandkids, great-grandkids in the future? That’s the worrying part.” Meanwhile the group continues to collect health data from about 300 sailors and “quite a number of families we are still talking to” to compare with veterans who did not go to Mururoa. The aim is to present the results to to the Government early next year. He says this work shows high rates of deaths with radiation-related illnesses among the sailors, a high rate of birth defects in children and grandchildren, and a very high rate of female infertility, and a high rate of of stillbirths and miscarriages. The ESR report relied almost exclusively on information gathered by Jim McCahon, a National Radiation Laboratory radiation officer who spent time on both ships. “The only radiological record available for the deployment is McCahon’s report, with other information contained in ships messages (such as news media releases) being based on McCahon’s reporting of on-board monitoring,” the report says Personal devices (dosimetry badges) worn by the crew to monitor radiation levels ended up being of limited value: “Unfortunately, the personal dosimetry badges were fraught with practical problems during the voyage. After
the rendezvous with Canterbury, McCahon found to his dismay that badges worn by crew of that ship had been tampered with due to lack of training, rendering most unusable. For example, badges had been taken out of their plastic envelopes, chips removed, and badges put through the laundry. In fact, only 35 of the original Canterbury issue could be used.” Based on the information gathered by McCahon, the report concluded the crew on neither frigate was exposed to significant levels of radiation, that could be attributed to the weapons testing. “The Otago crew was exposed to none; with external radiation levels, atmospheric radioactivity levels, and contamination levels being essentially zero. The only difference for Canterbury was that traces of atmospheric radioactivity were detected a day after the test, with this potentially delivering a small dose of less than 0.05 millsievert.” Drinking water contamination, arising from the distillation of seawater, has been discounted as a possible method of exposure. O’Donnell says the Mururoa Veterans’ Group requested copies of the McCahon information two years ago, but was told it could not be found. “Now, it suddenly appears again.” The group has also sought copies of the full crew lists, which were also declared unavailable.
Palmerston Nth RSA rises from ashes From page 2
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“We were completely blown away by the level of interest,” says Hollander. “If ever there was a groundswell of support from the community for re-establishing an RSA, this meeting surely was that moment.” With momentum gathering, a committee was formed to establish a new club which, at that time, had no place to call home other than an office area made available at the Senior Citizen’s Centre so that RSA welfare work could continue. “Welfare activities were quite distinct from the old RSA club itself as it was operated under a separate trust that continued after the club closed,” says Ian Bailey, a current committee member. In support of the inaugural community meeting, Jeff Thompson, owner of the Distinction Hotel chain, and his New Zealand chief executive officer, Duncan Fletcher, made facilities available at the Distinction Palmerston North Hotel (formerly the Carlton Hotel), offering a place for the new RSA to meet. It was perfect timing, just the opportunity the RSA needed – a place to call home. An office was opened on July 13 and the new PNRSA (2014) Inc was launched on July 29. “We discovered there was so much support from people like Jeff and Duncan, from Palmerston North city councillors, from mayor Grant Smith. He has always been a great supporter, understanding the proud and unique military heritage and history of this region,” says Joe Hollander. The new Palmerston North RSA is seeking to forge a new pathway, on becoming more involved and visible in community activities. While honouring the proud heritage of the former club and the historical connections that abound through the city, he says the key vision of those now steering the club are built around reconnecting with families and younger members of the community. “Something as simple as connecting our older veterans in meaningful ways face to face with children at school, is an incredibly powerful undertaking. It is important to get the teachers involved in seeing these interactions as vital learning opportunities.” The club has a number of World War 2 veterans amongst its ranks, and, with its future secure
PHOTOS: Above, far left: The new Palmerston North RSA’s new home...the Distinction Palmerston North Hotel. Above: The new executive : Rear (from left), George McIrvine (chair), Ian Bailey, Kevin Cameron, Gordon Smith, Mike O’Connor, Carl Ewart, Graeme Newbury. Front (from left), Betty Egan, Leanne Rippey, Val Lamb, Huia Niall, Terri Holmes. Absent, Joe Hollander, David Leese.
and a commitment by the Distinction Hotel as its home-base for several years, there is a real sense of optimism. With the Palmerston North RSA’s centenary commemorative year just around the corner (celebrations are planned for May 2016) , there is plenty to look forward to. “Yes, next May will be a very big celebration for us all,” says Joe. “There was a time not so long ago that we wouldn’t have thought it possible to be blowing out the candles on 100 years. We are very proud and delighted to have achieved this.” Club members gather from 4pm to 7pm each Wednesday, recite the Ode, enjoy a meal and fellowship just a stone’s throw from the original RSA site on the corner of Cuba and George streets. While that building remains, some club photos and records have been preserved thanks to the Palmerston North City Library and Archives staff. “That’s another example of how much support there is for the club from all quarters in this city,” says Hollander. “I feel certain we are embarking on a bright, new future in a form that may pioneer a way for how other RSA clubs with an uncertain future can go on.”
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RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
Groups pitch in for Christmas treats
WW1 TRAILS A NZ PERSPECTIVE Karen Phelps
RSA National President BJ Clark lends a hand with New Zealand Defence Force and Countdown staff.
So, what’s a cause that can bring together St Brendan’s School pupils, Countdown workers, RSA headquarters staff and Defence Force personnel? How about Kiwi servicemen and women spending their Christmas overseas on duty for their country. Countdown provided the goodies, the NZDF attended to the logistics, and the St Brendan’s and RSA troops pitched in with the labour to put together Kiwiana-themed care packages for the 200-plus Defence personnel serving overseas to remind them of home and keep up their spirits at Christmas. The packages include a few treats soldiers overseas don’t usually get – such as chocolate, lollies, chips and dip, popcorn, Marmite and Raro. Distribution co-ordinator Lynne Smith, who is welfare co-ordinator at Joint Forces, says her feedback shows that Kiwiana foods that a taste of home are really well received: “Chips and dip have been long-time favourites.” RSA National President BJ Clark fondly recalled receiving such packages when he was in the Sinai Peninsula and Antarctica. “Men don’t cry,” he says. “But the odd tear comes to your eye when you’re away and you open one of these up. It reminds you of your family at home celebrating Christmas without you.”
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An interpretative trail using modern technology and spanning several countries is helping people gain a better understanding of New Zealand’s contribution during World War 1. There are three ways to take the trails: download the smartphone or tablet apps (Nga Tapuwae Gallipoli and Nga Tapuwae Western Front); explore the trails on a computer (http://ngatapuwae.govt.nz/stories/gallipoli/explore.html or http://ngatapuwae.govt.nz/stories/westernfront/ explore.html); or print paper guides. The trails are free to use and once the apps are downloaded, wi-fi is not required to keep viewing the app. WW100 senior communications and engagement adviser Clare Fraser says WW100 wanted to ensure opportunity for an enhanced visitor and learning experience, whether virtually or in the locations significant to New Zealand’s history. “While some individual locations in Gallipoli and on the Western Front provide a certain amount of detail on New Zealand involvement,
Trails include audio guides, personal stories, historical insights, travel planning info. there was no coherent experience. The trails fill this need for New Zealand-specific information that is accessible, comprehensive and authoritative.” Nga Tapuwae New Zealand First World War Trails, a WW100 legacy project, guides people through World War 1 historic landscapes and sites while using narrative to lead them through New Zealand’s story. The trails include audio guides, soldiers’ personal stories, historical insights and travelplanning information to help people explore Gallipoli and discover the Western Front. Fraser
says the trails are designed for travellers wanting to navigate the trails on the ground and as a guide for those wanting to explore from home. The Gallipoli trails have been available since March 2015 and the Western Front Trails have been released recently. The trails include dioramas and interpretive signs. The first Gallipoli diorama was installed at the Çanakkale Epic Promotion Centre in March. It depicts a scene at Quinn’s Post, where Anzacs and Ottoman trenches were very close to each other. Fraser says there are no interpretive signs at Gallipoli because it is a national park. Three dioramas, five interpretive signs and one digital installation have been installed on the Western Front. The dioramas are at Carrière Wellington, Arras (of soldiers in the tunnel), Plugstreet 14-18 at Ploegsteert (New Zealand soldiers reading and writing letters from home inside their shelters in the catacombs), and at Musée de la Grande Guerre at Meaux (New Zealand soldiers playing rugby against the French, based on a game played in 1918).
Cenotaph location for restored howitzer An historic artillery piece used by New Zealanders in the Vietnam War is once again guarding the New Plymouth waterfront. The Italian-made Pack Howitzer spent 18 years outside the New Plymouth RSA’s Strandon clubroom before being placed into storage six years ago. It now sits across the road from New Plymouth’s Cenotaph. The howitzer was taken to the Trentham army base for restoration after many years of being exposed to the elements and “starting to look like a piece of scrapmetal”, says RSA president Graeme Lowe.
“Now it’s pretty much good as new,” he says. In action the howitzer was crewed by seven to eight men and could fire a 105mm shell up to 10.5 kilometres. The relocation of the gun was a joint project between the RSA and the New Plymouth District Council. New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd says it’s appropriate to have the howitzer on display near the Cenotaph as a memorial to those New Zealanders who did not return from the war. Thirty-seven New Zealanders lost their lives and 187 were wounded in Vietnam.
The fully restored howitzer now sits opposite the New Plymouth Cenotaph
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RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
National Office
DEMOCRACY, NOT SABOTAGE, BEHIND RSA STANCE ON THE FLAG BJ Clark, RSA National President
The flag referendum process continues to be debated and it seems that an increasing number of people are either against change or do not think there was a need to raise the issue. A significant majority of RSA members have indicated they wish to retain the current flag, and we have received numerous emails, phone calls and letters from the public with the expectation we would lead the fight – and we shall continue to do so. Some people arguing for a change in the flag portray the RSA as trying to sabotage or gerrymander the first flag-referendum. Nothing
could be further from the truth. Democracy is what the RSA is all about. It is what many of our veterans have fought to preserve around the world. While we oppose any change to the flag, we support the democratic right of all New Zealanders to have an opinion. Our position is that the referendum process is flawed because the first vote, between five options, does not allow those who support the current flag to have their say. That is why we have talked about the sixth option – writing ‘I vote to keep the current flag’ on voting papers. If
people write something different on their voting paper, these invalid votes will still be totalled up, giving a clearer picture of what people think. Critics have said we are advocating spoiling the vote, when, in fact, we are advocating freedom of choice and freedom of speech. By the time you read this, the votes will have been cast and the flag to compete with our current flag in the second referendum will have been chosen. As the RSA moves into its 100th year, we shall continue our advocacy for the current flag as the next referendum draws closer and we will
continue to respect everyone’s opinion and right to vote however they please. Our advocacy on this issue has resulted in significant brand exposure for the RSA and given us the opportunity to use this as a platform to share key messages with the public about who we are and what we do. The number of media requests for interviews on this issue shows that the voice of the RSA is being heard and that people are interested in what we say. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.
OUR WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TRADITION David Moger, RSA Chief Executive On September 29, I was delighted to join RSA President BJ Clark, RSA Vice-President Bob Hill, chief of navy Rear Admiral Jack Steer, Jacki Couchman (head of Veterans Affairs), Richard Manton (general manager of strategy and corporate affairs at Countdown), RSANZ National Office staff, New Zealand Defence Force military attendees in uniform, Countdown staff, parents and children from the Trentham Military Base, and pupils from the Mt Cook Primary School at the Trentham Sports Complex in Upper Hutt where we packed Christmas boxes for New Zealand troops deployed on operational missions overseas. This wonderful RSA tradition started in the 1940s and has stood the test of time because it means so much to the troops abroad and their families here in New Zealand. It’s not easy being so far from home during such a special holiday, and this is our small way of showing our appreciation for the hard work they are doing. We volunteers packed more than 200 Christmas
Children from the Trentham Military Base and Mt Cook Primary School help pack the Christmas boxes.
boxes with products generously donated by Countdown – puddings, chips, snacks, gum, toothbrushes, popcorn, Maggi onion soup,
Nestle reduced cream, and much more. The parcels have proved very popular, with a survey last year telling us that the serving
personnel who received the parcels were very grateful and that, not surprisingly, the most popular items received were those that had a ‘taste of home’. A charming Christmas card from the children at Mt Cook Primary was included in each package, which was sure to bring a smile to the service men and women currently stationed overseas as part of operational missions in Afghanistan, Antarctica, the Combined Maritime Force, Iraq, the Middle East, Sinai, South Korea and South Sudan. The chief of Defence Force, LtGen Tim Keating, said: “The New Zealand Defence Force has a number of deployments around the world, often in difficult and dangerous places. “Our personnel are far away from home and family, and this excellent gesture will be very much appreciated by our people”. The Forces Gift Parcels is just one of many ways the RSA supports our servicemen and women. It’s a tradition we look forward to continuing in our 100th year and beyond.
NEW ERA FOR HOSPITALITY
Please consider Montecillo when planning Wills and Bequests
Grant Marris RSA Business Development Manager
63 Ba Bay View Road, Dunedin Ph (03) 4 466 - 4778 Email: infor information@montecillo.org.nz www.montecill www.montecillo.org.nz
The Foxhole café is a new, exciting café franchise the RNZRSA is rolling out at RSAs. It represents a period of change for the RSA as we look for ways to open our doors to welcome new members, while providing the same great hospitality our members have come to love. Once you walk into Foxhole café, you can be assured you’ll receive the same high quality of coffee, food and service, no matter which one you visit around the country. And we have to
say, the coffee and pastries are great. We debuted a pop-up version of the Foxhole at our 99th National Council in Wellington and the V8 Supercars Fan Day at Queens Wharf, Auckland, where we gave away 1000 free coffees. Feedback was excellent – with some punters even wanting more than one coffee. One RSA has already embraced the concept, with Mount Maunganui opening its hospitality venture in December. If you’re in the Bay of Plenty over summer, why not check it out? We look forward to bringing you further updates about a Foxhole café opening up in your area.
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RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
Your say RSA WITH A VIEW: Alistair Kerr
WE MUST ADJUST TO BEING A `FAMILY CLUB’ A fellow RSA member who attended the 2015 National Council gave me his meeting folder to read, and I was interested to see that much time was given to addressing the need to update our standard rules. I am a member of a sub-committee doing just that for our local association. I was heartened to see that amongst the changes are two rules that will allow and encourage the admission of family and couples memberships. You may recall that some time ago, I advocated the admission of junior members as a means of ensuring continuity and I am sure this current move will go even further to help in this way.
Families and couples will, we hope, bring their children, some of whom may stay on as full members. It is another indication of the changing nature of our association; each RSA needs to market itself as a family-oriented social venue. That, of course, carries with it the responsibility to ensure everything about the club falls within that description or, if a purely adult activity such as gaming and bar amenities, is strictly controlled. As we move from being a ‘men-only’ association, to an ‘adult club’ association, to a ‘family club’ association, it is clear that some
of the previous standards have to be modified to accommodate the transition. We need to be aware that criteria such as the use of suitable language within the club and the content of club publications and entertainment, must at all times be seen to be of a standard acceptable within the confines of the family home. If that sounds a bit “prudish”, I make no apology. We must live up to our publicly declared standards, and if we are to survive, those values must fit the family-club model. No doubt, human nature being what it is, some long-standing members may have some
concerns that such changes will impair their enjoyment of a venue which has, for so long, been just for their needs. But I am sure any such complaints will be gently, positively and firmly explained. And if you think that is a radical change, ponder on this. I am researching the history of my own club for its centennial in 2019 and I learned of a secretary-manager from the 1940s era who was adamant the club should not only refuse to admit women, even as guests, but that returned air force and navy men were also excluded. How times have changed– thank goodness!
YOUR LETTERS I wholeheartedly support the stand taken by the RSA in the debate on the referendum for a new flag. As the RSA and other New Zealanders have told the select committee, the two-referrals process is flawed. If that process had followed a logical and democratic approach, the first referendum would have been to establish that a majority of New Zealanders desired that the current New Zealand flag be changed. If that first referendum showed there was a majority who wished to see our current flag changed, then there could be a second referendum as to how and what the new design should be.
Two-referral flag process flawed The process is also flawed in that once the legislation had been passed by Parliament, there should have been no further debate or discussion by any serving member of Parliament until the first referendum had been held. Instead, we have the Prime Minister making public his personal views on the need for a new flag and also what he sees a new flag design consisting of, and Parliament itself adding – after the legislation had been passed – a new
design to the four selected to be considered in the first referendum. I do not agree with Chris Mullane, as he has publicly stated, that the RSA should not be entering into the political arena about the debate on whether we should have a new flag. I am – and I believe all other members should be – positive that the RSA National Council should stand up for what the RSA believes in as well as what help we should have available
to us as servicing or retired servicemen. I have always understood that democracy was a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. If that means being politically involved in matters that concern us, I wholly support the RSA council, and I hope that goes for all other members. Graham Sims Masterton
8 News
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
STUDENTS CREATIVE IN REMEMBERING WW1 A picture poem by a six-year-old, a soldier’s diary penned by a nine-year-old, a poster produced a year-9 student and a commemorative garden created by two senior secondary school students were the winners in a competition to commemorate World War 1. The Their Stories, Our Stories competition, run by the Ministry of Education and the Fields of Remembrance Trust, asked students to create an artefact that made a connection with New Zealand stories from World War I. There were 148 entries across four age-group categories, with 18 winning prizes. The top prize, valued at $880, went to Cam Loft and Cheyenne Ballantine, of Hauraki Plains College, Ngatea, who created a garden with an Anzac mural and commemorative cross. Six-year-old Daniel Lovewell, of Adventure School in Porirua, won the years 1-4 category with his picture poem in the shape and colours of an Anzac poppy. James Broadwith, now nine, from Kaingaroa College, topped the years 5-8 category with his diary of a young soldier which he dedicated to his great-grandfather. Anjali Gentejohann, of Samuel Marsden Collegiate, won the years 9-10 category with a poster that contrasted Gallipoli today with the Gallipoli of 1915. Year 13 students Cam Loft, 18, and Cheyenne Ballantine, 17, designed and created an Anzac garden in the heart of Hauraki Plains College. The garden contains a mural, a bed of plants, a cross and a white picket fence – all made by people within the school. Each part of the garden represents a different part of World War 1, including the Gallipoli landing. “The garden is our way as a younger generation to thank the soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice,” says Cheyenne. The garden took 14 weeks, with much of the work was done outside class hours, and the whole school involved. “The mural was designed and painted by Year 13 art students and volunteers, including Cam and me, which was hard at times because we have limited artistic knowledge. The fence was built by year-12 and year-13 construction students and was painted by the school motocross team with help from volunteers. The large cross was constructed by Cam and me.” Hauraki Plains College students are encouraged to leave their legacy and the competition provided the perfect opportunity to do just that. “We wanted to leave a little bit of themselves at the school to honour their heritage,” says Cheyenne. “It’s a part of all of us. They (Anzac soldiers) fought for our freedom, so that’s something we need to continue to honour.” On Anzac Day, Hauraki Plains College held its first dawn service at the garden, which continues to remind students, teachers and the school community to remember the sacrifice made during World War I. The theme of Daniel Lovewell’s picture poem was citizenship and what Anzac Day means to people in 2015 – from Anzac biscuits and poppies to dawn services and thinking about soldiers who have been killed. “Poems are really fun to write,” he says.“It is also very important to remember everyone who died in the wars. My poem is simple and it reminds people to always remember our Anzac soldiers.” The year-2 student’s poem was published in his school’s newsletter, on a poetry blog and at the National Army Museum in Waiouru. James Broadwith (years 5-8) wrote a fictional diary of a young Kiwi soldier in World War 1. It started as a school project, but when he heard about the competition, he decided to try his luck. He concentrated on the landings at Anzac Cove in April through to the assault on Chunuk Bair in August. While he created the diary entries, the details about the war within its pages are historically accurate. “I’ve learnt about the various events that happened over those months and some of the brave leaders – like William Malone, who led the
Above: The winners of the top prize for their college garden with mural and commemorative cross design were Hauraki College year-13 students Cheyenne Ballantine and Cam Lofts. Right: James Broad with Ian McKenzie, a trustee of the Fields of Rembrance Trust. Below: Anjali Gentejohann’s poster that contrasted Gallipoli today with the Gallipoli of 1915.
Left: Daniel Lovewell’s winning Anzac poem. Above: Daniel, right, with his father and sister, Gemma.
Wellington Battalion,” says the nine-year-old. “I’ve also gained more respect for the people who fought and died – even people like my greatgranddad who fought in another world war.” He is a member of the Doubtless Bay St John Cadets and has marched in the Mangonui Anzac parade since 2012. “I have been interested in war and history since I was quite young,” says James, who was raised hearing stories about his great-grandfather’s war experience. “I really enjoyed doing the research because I learnt a lot about the events and dates of these things. It is important to remember the sacrifice made by those in years gone by. They gave us
the world we live in now. Without them, things could have been different today.” His great-grandfather, Bruce Hosken 1913–2001, was a rear gunner in Lancaster bombers during World War 2. “He was really brave.” A visit to Te Papa’s Gallipoli: The Scale of our War exhibition inspired 14-year-old Anjali Gentejohann’s poster of two paintings and a poem. The paintings are both of Anzac Cove in Gallipoli – one shows soldiers storming the beach in 1915, the other hundreds of people at a dawn service in 2015. The contrast is stark. Anjali, in Year 10 at Samuel Marsden Collegiate in Wellington, enjoys doing anything creative. She says it is important not to forget what
happened in 1915: “I had the thought that it has been exactly 100 years since the Gallipoli campaign and I wanted to show the difference between the two times.” While in 1915, the Allied forces fought against the Turks, in 2015 people from New Zealand and Turkey stand shoulder to shoulder to honour the sacrifice of those who took part in the battle. Her poem highlights the contrast between what was once “a raging battlefield and is now land drenched with the tears of grief”. It is important to remember the past so that the same mistakes are not repeated, Anjali says: “We must also commemorate those who gave up their lives for our country.”
10 News
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
ITALIAN AUDIO ‘NOT ALL ABOUT BATTLE’ Sue Russell Dave Homewood has always been interested in war history, but it wasn’t until he served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force that he began to appreciate the value of stories told by those directly involved. “I was based at Wigram and the guides who showed visitors around were World War 2 vets. They could speak first-hand about the air force and their role in the war, and that added so much value to the commentary.” He also discovered a significant proportion of World War 2 veterans in his local Cambridge district had been in the air force, so decided to use his IT skills to keep the history alive and launched a Wings Over Cambridge website in 2004. This has led to an audio-history project – Courage and Valour: New Zealanders in the Italian Campaign. The late Peter Lee, a good friend and former Waipa district deputy mayor of Waipa District, was keen to twin Te Awamutu with the town of Cassino, in Italy. He suggested Dave listen to the stories of four Te Awamutu veterans of Cassino – RSA members Colin Murray, Norm Harris, Bob O’Brien and Peter Brown. “I had the amazing and privileged experience to meet these four gentlemen for a day at the RSA and recording their stories,” says Dave. “As I listened, I realised there was so much about the Italian campaign I had never heard about.” He and others connected with the project have continued to find more and more Italy veterans prepared to share their memories. “A lot of these people had never told their story...I simply let their story unfold chronologically. You find 60 per cent are pretty good at giving their story, 20% are difficult to draw out, and 20% are so good they just shine.” Two aspects to the project were really important
Italian veterans – Above, left: Pat Green (Hamilton), 24Bn; Above: the original Te Awamutu foursome (from left), Norm Harris (24Bn), Peter Brown (Artillery), Colin Murray (24Bn), Bob O’Brien (24Bn). Left: The day of the audio-series launch...from left, standing – Colin Murray, the late Harry Hopping, Alan Peart DFC (RNZAF fighter ace); seated – the late Fred Blank, Galvan Garmonsway, the late George Falconer, Brynn Hughes.
to Dave – that the veterans told their story in their way, remembering the events most significant to them; and that once preserved, the stories would be available to be listened to. Courage and Valour is already New Zealand’s most significant oral history of the Italian theatre. Ten episodes have been digitised and can be listened to free from the website or through an iPod, smart phone, laptop or device capable of playing MP3 files. The series is also on iTunes. From late 1943 to the end of WW2, thousands of New Zealanders fought in Italy as part of a massive multinational force. While the Italian government surrendered following the Allied invasion of September 1943, war continued for another 18 months as Italy’s former ally,
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Germany, continued to defend the peninsula. More than 2100 New Zealanders were killed and more than 6500 wounded in Italy. While the stories stem out of the context of engagement in often fraught battle conditions, many veterans have talked of other things. “It’s not all about battle. They talk about their recreation, when they came off the line for a spell, their opinions of the Italian people, the looting that went on, the blackmarket activity of the day, all sorts of themes. And that makes these interviews so topical and a real eye-opener.” The first episode, Joining the Army and Training in New Zealand, focuses on experiences before leaving New Zealand. Each episode follows the events of the Italian war chronologically, from
Castel Frentano and Orsogna through to Trieste and War’s End. Episode 10 – aptly titled Life In The Poor Bloody Infantry – paints a vivid picture of the conditions and issues servicemen faced. While the first 10 episodes have covered the infantry, Dave has plans to document all the services in which New Zealanders fought in Italy...”the Engineers, Medics, the Armoured units, the Divisional Cavalry, the Air Force and Navy, the Artillery and POWs”. Each episode is a compilation of stories connected with a specific event or context. And each veteran has a slightly different take and thinking around the events. says Dave. “It’s very much a personal commentary, and that’s where the value is. The detail of memory these guys have about their time in Italy amazes me, and there are many, many, very poignant moments.” Driving him is the realisation that soon these servicemen and women will no longer be with us. “We’re at the cusp of the time when the grandchildren and great grandchildren of these men and women won’t be able to sit down with them and listen to them.” Most veterans believe the media focuses only on the disastrous Second Battle of Cassino, and the many other events Kiwis experienced in the near two-year campaign in Italy go unnoticed. Dave Holmwood’s work is helping fill in the gaps through the everyday experiences of soldiers on the ground. “I really want to meet and talk with other veterans of this campaign, so please get in touch if you know of someone who may be happy to share and be part of it,” he says. • The audio episodes can be accessed on Dave’s website (www.newzealandersatwar.com). He can be contacted by email (dave_daasnz@ hotmail.com) or phone (07 8230130).
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Come celebrate with us Napier Returned and Services Association has joined with Hawke’s Bay District Health Board to set up an educational trust, the effects of which the RSA hopes will spread nationwide. Ron Rowe an executive of the Napier RSA says that the idea for the Trust came about when thinking of how to celebrate the club’s centenary next year in a more lasting way: “We wanted to leave a legacy of our 100 years beyond our time.” he says. Investigations led to a meeting with Dr Russell Wills, Children’s Commissioner and paediatrician at Hawkes Bay District Health Board, as the RSA sought to find a way to really make a meaningful difference. Dr Wills suggested that targeting youths which showed promise but for one reason or another could not realize that potential would be the key to creating positive and long lasting change. Further investigation found the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board already had The Programme Incubator, aimed at low decile schools and students, and Taruki, the HBDHB’s Maori workforce development strategy. Additionally the HBDHB already administers these programmes in South Canterbury and the Southern DHB (Otago and Southland). Ron said it made sense for the RSA to team up with the HBDHB. The purpose of the Trust will be to identify, support, mentor and fund young students whose potential could be impeded by family situations, background or other circumstances.
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“The aim is to help them into health and/or social services careers so that on completion of their studies they would return to their communities to assist in bringing about positive, attitudinal changes. It is this returning of talented young people to their communities, which will be a key factor in creating change,” he believes. The RSA’s main contribution to the project is to kickstart the trust with around $500,000 through a national lottery. The great prize pool is shown in the adjacent advertisement. Even with a strong club membership it’s a mammoth project to undertake alone. Clubs NZ affiliated Clubs and RSA’s around the country are being invited to sell tickets in their venues to support the project from December 11 to be drawn March 10 2016. Importantly, Ron says, that while the Trust model has been developed by the Napier RSA and HB DHB it will be available for other clubs around the country to replicate. The plan is to announce the first recipients of grants at its centenary celebrations in 2016: “The foundation stone of the Napier Returned Soldiers’ Club was laid on the first Anzac Day, April 25, 1916. We’re saying “Come celebrate with us” but rather than just a big party the Trust is a legacy that offers something really positive for the wider community.” “We’d value and appreciate you, our fellow members, in purchasing tickets in the National Lottery,” he said . .
Defence News 11
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
GLOBAL HAWK FLIES HIGH IN KIWI SKIES A United States Air Force RQ4 Global Hawk remotely-piloted aircraft system has been used in New Zealand for the first time. The Combined Joint Task Force used the Global Hawk to image simulated areas of interest during Exercise Southern Katipo in Buller, Tasman and Marlborough during October and November. It was operated remotely by USAF controllers to New Zealand Defence Force parameters. The system cruises at nearly 18,300 metres, twice that of a passenger aircraft, and has an endurance time of 28 hours. It travelled from its station at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to New Zealand, captured imagery and returned home in one trip. The Global Hawk has also provided assistance in humanitarian aid and disaster-relief missions, and security and stability operations, and has been used in the United States identify wildfire hotspots.
The commander joint forces New Zealand, MajGen Tim Gall, says the use of Global Hawk was an invaluable opportunity for planning and inter-operability training between the NZDF and the United States Air Force. The Global Hawk model does not carry weaponry and was used in accordance with the New Zealand Search and Surveillance Act 2012. Land-owners gave their permission for the imagery to be taken. Southern Katipo – the New Zealand Defence Force’s largest military exercise – involved more than 2000 military personnel, plus fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, ships, and light armoured vehicles. It included participants from Australia, Canada, Fiji, French Forces of New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The RNZAF’s new T-6C Texan II. Photo: New Zealand Defence Force.
New RNZAF trainer spreads its wings Peter Owens
The remotely-piloted US Air Force Global Hawk travelled from Guam to New Zealand, captured imagery and returned in one trip, cruising at an altitude of 18,300 metres.
Members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Ohakea-based 14Sqn spent a week navigating their way around New Zealand in a new aircraft in late October. The exercise involved qualified 14Sqn flying instructors and students on the first flying instructors course to be carried out on the RNZAFs new T-6C Texan II aircraft. Half of the participants completed the exercise in one week, with the other half following a week later. Four aircraft took part in what was a tour of
New Zealand, with a focus on the South Island. Training included refreshing navigation techniques, including both IFR and VFR navigation at high, medium and low altitudes, and an introduction to the skills instructors need to teach these techniques. The exercise was also an opportunity to test the ability of the new aircraft to deploy en masse to airfields around the country. The aircraft – one of the most advanced trainers in the world – is reported to have performed well in all conditions. Participants were able to experience unfamiliar areas for navigation and the mountainous terrain of the South Island.
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12 Defence News
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
BUILDING ROADS – AND BRIDGES – IN PNG Kiwis from 2 Engineer Regiment are mentoring the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) as they build a 350-kilometre road that will link more than 100 remote mountain villages in Papua New Guinea. “The road will link isolated villages and communities in the PNG highlands to the large trade and supply hubs at Mount Hagen and Madang,” says Lt Leroy Judge, senior national officer of the 20-strong New Zealand Defence Force contingent. Mount Hagen is the third-largest city, while Madang is the capital of a bustling province on the northern coast of mainland PNG. Deployed to PNG in early August, the soldiers have been training PNGDF engineers on roadbuilding techniques, basic maintenance, and safety procedures. “The expertise of our army engineers has been used to mentor and provide technical assistance to the PNGDF to complete a project that is of national significance to their government and of course the community,” says Judge. The Alternative Highlands Highway project, led and funded by the PNGDF, involves constructing a 350 kilometres of gravel road, around 150km of which cuts through forest and over the Bismarck Mountain range. At present, the locals, including school children, have to walk through dense forest to get to their mountain-village homes. The new highway will be used as an alternative to the Highlands Highway, which links Mount Hagen to Lae, PNG’s second-largest city. The Highlands Highway takes 10 hours to travel and is often closed by slips. “Every day, the locals give our personnel fresh fruit and vegetables in gratitude,” says Judge. “They shake our hands and thank us for supporting this task. Every time we go to town to get supplies, the villagers, particularly the children, run out to greet us. The term ‘Kiwis’ is a common expression around here now and they recognise our vehicles.” New Zealand and PNG have a history of defence
Above: Members of the NZDF join locals in Independence Day celebrations. Right: WO2John Flintoff, military plant foreman for 2 Engineer Regiment, in the cab of the digger carving out a section of the 350-kilometre road through a mountain range. Photos and story courtesy of Army News.
co-operation – their forces served together in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, and the PNGDF takes part regularly in Exercise Southern Katipo in New Zealand. The NZDF’s Mutual Assistance Programme provides training support in partnership with the PNGDF. Around 40 PNGDF personnel receive a combination of command, leadership, staff, and specialist training in New Zealand and in PNG each year, while PNG brings specialist expertise and experience as instructors to NZDF courses.
Cook Islands work sparks appreciation for culture, people
Spr Carlos Hildred busy fixing electrical hazards in the northern atolls of the Cook Islands.
Chatham Islands Getaway on an adventure to the Chathams. Discover the history, heritage and culture of these peaceful and unique islands. Explore the rugged landscape from ocean beaches and rocky coastlines to the diverse flora and fauna unique to these islands. Staying 7 nights at Awarakau Lodge enjoy uninterrupted vistas of the ocean and coast. Includes flights from Auckland, accommodation, all meals and sightseeing. Departures 11th – 18th February 2016 10th – 17th March 2016
As a 12-year-old cadet, Spr Carlos Hildred spent many weekends in what he then considered “big” exercises on farmland bordering Mt Taranaki. From August 31 to October 12 this year, he was in the Cook Islands as part of New Zealand Defence Force participation in Exercise Tropic Twilight 2015. He was part of a 60-strong multi-national task group upgrading a fuel depot and refurbishing public buildings in the northern atolls of Penrhyn and Manihiki. He was one of six electricians fixing electrical hazards in a number of public buildings. The exercise was designed to give the NZDF practice in deploying alongside other military forces to provide humanitarian assistance
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Get off the beaten track and discover the East Cape and Pacific Coast Highway with its rocky coastlines & sandy beaches. Stay at Hicks Bay & see the lighthouse on NZ’s most easterly point. Enjoy a guided tour at Eastwoodhill Arboretum, Art Deco Walking Tour in Napier and Gannet Beach Adventure by tractor to Cape Kiddnappers. 8 day tour includes a night in Tauranga and Hicks Bay, 2 nights in Gisborne & 3 nights in Napier.
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and disaster relief in the South-West Pacific. Around 30 engineers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians from the New Zealand Army’s 2nd Engineer Regiment completed light engineering tasks alongside 20 military engineers from China, the United Kingdom and the United States. The FAPF (Forces Armies en Polynesie Francaise) supported the humanitarian activities. “This deployment gave me an insight on how a small community lives in a relatively remote part of the world,” says Hildred. “I’ve gained a good appreciation for a new culture. “It was also a great opportunity to work alongside personnel from other militaries. “We often operate with Australian and United States personnel, but this was the first time we
have worked with the Chinese.” Hildred enlisted in the New Zealand Army in 2009, a year after leaving New Plymouth’s Francis Douglas Memorial College. After basic training, he did a four-year apprenticeship as an electrician at the School of Military Engineering. He describes getting his certificate as a qualified electrician as “one of my most memorable moments since joining the army”. Another was Anzac Day in Melbourne this year when he represent the NZDF. “As I marched down the main street to the Shrine of Remembrance, I felt a strong sense of pride for what the Anzacs achieved in Gallipoli and ever since.”
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14 Defence News
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
‘LOST’ CADET FINDS HIMSELF AS ARMY CHIEF Judith Martin Editor, Army News
MajGen Pete Kelly faces the wero as he enters the marae at his inauguration ceremony ay Waiouru. Photo courtesy of Army News.
I was the platoon commander and it was pouring with rain. We’d been walking for about seven hours and ended up near where we began, which wasn’t where we were meant to be. I thought ‘Well that’s it. I’m outta here.’
When Pete Kelly got lost in thick Kaitaia bush as an officer cadet, he thought his army career was doomed. “I was the platoon commander and it was pouring with rain. We’d been walking for about seven hours and ended up near where we began, which wasn’t where we were meant to be. I thought, ‘Well that’s it. I’m outta here.’ Then I saw my instructor and he smiled, and I burst out laughing. What else could I do?” This new major general, who has taken over the leadership of the New Zealand Army, says he learned a lot from the lost-in-the bush experience – and from everything else the army, his friends and colleagues have taught him since. Kelly speaks easily at the inauguration ceremony at Waiouru – with family, including Ngati Toa Rangatira on one side of him, and Ngati Tumatauenga, Tuwharetoa, Ngati Rangi and Mokai Patea on the other. He tells those gathered to witness the ceremony how proud he is to lead the army’s officers and soldiers, and how thankful he is for the support of his wife, Kate, his two families, and his friends and peer group. The pride is obviously shared as kuia and kaumatua, many of them wearing their traditional colours, nod and smile broadly as the boy who was born in their midst 50 years ago takes up the army’s mantle. On a bitterly cold Waiouru day they sit with arms around each other as speeches were made and songs are sung. Looking equally proud are members of MajGen Kelly’s adopted family, the Kellys. He explains how he and his twin brother, Paul, were born to a very young couple, Rangi and Karen Solomon, and adopted at birth by this large Irish family. “We were seventh and eighth in the marching order in the Kelly family, and we were surrounded by love and brothers and sisters.”
‘Trailblazing’ instructors headed for Ghana LCpl Nicholas Hill...has a date next Anzac Day.
Gallipoli reward for top reservist LCpl Nicholas Hill, a third-year nursing student in Christchurch from 2/4 Bn, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, has won a place in the Gallipoli catafalque guard for next Anzac Day. It’s his reward for outdoing eight other reservists to win the New Zealand Defence Force Reservist of the Year title at Trentham Military Camp. The day-long competition tested physical resilience through a 2.4-kilometre run, press-ups and sit-ups, before moving to an endurance/ obstacle course involving tyre-flipping, leopard-crawling and negotiating cargo nets. Competitors were also tested on weapon handling and marksmanship on the shooting range, and then through activities designed to challenge their planning, adaptability, decision-making and time-management skills. The final test was a speech on a pre-selected topic at a formal dinner. Only a single point separated the top three. Gnr Finnian Howie, 11/4 Bry, 16 Fd Rgt was second and Pte Timothy Jones, 5/7 Bn RNZIR, third. Each unit is given the opportunity to nominate a representative to compete.
Two New Zealand Defence Force instructors are off to West Africa to teach at a peacekeeping training facility. LtCol Helen Cooper and strategic analyst Erica Gold will teach a module as part of a Gender, Peace and Security Master of Arts programme at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana. It’s an initiative led by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Known for research on conflict prevention and peace operations, the centre has run more than 230 courses for military, police and civilian personnel from 88 countries and organisations in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa since 2003. The Kiwi pair will also lecture on peace operations and conflict prevention at Ghanaian universities and spend a day teaching female officers from the Ghana Armed Forces, which has served in peacekeeping operations since the early 1960s. Cooper, currently commanding officer of the NZDF Youth Development Unit, has previously been in Cambodia and East Timor. In 2011, she was with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon as the chief military observer. Her work during the deployment earned her commendations from the United Nations and the Lebanese government. She has spoken regularly about women in leadership positions and her experiences as a peacekeeper. Gold, who works at Headquarters NZDF as a strategic analyst focusing on North Africa and the Middle East, has been leading research on the contribution of female military personnel to operational success. A former Regular Force soldier deployed in 2012 to Afghanistan as part of the Provincial
LtCol Helen Cooper will lecture on peace operations and conflict prevention in Ghana.
Reconstruction Team, she has provided training in this area within the NZDF and in Australia. Her research has also been used in decisions on current deployments. “New Zealand is second only to Sweden in the percentage of women deployed to operations
and overseas,” says Cooper. “In a way, we are a trailblazer in this area.” She says that in developing the training module for Ghana, she and Gold agreed to talk about New Zealand’s experience rather than impose the view that this is how things should be done.
16 Last Post
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
THE LAST POST WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
A
ADAMCZYK IJ 781425 WWII, Polish Bomber Sqn 21/08/2015 Dunedin ADAMS J 2525398 RAF 23/10/2015 Porirua AKUIRA TO 206748 Korea, 16th Fd Regt 05/08/2015 Masterton ALBERT JH 715423 NZ Army 14/09/2015 Papatoetoe ALGIE AR 61310 WWII, 5th Fd Regt 08/11/2015 Matamata ALLINGTON RH 335983 52 LAA Sqd, CMT 06/08/2014 Paeroa AMNER N 591021 26/09/2015 Hastings ANDERSON A Service Member 03/07/2015 Te Awamutu ANSTIS R 579826 CMT 22/09/2015 Foxton ARCUS JR 207447 WWII, 38th Fd Regt NZ Army 18/09/2014 Masterton ARGUE F NZ421866 WWII, RNZAF 21/09/2015 Christchurch ASHWORTH ES 50211 WWII, 38th Fd Regt NZ Army 23/08/2015 Waimate ATKINSON T 641634 WWII, NZ Army Waikanae B
BAIN CA 442976 WWII, NZIINF Regt 29/09/2015 Invercargill BAKER RA 70767 WWII, 35th Bn 06/09/2015 Dargaville BANTON RH 443334 WWII, RNZAF 29/08/2015 Red Beach BARKER RD 339075 NZ Army 31/08/2015 Howick BARAKAT A 633081 WWII, Jforce, 16th Army Bde 18/10/2015 Morrinsville BARLOW AG 397465, 434732 WWII, NZ Army, RNZAF 29/10/2015 Morrinsville BAYNES CH 240043 WWII, 19th Armoured Regt 2NZEF 05/10/2015 Gore BELL AT 441948 WWII, 2NZEF 14/07/2015 Invercargill BELL VW 626480 JForce 01/03/2015 Wanganui BERG BL LAWRIE 440348 WWII, JForce Lower Hutt BLACKSTOCK RM 432741 WWII, RAAF 12/08/2015 Omarama BLAGROVE RFV N64946 WWII, 24th Bn 29/09/2015 Whangarei BLAKELEY WM WWII 19/10/2015 Dunedin BLATCH LF 437426 WWII, 26th Bn 25/10/2013 Oxford BLAY GA 293348 WWII, MN 21/09/2015 Mosgiel BOLAM AF 2369608 Boar, RAF 05/11/2015 Stanmore Bay BOWIE DJ 457282 20/08/2015 Putaruru BRIGHT WWH 638604 16/02/2015 Wanganui BROWN DJ 15644 WWII, RNZN 05/05/2015 Howick BROWN KC 207132 Korea,161 Bty 15/09/2015 Blenheim BUCHANAN WS 80370 WWII, 2NZEF 16/09/2015 Dunedin BUCKLEY MG 457492 CMT 29/10/2015 Rangiora BUCKMAN S 80540 WWII, 20th Armoured Regt 14/09/2015 Waihi BUCKTHOUGHT AS 203509 NZ Army 14/10/2015 Whangarei BURKE BR 815513 WWII, JForce 14/08/2015 Taradale BUTLER RK 2086 NZ Police 26/08/2015 Orewa BUTLER TI 649952 JForce 03/10/2015 Dunedin C
CAMERON T 208708 NZ Army 07/10/2015 Christchurch CARROLL IS 4213254 WWII, RNZAF 04/11/2015 Arrowtown CARSE DW 37793 Malaya, 1st NZ Regt 05/09/2015 Wanganui CARTER J 70713 WWII, RNZAF Auckland CAULTON JJ NZ414243 04/09/2015 Hastings CHAPMAN JH 342376 RNZEME 27/08/2015 Whangarei CHARLES AI 4215118 WWII, RNZAF 23/10/2015 Tauranga CHATFIELD AJ D81906 RNZAF 21/09/2015 Blenheim CHEETHAM RD 627211 WWII 07/08/2015 Masterton CHILD N 437266 Flying Officer RNZAF 03/11/2015 Mosgiel CHIVERS BA T13955 RNZN 25/09/2015 Morrinsville CHOAT MA 435946 WWII, RNZAF 20th Fighter Sqn 10/08/2015 Hamilton CLANCEY PM 74550 RNZAF 19/10/2015 Whangaparoa CLARK FR 120498 WWII, 22nd Bn 14/09/2015 Wanganui CLAYTON PL 2340159 NZ Army 27/08/2015 Auckland CLUTTERBUCK RL NZ9022 WWII, RNZN 17/04/2015 Gore
COCHRANE WH RN 16/08/2015 Tauranga COLLINS TP 447856 WWII, 2NZEF 19/08/2015 Palmerston CONWAY A 22593843 Middle East, NZ Army 10/08/2015 Paeroa COPELAND MD 975477 WWII, NZ Army 26/05/2015 Invercargill COTTER HL 676080 CMT, 1st Wellington Regt 04/07/2015 Masterton CRAWFORD DL 71500 Malaya/Singapore, RNZAF 19/08/2015 Nelson CROSBY BW 4311828, 445934 RNZAF, NZ Army 17/06/2015 Paeroa CULL RC 25098 WWII 18/10/2015 Dunedin CUMPSTONE J 448794 WWII, Div Cav 03/07/2015 Te Awamutu D
DALTON LA 1912431 02/06/2015 Paeroa DAVIES A 812939 Jforce, NZ Army 2NZEF 21/08/2015 Whangarei DAVIES SA H37566 South East Asia, RNZASC, RN2CT 29/07/2014 Masterton DAVIS TA 424644 WWII, RNZAF 19/04/2015 Thames DE TREEND PL 558750 JForce 06/09/2015 Hastings DENCH TR 622210 WWII, 26th Bn 2NZEF 14/10/2015 Kaiapoi DODD RE NZ427263 WWII, RNZAF 28/09/2015 Woodville DOIG AA 65938 WWII, 4th, 5th Fd Regt 15/09/2015 Dunedin DONALD JB 435240 WWII, 25th Bn 23/06/2015 Wanganui DONALDSON DT S211777 Vietnam, NZ Army, 161 Bty 11/08/2015 Palmerston North DONALDSON D S211777 Vietnam, 1st Bn NZ Palmerston North DORREEN WM 457652 WWII, Div Sigs Greenmeadows DUKE LF 141377 WWII, ATS British Army 27/10/2015 Whanganui DULY E 09/09/2015 Hastings E
EDWARDS M WWII, RNZAF 15/08/2015 Ohaupo ELLIOTT PD D183545E Falklands, RNZN Silverdale EVA J 896228 23/10/2015 Hastings F
FISHER WG 9470 RNZN 01/08/2014 Paeroa FITZPATRICK MJ 441686 WWII, RNZAF 18/09/2015 Dunedin FORBES GB 16516 WWII, Trooper Div Cav 5th Reinf 08/09/2014 Masterton FREW AL NZD3653 WWII, RNZN 21/09/2014 Albany G
GADSBY DW 211856 23/02/2015 Wanganui GIBBONS HJ 675858 KForce, Div Signals 23/07/2015 Greytown GRAINGER JM 10163 WW II, WWCT Regt 03/09/2015 Christchurch GRANT DL 439483 WWII, 19th Regt 10/12/2012 Thames GRANDISON AK KForce 12/07/2015 Rotorua GUNION RJ 922704 CMT, Arty 27/09/2015 Dunedin H
HACCHE WR 203945 22/10/2015 Hastings HAMMOND A 233729 WWII, 19th Bn Middle East 18/09/2015 Ashburton HAMON RR 204589 Korea, ASC 27/09/2015 Hamilton HANNIGAN MJ K45963 Singapore, 1RNZIR 20/09/2015 Mosgiel HANSON M 888274 CMT 17/09/2015 Ashburton HAPI DT 38658 Malaya, 2NZ Regt Malaya 17/10/2015 Hamilton HARPER GJ 11094 Korea, RNZN, NZ Army 07/07/2015 Invercargill HARRINGTON (SHILLING) J W 220404 WWII, Royal Arty Dunedin HARRIS MV NZ624996 RNZN 11/06/2015 Masterton HARRISON R 648810 02/07/2015 Tauranga HATCHER AS N757126 NZ Army 08/07/2015 Wanganui HAWLEY NJ PLX725460 WWII, RN 28/08/2015 Mosgiel HEFFER FB NZD 3996 WWII, RN 07/09/2015 Mt Maunganui HENDERSON RJ 72472 ACI RNZAF 23/08/2015 Wanganui HETHERINGTON JD R298369 WWII, MN 17/05/2015 Wanganui HICKMAN GL M81224 RNZAF 31/08/2015 Hastings HILL CA 644920 29/10/2015 Hastings HILL WE 33609/6345288 WWII, RNZASC 04/11/2015
Orewa HILL SJ 309880 Vietnam, RNZRI 11/08/2015 Dargaville HOLDER LF 33854 KForce 15/08/2015 Invercargill HOLLANDS MR NZ6727 WWII, Navy 13/08/2015 Dunedin HOLTHAM AJ 515888 CMT, NZ Army 16/07/2015 Tauranga HONORE GL 627352 NZ Army, JForce 20/09/2015 Whangarei HOTHAM AJ 515888 CMT 16/07/2015 Tauranga HOWARD SV 591228 NZ Army - Inf 07/09/2015 Waikanae HUGHES D R87116 01/10/2015 Christchurch I
INGHAM OUR 5235 WWII, Signals 19/09/2015 Auckland IKIN RA 16891 WWII, 2NZEF 19/08/2015 Dunedin INTEMAN AH 7304 WWII, RNZN 06/08/2015 Palmerston North IRVINE D 14137 Korea, RNZN 12/10/2015 Waimate J
JACKSON ET 1291448 WWII, RNZAF 29/09/2015 Tauranga JACOBS J 2133973 WWII, UK, France, Belguim, Holland, Germany 06/03/2015 Wellington JAMIESON AE 721850 CMT, 2com.z.signal Sqn 19/09/2015 Tauranga JAMIESON E 515273 CMT 26/12/2014 Paeroa JARRETT KL 1RNZIR 10/04/2015 Wanganui JARVIS GN 14099639 Palestine, UK Army 29/07/2015 Tauranga JEFFREY KA 242580 WWII, 28th Fd Rgt NZA 05/11/2015 Dunedin JONES EG 60849 WWII, 5th Field Regt NZEF 19/10/2015 Mosgiel K
KELLY DM 823181 WWII, WAAC 11/10/2015 Invercargill KENLOCK E 2025354 WWII, Bourn camps, Downham Norfolk England 19/08/2015 Newtown KEW ME 489WRNZNS WWII, NZ Wrens 29/07/2015 Invercargill KIDD RF 3656 WWII, RN 01/09/2015 Tauranga KITE REJ 41811 WWII, 2ND NZEF 19/08/2015 Taradale KITT RS 300379 WWII, 25th Bn 25/02/2015 Wanganui KNAUF DH 3354 Pacific, RNZN 25/08/2015 Tauranga L
LANE, J J 809416 WWII 25/09/2015 Kaitaia LANE J 777320 WWII, RN - Fleet Air Arm 03/11/2015 Dunedin LARSEN AH 4213265 WWII, RNZAF Pacific 15/10/2015 Inglewood LAWLER JE 14457674 WWII, Blackwatch Regt 03/10/2015 Mosgiel LEACH GF NZ12826 Korea, RNZN 03/11/2015 Tauranga LEWIS GFW 17966*33871 Korea, h.Qcoy 09/05/2015 Urenui LIGHTBAND PL 439194 17th Fighter Sqn 27/06/2015 Wanganui LINES RK 642873 Jforce, NZ Army 17/09/2015 Lower Hutt LIVINGSTONE AD 213618 TF, Inf 11/08/2015 Oamaru LLOYD BH 457896 RNZN 19/07/2015 Oamaru LOGAN MF 768061 CMT, ASC 09/09/2015 Christchurch LONG AJ 323819 WWII, US Marines 01/11/2015 Tindalls Beach LONGMAN RM 976662 Malaya, 1RNZIR 11/09/2015 Invercargill LORD V 35027 Korea, 5th Royal Tank Regt/ANZUK 07/09/2015 Christchurch M
MACLEOD WIF 432986 WWII, RNZAF 01/11/2015 Tauranga MACMILLAN CB NZ4417 WWII, RNZN 02/09/2015 Whangarei MAGINN WCT SSX832846 WWII, RN 01/10/2014 Invercargill MAIN J NZ8044 Korea, Kforce 17/08/2015 Invercargill MALLINSON CB T/19027186 WWII, British Army 29/10/2015 Napier MALLOCH I 21697 05/08/2015 Hastings MCCARROLL R 421836 WWII, 35 Bty 13/07/2015 Te Awamutu MCARTHUR WH 4215916 WWII, RNZAF 22/10/2015 Greytown MCCARTHY MJ WWII, RN 31/12/2014 Gore MCCOMBE RJ,BEM 056196 WWII, NZ Army, HB Regt 20/09/2015 Whangamata MCCRACKEN D 638256 26/08/2015 Tauranga
MCDONALD A 621366 04/10/2015 Havelock North MCDONNELL HN 297894 14/02/2015 Wanganui MCEWEN LH NZ414995 WWII, RNZAF Hamilton MCGHIE KG 692058 Borneo/Malaya, HMNZS Rotoiti 13/08/2015 Greenmeadows MCGRATH AP 211059 Korea, NZ Army 05/08/2015 Palmerston North MCISAAC WJ T72582 WWII, RNZAF Glendene MCKAY JB 378915 MOTAMB 03/08/2015 Silverdale MCLELLAN AJ R500771 CMT, MN 23/09/2015 Oamaru MCLEOD DW S32101 RNZAF 07/04/2015 Wanganui MCNEIL AA 18734 WWII, 20th Bn Armoured Regt 29/04/2015 Invercargill MEDDING PA 442428 WWII, RNZAF 06/06/2015 Masterton MOORE JA NZ38194 WWII, RNZAF 29/07/2015 Taradale MOORE K R557062 WWII, MN 14/08/2015 Orewa MORELL FJ 16/10/2015 Hamilton MORRIS AR 29768 WWII, NZ Army 2NZEF 21/08/2015 Whangarei MORRIS L WWII, NZ Army 17/08/2015 Wellington MUNRO JT G645110 Malaya, Borneo, 1 NZ Regt 1 RNZIR 21/08/2015 Christchurch MURRAY AJ 439935 RNZAF 08/06/2015 Wanganui N
NAYLOR JB JForce, Engs NZ Division 20/10/2015 Dunedin NELLEY HR 812935 & 204150 JForce, KForce 27/09/2015 Wanganui NEUSTROSKI NJ 624984 Territorials, 7th Bn 13/10/2015 Tauranga NEWTON FD 452997 RNZAF 27/08/2015 Tauranga NICHOLLS LF 642092 WWII, NZ Arty 20/10/2015 Nelson O
O’CONNELL P 36430 RAC 17/08/2015 Wanganui OLDUM HT 459803 17 Fd Regt, 35 Bty, CDI Troop 12/08/2015 Wanganui ORR DD 3/13/499 WWII, Inf (OMR) 20/07/2015 Oamaru P
PANAPA H 17/08/2015 Hastings PARK WH 371185 NZ Army 18/08/2015 Papatoetoe PARKER J FAAFX113815 WWII, Fleet A RNZN 05/12/2014 Masterton PEACH G 14046149 WWII, NZ Army 13/07/2015 Tauranga PEDERSEN S 453908 WWII, Trooper 22/07/2015 Morrinsville PERRONE J 625008 WWII, NZ Army 29/08/2015 Nelson PHILLIPS P 462926 CMT 02/10/2015 Blenheim PINEL IF NZ8590 WWII, RNZN 04/08/2015 Howick PODMORE EM 818139 WAAC 22/10/2015 Hamilton POYNTER JBR 690292 RNZN 27/07/2015 Taradale PROFFITT CJ 535045 CMT 02/10/2015 Tauranga PROVAN CD HS3375/442517 WWII 22/05/2015 Masterton PRYOR M F4213999 WWII 10/07/2015 Te Awamutu R
RAMSAY BG 241051 WWII 30/08/2015 Invercargill RAYNER FJ MXB55607 17/02/2015 Wanganui REID AA 443894 WWII, NZ Army 14/10/2015 Thames RICHARDSON EJ 2751207 England 16/08/2015 Taradale ROBERTSON WP NZ5364 WWII 06/11/2015 Invercargill RUSS WH 5673238 23/08/2015 Otahuhu RYAN PJ 4211846 WWII 21/10/2015 Balfour RYE P 514282 RNZN 29/09/2015 Paeroa S
SANDISON R 979989 CMT 21/07/2015 Tauranga SAUNDERS R 2318856 WWII 05/10/2015 Dunedin SCOTT HW 14203 07/04/2015 Wanganui SHANKS S 60927 WWII 06/08/2015 Waimate SHARLAND KR 633149N WWII 24/04/2013 Nelson SHARP CE 157688 WWII 11/10/2015 Whangarei SHIRLEY LT NZ4046 WWII 17/08/2015 Gore SHORE RC 979178 19/08/2015 Invercargill SIMMONS HA 425093 Pacific 19/08/2015 Tauranga SKILTON AL 621024 03/03/2015 Wanganui SMEATON A 47125 WWII 25/02/2015 Invercargill SMITH A WWII 13/02/2015 Kilbirnie, Wellington SMITH AW 623421 WWII 16/09/2015 Stanmore Bay SMITH CH 897544 WWII 30/08/2015 Invercargill SMITH KG 444787 NZ Army, 23rd Bn 26/04/2015 Paeroa SPAULDING HF 32478 05/09/2015 Hastings SPEECHLAY V 2536 RNZAF 13/01/2015 Waihi STAFFORD VA 2148044 WWII 10/10/2015 Nelson STANLEY L 187948 WWII 12/10/2015 Lower Hutt STEVENS RR NZ2072 WWII 04/11/2015 Tauranga STEVENSON HC 395530 WWII 29/08/2015 Taradale STROUD CB 148590 30/06/2015 Wanganui
Last Post / Obituaries 17
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
OBITUARIES
Curtain falls on war love story
Shorty Hansen and Steve Rickard discuss old times.
Shorty Hansen a ‘straight shooter’ Fellow wrestler and RSA colleague Dave Cameron shares memories of Shorty Hansen, whom he knew for 51 years. Dave delivered the eulogy at Shorty’s funeral in the Waiheke Island RSA. Shorty was a dedicated RSA man, and a meeter and greeter at the club. A huge number of people gathered for his funeral. Two famous wrestlers came from Waiheke Island. One was Lofty Blomfield, the other was Shorty Hansen, also a dedicated RSA man, who died in July. Shorty was a jockey who always had trouble making the weight, so he decided wrestling was the better option. He won many New Zealand Wrestling Union and Ernie Pinches South Pacific Wrestling Association titles, including 10 consecutive Auckland titles. This was in the 1950s and ‘60s when amateur wrestling was a huge sport and the New Zealand union had 8000 on its books. He went to Japan in 1960 with the New Zealand team and was selected to tour India but couldn’t travel because of illness. In the 1980s he did some refereeing. In 1990 Steve Rickard called him about refereeing for the On the Mat television programme. Shorty became the star of the show. In his book on New Zealand wrestling, John Dybvig wrote of Shorty’s role in a television
bout between an American, Bulldog Brower, and a local, Jake Laki. “We had this great new ref: Shorty Hansen. Shorty was an entertainment all by himself. At five foot nothing and around 60 years of age, he added just the right amount of inspired absurdity to lift the thing into the realms of the truly bizarre. “He tugged on Bulldog’s sad old arms and invited him into a chase sequence. Bulldog quit sucking on Laki’s forehead and wobbled after Shorty with both arms outstretched like Frankenstein’s monster. Shorty outstretched his own arms and looked back over his shoulder – the classic cartoon chase posture – and shot off round the ring. He was way too fast for Bulldog of course, and had to slow down to glacial speed to keep things interesting and to clear some space for Laki. “Then Bulldog caught Laki’s legs and fell over backwards. Close enough. Shorty dived to the canvas and whacked out a highly dramatic three count.” Shorty was small in size, but he was a straight shooter. He took no nonsense from anyone, and he lived his life the same way. When we returned from Steve Rickard’s funeral in Napier a few months ago, we parked near the airport buses at the Auckland wharf to let Shorty off. A security guard came running up: ‘You can’t park there, I will have to give you a ticket. Shorty replied: ‘Piss off, you can’t give us a ticket. You are only a jumped-up security guard, I’m not scared of you.’ Anyway we took off and left Shorty arguing with the guard. Not sure if Johnny Garcia got a ticket or not.’
A love story sparked amid war and drawn out over 62 years drew to conclusion in November. United States Marine Arthur (“Jack”) John Long – a dive-bomber gunner from Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving from in Bougainville and Guadalcanal in World War 2 – spent six weeks in a Wellington hospital in 1943 recovering from yellow jaundice when he met Phyllis behind a department-store counter. He returned to action and they wrote regularly. Then Jack was badly injured in an aircraft crash, and back at the same hospital, took two months to recover – enough time to find Phyllis. After “several wonderful weeks” he was on a US-bound hospital ship: “Because I was young, naive, and I was in a foreign country with a war still in progress and a world in turmoil, we decided to let love wait and said a sad goodbye – and left it up to destiny,” Jack wrote of this time. Letters stopped, Jack returned to California, married and had three daughters, but that and a second marriage failed. In 1976, at the age of 56, he was ready to give up on marriage and happiness. But, “in the back of my mind, that New Zealand
girl was always there”, he wrote. He had continued to exchange Christmas cards with the department-store manager where Phyllis had worked. He asked what had become of her, and to his delighted surprise, Phyllis wrote. She had lost her husband three years earlier. They met in Fiji in 1977 and rekindled their spark. Jack returned home for business reasons: “I asked Phyllis to marry me and live in America, and she said yes.” Jack had an interest in horses, and regularly rode in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade as Buffalo Bill Cody. He retired in 1984 and the couple moved to Whangaparaoa in Northland in 1992. Phyllis died, aged 97, in February this year, and Jack followed in November, aged 95, probably the last remaining US Marine World War 2 veteran living in New Zealand. A US flag covered his casket at a service in Albany. Among the 40 people present were Auckland-based US consul Gen Melanie Higgins, GunSgt Patrick Hammer, US Veterans’ Club of New Zealand representatives, and Kiwi World War 2 veteran Doug Ross.
United States consul general Jim Donegan presents Jack Long with the folded US flag as the oldest US veteran present at a Memorial Day service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in 2012.
THE LAST POST SUTHERLAND JRT 676930 CMT 14/07/2015 Masterton T
TAYLOR IJ NZV106168 Korea 23/09/2015 Nelson TAYLOR JWC 204390 13/08/2015 Pukepoto TAYLOR T 11875 16/08/2015 Hastings TAYLOR VJ 249993 WWII 30/06/2015 Gore THICKETT FP 7958230 WWII 03/09/2015 Oamaru THOMSON J 36566 WWII 19/05/2015 Howick THORN T 784644 NZ Army 30/08/2015 Nelson THORN CR 829109 JForce 30/05/2015 Masterton THORPE EA 1474009 WWII 31/07/2015 Napier TOLLERTON IM WVS354 WWII 12/07/2015 Wanganui TUCKER F 414703 WWII 03/04/2015 Karori U
UPSTON RK 432266 28/06/2015 Te Awamutu V
VAN DER PLAATS HA 261221140 Indonesia 05/09/2015 Taradale VARLEY S 4210016 WWII 08/09/2015 Ashburton
W
WALKER BG 542891 CMT 19/09/2015 Tauranga WARRINGTON I 101943 WWII 03/09/2015 Howick WATSON A 370850 18/10/2015 Gulf Harbour WELLS W 77356 04/11/2015 Auckland WHITE ED 48256 WWII, NZEFIP 16/06/2015 Thames WHITE DR N490850 WWII Hamilton WHITTLE DFG 3032743 WWII 12/08/2015 Taradale WICKHAM MD 438749 Pacific 12/08/2015 Tauranga WIDDUP H 177084 WWII 02/11/2015 Matamata WILKINS JE 485276 08/09/2015 Wanganui WILKINSON IF 621060 WWII 28/10/2015 Renwick WILLIAMSON RG 43643 WWII 05/11/2015 Whanganui WILSON SE R775506 09/10/2015 Dunedin WELLS W 77356 WINSLOW G 827346 WWII 28/08/2015 Swanson WOOD B 4261 WWII 08/02/2015 NSW, Australia WORTHINGTON S 79259 WWII Red Beach WRIGHT AD 393235 WWII 18/07/2015 Masterton Y
YELASH MT 473931 07/11/2015 Hamilton YORK YD DSMX868393 09/09/2015 Mangere YOUNG BJ 928361 CMT 19/07/2015 Oamaru
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18 Remembering
THE ITINERARY The workload, pressures and travel faced by modern professional rugby players attract a huge amount of attention from a host of specialist support staff. But today’s players could draw a few lessons from the New Zealand Army team of 1919. These fellows played 38 games in three and a half months – three games a week. Their itinerary saw them traipse back and forth across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland – in days of no flying and only rudimentary road travel. And that soon after having battled through a four-year war that had ended just two a half months previously. The only excuse for rest in these days was injury– and even that was no guarantee you wouldn’t have to play. The NZ Army boys won 33 of their 38 games, lost two (both by one point, 5-6 and 3-4) and drew three (all nil-all). TOUR DETAILS Royal Naval Division at Devonport – drew 0-0. Monmouthshire at Crosskeys – won 22-3. United Services at Torquay – won 9-0. Canadian Forces at Chiswick – won 12-0. South African Services at Richmond – won 26-5. Coventry at Coventry – won 14-0. Australian Imperial Forces at Richmond – won 9-0. King’s Cup: RAF at Swansea – won 22-3. King’s Cup: Canadian Expeditionary Force at Portsmouth – won 11-0. Yorkshire at Bradford – won 44-5. British XV at Leicester – won 11-3. RAF at Richmond – won 3-0. Gloucester at Gloucester – won 15-12. Cardiff at Cardiff – drew 0-0. King’s Cup: South African Forces at Twickenham – won 14-5. Maesteg at Maesteg – won 8-3. King’s Cup: Mother Country at Edinburgh – won 6-3. Abertillery at Abertillery – won 3-0. Cross Keys at Cross Keys – won 6-0. King’s Cup: Australian Imperial Forces at Bradford – lost 5-6. Pill Harriers at Newport – drew 0-0. Ogmore Vale at Ogmore Vale – won 12-7. King’s Cup final: Mother Country at Twickenham – won 9-3. French Army at Twickenham – won 20-3. Neath at Neath – won 10-3. Wales at Cardiff – won 6-3. Abergavenny at Abergavenny – won 20-0 Ebbw Vale at Ebbw Vale – won 28-0. Coventry at Coventry – won 7-0. Queen’s Imiversity at Belfast – won 18-0. United Services at Salisbury – won 20-7. Devon at Torquay – won 14-0. Tredegar at Tredegar – won 8-0. Monmouthshire at Ebbw Vale – lost 3-4. French XV at Paris – won 16-10. Selection Francais at Pau – won 16-6. Selection Francais at Toulouse – won 16-6. Northern Command at Headingley – won 33-0.
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
THE 1919 KING’S CUP – THE The All Blacks’ 2015 Rugby World Cup victory at Twickenham has rightly been celebrated for a number of reasons, among them the fact that this was New Zealand’s first cup win away from home. But, on the same ground on April 19, 1919 – some 96 years ago – New Zealand won what was in all but in name the first rugby world cup. Military teams representing New Zealand and Great Britain faced off in the final of the King’s Cup – a tournament that also involved teams from Canada, Australia and South Africa, plus an RAF side made up of players from various nations. The King’s Cup of 1919 remained the only rugby tournament of such international scope until 1987 when the first of the modern rugby world cups was launched in New Zealand. “Never before had so many rugby players from all the rugby nations of the world been in the same place,” says Stephen Cooper, author of After the Final Whistle, a book on the 1919 tournament and rugby during World War 1. Before the conflict, there had been few international tournaments because of the distances involved and the cost of travel. Bringing these teams together after the Great War was a remarkable feat. The war changed the face of the world, and that included sport, and rugby. Nearly 140 internationals had paid the ultimate price between 1914-18. Scotland alone lost 31 members of its international squad, the most of any rugby-playing nation. “It’s acknowledged that some 10 per cent of all British combatants were killed,” says Cooper. “However, anecdotal evidence from photographs and teams that have researched their members suggests that rugby paid a higher price, with between 30-35% (of players) being killed.” He puts this high rate of slaughter down to the typical background of rugby players and the spirit the sport had instilled in them. “Rugby players were fit, physically strong, accustomed to teamwork and discipline and often educated members of the middle-class. They were natural leaders as officers and when the regular army was all but wiped out in 1914, they found themselves in early command at the front.” But rugby was not completely forgotten about in the trenches. The occasional game helped soldiers stay fit and distract them from the horrors of war. “After the mutinies in the French army, it was realised that sport and rugby had a role to play in troop morale,” says Cooper. Matches were organised just a few miles back from the front. One saw England captain Ronnie Poulton-Palmer play his last match among a group of fellow internationals at Pont de Nieppe in northern France. A month later, he was killed by a sniper in Ploegsteert, Belgium. After the war ended, survivors from around the British Empire were stuck in Europe for several months waiting for transport home. It was the perfect opportunity for a major international sports tournament and celebrate a military victory. “King George V knew the political value of sport
as a statement and was very keen to celebrate the achievements of the empire’s troops as well as make a statement about keeping the empire together in sporting and political union,” says Cooper. For the Commonwealth countries, the King’s Cup was “the first sporting expression of (their) new nationhood, playing on equal or superior terms to the British”. The British team was officially billed as “the Mother Country” adding to the distinctly Empirecentric feel of the tournament, as did the notable absence of France, which had been participating in the Five Nations tournament since 1910. Its omission had something to do with politics, says Cooper. “The British Army organisers thought of this as a military and dominions event and probably simply did not include France.” However, the tournament winner did go on to play France, also at Twickenham. The tournament was a round-robin, with the
PHOTOS: Left: New Zealand captain James Ryan receives the Kings Cup from King George V. Right: The New Zealand Services after beating French Army at Twickenham, London in 1919. Images courtesy of the New Zealand Rugby Museum, Crown Studios Ltd and Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.
two top teams making the final. Fifteen games were held around England, Wales and Scotland, each drawing thousands of fans eager for a sporting spectacle after the long, hard years of the war, and to show their appreciation for the soldiers who had fought for the Empire. The final pitted the colonial master against its antipodean dominion. The victorious (9-3) Kiwis went on to defeat the French 20-3 at Twickenham and again in the return match in Paris in May that year, 16-10. Despite the success of the competition, no other tournament would bring together international teams from the northern and southern hemispheres until another 68 years on in 1987. “Only a major world crisis like the war would provide a reason to have all the nations conveniently in one place,” says Cooper. “As an amateur sport, it would have been impossible for players to have given up three or four months of work to travel to play again.”
Remembering 19
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
FIRST RUGBY WORLD CUP?
THE NZ TEAM FULLBACKS: C H Capper (Field Artillery), John Gerald O’Brien (Divisional Signals). THREE-QUARTERS: Three-quarters: W A Ward (Rifle Brigade), Percival Wright Storey (Otago Infantry Regt), G L Owles (Field Artillery), Leonard “Jack” Stohr (Medical Corps), Eddie Ryan (Field Artillery). FIVE-EIGHTHS: Eric Arthur Cockroft (Canterbury Infantry Regt), Richard William Roberts (Rifle Brigade), William Fea (Rifle Brigade), Jim Ryan (Otago Infantry Regt), W L Henry (Canterbury Infantry Regt), P Tureia (Pioneers), G J McNaught (Machine Gun Corps), E Watson (Wellington Infantry Regt), G.Yardley (Auckland Infantry Regt). HALFBACKS: Charlie Brown (Field Engineers), D McK Sandman(Canterbury Infantry Regt).
Left: The New Zealand Trench All Blacks, 1917. New Zealanders also dominated rugby matches played in England and France during the war. A team, drawn from the New Zealand Division on the Western Front and known as the Trench All Blacks, won the Somme Cup against teams representing other Allied divisions in the region in 1917. Image courtesy of the New Zealand Rugby Museum.
FORWARDS: P Allen (Wellington Infantry Regt), J Kissick (Field Engineers), F P Arnold (Auckland Infantry Regt), A A Lucas (Field Artillery), Ernest Bellis (Otago Infantry Regt), James Moffit (Auckland Infantry Regt), R W Bilkey (Field Artillery), Harold Vivian Murray (Machine Gun Corps), John Alexander Bruce (Field Engineers), E J Naylor (Otago Infantry Regt), Michael Joseph Cain (Otago Infantry Regt), R Sellars (Divisional Signals), Eric Cockroft (Field Artillery), A P Singe (Auckland Infantry Regt), James Burt Douglas (Otago Infantry Regt), S J Standen (Field Artillery), Dick Fogarty (Rifle Brigade), C W Tepene (Otago Infantry Regt), A Gilchrist (Field Artillery), Alfred West (Field Artillery), Edward Hasell (Field Artillery), H G Whittington (Rifle Brigade), A Wilson (Rifle Brigade). • Bellis, Brown, Bruce, Cain, both Cockrofts, Douglas, Fea, Fogarty, Hasell, Moffit, O’Brien, Roberts, Eddie Ryan, Jim Ryan, Stohr, Storey, West played for the All Blacks.
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20 Remembering
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
COINCIDENCE LEADS WOMEN TO SHARE A Jo Bailey Marie Hopkins (nee Donnelly) never knew her uncle, Paddy Donnelly (from Matakanui, in Central Otago) as he was killed at Crete a few months before she was born. However, she can remember the “terrible sadness” that engulfed her family after his death – this sparked a long-held desire to visit his final resting place. “My family were never told what happened to Paddy apart from that he was missing in action. There was no body to mourn. I’ve always felt I needed to find some sort of closure.” The grief of her grandmother, Nora – a strong woman married to prominent miner Thomas Donnelly – sticks in Marie’s mind. “She held out hope that Paddy had been taken as a prisoner of war and would return home one day. But he never did.” When Lilly Flocken was born in Germany in 1942, three months after Marie Donnelly entered the world in New Zealand, her father, Leo Joseph Huber, was also serving at Crete as a signalman and was informed of her birth via morse code. Unlike Paddy, Leo Huber, a German lance corporal, survived the war but not before being held as a prisoner in Nantes, France for 18 months. Born in south-east Bavaria, he was 32 when he signed up in 1939. He was a radio operator throughout his service, returning to Germany in either 1944 or 1945. “Lilly told me he was very thin when he came home and never spoke about the war apart from a few funny things that happened along the way,” says Marie. It is feasible that the pair could have intercepted each other’s signals during the fierce battle for Crete. And it is extraordinary that, purely by chance, their descendants have established a long-standing friendship. Around 20 years ago, Marie and her late husband, Reg, met Lilly while they were having a break in Karamea. “She loved New Zealand and would come every year to walk the tracks. Reg and I were farming near Winton at the time, and told Lilly that if she was ever in Southland to call and see us. The next week she was on our doorstep.” They continued to catch up on Lilly’s regular visits to New Zealand. However, it was about eight years into the friendship before they talked about Crete and discovered the incredible coincidence that their family members were both signalmen. “It was really odd,” says Marie. “That’s when we started talking about visiting Crete together.” However, the two women’s circumstances changed. Marie’s husband, Reg, died, and several years ago Lilly moved from Germany to Greece. With both now in their early 70s, they decided the time was right to make the trip to Crete, and in June, Marie arrived in Athens where Lilly lives. She visited the Athens Memorial at the Phaleron War Cemetery, where Uncle Paddy’s name is on Pillar 13: “It was a beautiful cemetery and I was astounded at the scores of unknown New Zealand soldiers buried there. Uncle Paddy could have been one of them.” Once in Crete, they stayed in Chania and, with a book as their guide, explored the harbours and areas where the battles took place. The highlight for Marie was at Maleme, where they visited a café (called Uncle John’s) opposite the war memorial and museum. “As we walked in the door we could see one wall of the café covered in photos of New Zealand soldiers from World War 2, with a serviceman’s hat pinned at the top. It was amazing. The café was run by the son and daughter-in-law of the owner who had run it during the war years. I felt strongly that I was walking the same path as Paddy, as the New Zealand soldiers had had a bit of free time in Crete before the Germans arrived.” Marie took a poppy made of red painted scallop shells to Crete to “stick in the ground somewhere” in honour of Paddy. The poppy also had a gold rim in a nod to the
Top: Leo Huber, centre, a signalman with the German army. Above: Paddy Donnelly (standing), who was born in Matakanui, in Central Otago.
family’s mining heritage, and a small gold plaque stuck into the centre, which was printed with Paddy’s name and date of death. “The owner of the café was happy for me to leave the poppy with the New Zealand memorabilia. He climbed onto a stepladder and put the poppy up on the wall above the photos. He also let me pin a photo of Paddy to the bottom of the display, where strangely there was a gap the perfect size that
looked like it had been waiting for the picture.” Patrick Ambrose Donnelly will now be properly remembered. As the youngest of nine children, he was the baby of the Donnelly family and “extremely well loved”, says Marie. “Like the other boys in the family, he played rugby. He worked as a postal officer at the Oturehua Post Office for some time before he and Jim Becker became the first men in the district to volunteer
for the war. Before he left, he pressed a half crown into my sister Monica’s hand, which she still has 75 years later.” By the time Paddy embarked from Wellington on January 5, 1940 he was around 30 years old and had left behind a girlfriend, Mary Davies. His last known rank was signalman New Zealand Corps of Signals, 2NZEF: 1st Echelon, 2 Divisional Signals; his date of death is recorded as May 28, 1941.
Remembering
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
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Above: Lilly Flocken, left, and Marie Hopkins (nee Donnelly) in front of the photo wall at Uncle John’s cafe in Athens. Right: Marie in the Athen’s Memorial at the Phaleron War Cemetery.
“Years after the war my father met someone at the races who told him Paddy had died during the evacuation at Crete after going back to help someone who had sprained their ankle. It’s hard to know whether this was true, or if he had said it to make Dad feel better,” says Marie. She finds it strange that no one could shed light on what happened to Paddy with any degree of certainty: “The army gave my family as much information as they had, and we just learned to live with that.” Marie says her father missed his younger brother
terribly, and it was too painful for him to talk about him very often. “Dad was close to Paddy and would get up early every Anzac Day to go to mass at Omaukau, where an RIP to Patrick Ambrose was attached to the side of Grandma and Grandad’s tomb.” While in Crete, Marie and Lilly also visited the German cemetery. As in the Allied cemetery, they saw thousands of graves, many of boys just 17 or 18 years old. “It really brought home the waste of young lives war causes.”
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22 Remembering
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
RSA TRUST OFFERS WIDE RANGE OF HELP Neil Grant “If you want others to be happy, practise compassion. If you want to be happy, practise compassion.” These wise words from the Dalai Lama are just one of the many variants of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. As nearly every culture or religion has a version, we can suppose the idea is fundamental to human existence. Of course, if everyone practised it, there would have been no need for anyone to have dreamed it up in the first place. Sadly, some individuals’ need for power, their greed, or their evilness means we need to remind ourselves of it, and practise it to assist those who are damaged by war, poverty or disaster so they do not suffer unduly. As is well known, the RSA grew out of the need in 1916 to care for wounded soldiers returning from Gallipoli. One of the oldest ex-service organisations in the world, it has become the main welfare organisation for all ex-service people and their dependents in the country outside of the many and varied government welfare programmes. Most RSAs have welfare officers, compassionate volunteer people doing great work assisting with pension advice and offering friendship and guidance in times of need. Dunedin and Mosgiel are different in that they have paid welfare officers who can devote more time to the task than most volunteers might be able to. Niall Shepherd, the welfare officer for the Dunedin RSA Welfare Trust, came to the job after a career that saw him involved in helping situations in many parts of the world. “I started in the army in 1974 as a Regular Force cadet electrical apprentice with the Royal New
% al 0 r 10 tu Na
Niall Shepherd, welfare officer for the Dunedin RSA Welfare trust.
Zealand Engineers. In 1979 I went to Moscow, and from there, I joined the police. I was a frontline officer in Greymouth, then Hokitika, and solecharge officer in Otira and later Arthur’s Pass.” After a stint in the Solomon Islands, he transferred to Dunedin. He was seconded to go to the Solomons again, but East Timor kicked off, so he went there under United Nation auspices. Involvement with Red Cross saw him in Haiti and Sri Lanka before he retired and took a position with Age Concern as funding and communications manager. The lack of contact with people in that job
meant that when the RSA job came along, he was keen to apply. “I was very lucky in my upbringing as an only child in small towns, so I had to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. That, and work in Search and Rescue, made me comfortable in developing countries. “This job requires empathy and gaining people’s trust – talking to them to get them talking to me so that I can understand what they are going through. The job varies from case to case.” The welfare trust was established in 2002 to be independent of the Dunedin RSA, although the club president sits on the board. Investments and Poppy Day appeals keep the fund alive to pay for a welfare officer and an administrator, and to be available for welfare work. The trust covers the Dunedin metropolitan area (except Mosgiel), Lawrence, Cromwell, Omakau, Maniototo, Upper Clutha and Otago Peninsula. Some funds are used to supplement funding of eligible people who are receiving payments from, say, Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) or Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand, but who have extra needs that are not covered. These needs could include travel from Wanaka for medical attention, providing special cutlery for a disabled person where no funding is available, and paying for Meals on Wheels for six months for a veteran who was out of work but too young to get National Superannuation. Physiotherapy appointments for people who cannot claim from ACC, ultra-sound appointments and the like make a real difference to ex-service people or their surviving dependants Much of Niall’s work involves being in contact with WINZ, Age Concern and other service agencies, welfare bodies and health services. This is a two-way affair. Agency staff often know of
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people who fall outside their ability to help, but who will benefit from trust funding, and Niall and the district’s volunteers can advise the officials of anyone they come across who is not receiving entitlements. Sometimes, a breakdown in communication between agencies and clients makes attending another meeting as a support person helpful to everyone. Interestingly, although RSA branch membership around the country has declined through age and attrition, it appears that there are increasing numbers of eligible service veterans, thanks to the various defence, police and peacekeeping assignments New Zealanders have been involved in over recent years. They, and their surviving spouses, children, or sometimes parents, are able to get help from the trust as long as their needs are made known. People can access a wide range of assistance through the trust: rest-home visits, funding from other appropriate trusts, regional-council taxi vouchers, rates rebates, and educational scholarships, for instance. “There are a goodly number of surviving spouses where the male looked after the finances and home maintenance,” says Niall. “If he dies or is incapacitated, the family can be in a fair bit of strife. We can provide avenues to help. “RSA welfare officers have always offered help, including with pensions, false teeth, walking frames and hearing aids. I like to think we can be more diverse than that. The only criteria are a service connection and where I can establish a need. “It’s a big step for people to put their hand up and say ‘Help’. My job is to find comfortable ground to visit and, with carefully worded questions, bring out the actual needs. “It is a very rewarding job.”
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24 Remembering
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
Lost Trails Japanese women
They were picked up by Michael’s father, Michael McKey, a retired draper/hotel owner of Dunedin. Contact: Don – patdonmckey@xtra.co.nz
Mutsumi Kanazawa would like to do research on Japanese women who came to New Zealand after encountering Jayforce personnel in Japan. Research has been done on Japanese who went to the United States and Australia, but none in New Zealand. Most are in their late 70s or 80s. She is seeking information on these women or family members of Jayforce personnel. Contact: Mutsumi Kanazawa – 021 02904472; mutsumi@jp.bigplanet.com
Donald Ponake McLeod
Information sought on Pte Donald Ponake McLeod, NZ Infantry (died May 17, 1965 and buried in Christchurch’s Ruru Lawn Cemetery (RSA section), Block No. 1 C, Lot 58. Contact: Flora Falanaki (nee McLeod) – ffalanaki@xtra.co.nz
Who served with 30 Bn in WW2?
William Anderson Campbell
Descendant of a 30Bn member would like to contact any members of 30 (NZ) Bn who served in the Pacific in WW2. Contact: Mark – markc@rsa.org.nz
Medal (no ribbon) engraved with the name of William Anderson Campbell 10-3850 Taranaki Regiment. Parents are believed to have been William Jamieson and Jessie Campbell. Contact: Graham Lockwood – 09 818 3368 (member of Swanson RSA).
Pte Hiram Forsyth
World War I Victory medal of Pte Hiram Forsyth, 12984, Royal Irish Fusiliers bought in New Zealand auction many years ago. Pte Forsyth was killed on August 22, 1915, aged 41. Present owner would like to return medal to relatives; does not want payment. Contact: Clint Libby – 027 4432466; cjlibby@ xtra.co.nz.
Owen James Jeffery (Jim)
Long lost shipmate, early to mid-1960s, ex stocker on Royalist. Contact: Rodger – 027 5849817; rodger.mc@ ihug.co.nz
Who’s who in this photo?
Can anybody help identify the men in the photo (above? On the left is Fred (aka Snow) Walker, 24 Bn, 2nd NZEF (5th Reinforcements), World War 2. He served in Egypt, Syria (ski school) and Italy, and was wounded at Monte Cassino. Returned to New Zealand on September 27, 1944. Who are the other three men? Contact: Wendy – Steve.wendy.walker@xtra.co.nz
Pte Arthur Alexander Ramsay
Seeking relatives of a Pte Arthur Alexander Ramsay 89500 World War 1, died November 17,1918 and buried in Featherston cemetery,
Mem. Gardens, Green Island
Wairarapa. His parents are listed as R J and J B Ramsay; last known address, Tauranga, then Auckland. Pte Ramsey is on the roll of honour at Greyfriars Presbyterian Church in Auckland. A death’s head penny has been located and the finder would like to return it to a family member. Contact: Joy – joy.miller@rsanapier.co.nz; joymiller@xtra.co.nz
Looking for photos of these servicemen who have plaques in the Memorial Gardens at Green Island, Dunedin: Sapper Randall McKenzie Asher 465313; LCpl Sydney Ian George 14060; Pte Henry William Gould 70745; Cpl Laurence Douglas Livingstone Houghton 8441; Pte Adam James Houlston 8/1511; L/Cpl John Livingstone 15485; Pte W Moore 6721; Pte Walter Ernest Pearcy 12/1485; Eng Off Alfred James Pottinger 969302. Contact: Irene – Cpattsn@ihug.co.nz
Cpl Michael Dominic ampbell McKey
Bathurst minesweepers
Can anybody help Wendy and Steve Walker identify the men in this photo?
The grandson of Cpl Michael Dominic Campbell McKey (also known as McKay) 24671, Wellington Regt, 1st Bn NZEF, who was killed at Messines on June 7, 1917, would like to locate his medals.
Tales wanted from those who served in Bathurst minesweepers. Contact: Gerry Wright – gerrywright.co.nz; 8 Rowan Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1023.
Poppy campaign no dead-end street
The Warhorse Charitable Trust is looking for funding to showcase this work by Italian sculptor Mimmo Paladino. The trust is looking to commission the artist next year if fundraising remains on track.
Sculpture chosen to remember war horses A colourful sculpture – described as a modern showcase of 20 aligned and vividly coloured horses – has been chosen to remember the thousands of horses that served in World War I. The Warhorse Charitable Trust is looking for funding to acquire Cavalli Acqua, by Italian sculptor Mimmo Paladino, who has sculptures in museums and public places around the world. The Hamilton City Council has approved a site in the Hamilton Gardens, and funding proposals are under way to ensure the memorial is built. Warhorse Charitable Trust chairwoman Nancy Caiger says that if fundraising remains on track, the trust will look to commission the artist by next year. The story behind the sculpture will be a powerful emblem for the region and the country, she says. “More than 10,000 New Zealand-bred horses saw service on World War I battlefields and only four returned. “Most of the horses came from the Waikato region, and the part they played in our history is powerful and worthy of remembrance.”
The horses were shipped from New Zealand to Europe with New Zealand Expeditionary Force and served in Gallipoli, the Middle East and the Western Front. They suffered from exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and the extremes of heat and cold. Some died from disease, wounded or were killed in action. Former City Gallery Wellington director and Warhorse Trust art adviser Paula Savage says Paladino’s sculptures are expressive and communicate with dramatic power. His horses are unequalled on the international art scene, she says. One was sited at the entrance to the New Town Plaza in Hong Kong as a tribute to the Olympic equestrian events for the Beijing Olympics. Caiger says the sculpture will be a contemporary style but “not so contemporary as to be unrecognisable”. “We wanted something that moves with the times, we wanted to appeal not just to older people but to the younger generation.”
Steve Parsons will won’t forget Armistice or Remembrance Day 2015 for a many a year. Not just for its military signficance, but because it was the day a campaign that has lasted nearly a year reached its conclusion. The Palmerston North man approached the local city council in December 2014 asking it to recognise streets with a significant connection to World War 1. His family lives in Russell St, named after Gen Russell, one of New Zealand’s military leaders at Gallipoli. Steve Parsons was alerted to the New Zealand Poppy Places Trust, which was established in 2014 to identify places in New Zealand with a link to military involvement and recognise them with a poppy. The trust’s aim is to provide a place where the stories behind a street or place name can be captured and stored. Each place is marked by an RSA poppy. Parsons was keen for the street names to be recognised on Anzac Day this year, the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign, but was pleased when archivist Evan Greensides agreed to do the research and complete the project by Armistice Day. The recognition takes the form of an exhibition, Poppy Places for Palmerston North, in the public library with the poppy insignia attached to Russell St. Eight streets or places have been identified – Anzac Park, and Carroll, Chaytor,
Palmerston North’s Steve Parsons with the Russell Street sign marked with a poppy.
Marne, Martin, Rongopai, Russell and Union streets. Gen Russell was closely involved in the assault on Chunuk Bair on August 6-7, 1915, and he and his men seized the foothills immediately below. He then succeeded Gen Godley as commander of the New Zealand and Australian Division at Gallipoli. Ironically Russell St, Palmerston North was originally called Fritz St, named after a former mayor, Fritz Jensen, of Norwegian descent. Because its origins could be misinterpreted, it was changed to Russell St on November 16, 1917. A member of Steve Parsons family fought at Gallipoli, and his father served in the Middle East during World War 2, captaining the NZEF rugby team against South Africa and England.
WW2 bonds posters spark memory The World War 2 war bonds posters have left this childhood memory with Don McKey, from Palmerston North. “It was about 1942 when I was young. World War 2 posters were around the main Palmerston North post office and the Square, which was opposite, and elsewhere I suppose. The object was to encourage people to invest in war bonds. “Also in the Square, they used to have the odd fighter plane parked to support the cause of raising funds to support the war effort. “Buy
bonds” and all sorts of posters. This one I always remember: Jiminy Cricket this is tricky, Fall in Donald, Quick march Mickey, You are in this war. We are too, You help us, And we’ll help you, Lick and stick a stamp a day, That will keep the Wolves away. (Germans)
Remembering 25
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
tourism saving PHOTOS OF NZ TUNNELLERS WANTED WW1 grace for villages Karen Phelps The Wellington Quarry Museum in Arras, northern France, wants to put Kiwi tunnellers’ faces to names for a centenary commemoration of the Battle of Arras. The museum is looking for photos of Kiwi tunnellers to use in an exhibition highlighting the efforts of the tunnellers who worked in the underground quarries in the area during World War 1. The effort to collate images is being supported by a number of New Zealand organisations. WW100 director Sarah Davies says it is using its social media channel to raise awareness of the search. She says this will reach a wide number of people interested in the centenary in New Zealand and overseas, including museums and libraries. The photos sought could have been taken by family or friends before the tunnellers left New Zealand, or during the war. “Pictures of New Zealanders, especially taken by the soldiers, from that time are relatively rare, says Davies. “Any pictures that can be uncovered will be quite special. I would expect that the key challenge is availability and quality of images. Images would have had to survive the conditions of war and/or the journey back to New Zealand, and need to have lasted the test of time.” At the end of 1916 the New Zealand tunnellers dug caverns under the city of Arras to create an underground town able to accommodate thousands of British soldiers ahead of the surprise attack of April 9, 1917 (Battle of Arras). The town of Arras has forged strong connections with New Zealand as a result of the tunnellers. One of the most recent examples was the opening of the Arras Tunnel in Wellington, New Zealand in 2014; the road tunnel takes traffic in front of the National War Memorial. Arras City Council representatives and descendants of the New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company attended the opening. A memorial to the 41 New Zealand tunnellers who lost their lives was unveiled at Arras in
Brian Thomas
Waihi tunnelling seminar a commemoration The Waihi Memorial RSA is gearing up for the first World War 1 New Zealand Tunnelling Company seminar on January 23. The seminar has been organised by Sue Baker Wilson, Tunnelling Company project researcher for Waihi Heritage Vision, who has been instrumental in bringing the tunnellers’ story to the attention of the general public. “We realised that lots of people with Tunnelling Company connections from around New Zealand and the world would be in Waihi for the dedication of the Tunnelling Company memorial on January 22 and it would be the ideal opportunity to share their stories, experience, and research,” she says. Presentations will be made by people from the Cook Islands, Australia, France and New Zealand who have an interest in underground warfare or a personal connection with the tunnellers’ story. Presenters will include New Zealand historian Chris Pugsley, Massey University’s professor of war studies, Glyn Harper, and Isabelle Pilarowski, supervisor of Carrière Wellington. There will be a lecture on a project between the Otago University School of Surveying and French university ESGT to complete a LiDAR scanning survey of the accessible areas of the Ronville complex of the Arras tunnels. Australian film producer Ross Thomas, executive producer of the Tunnelling Company-themed 2007 and the Carriere Wellington underground museum, which incorporates parts of the tunnel system, was opened there in 2008. The museum had more than 77,000 visitors in 2014. As part of the centenary commemoration, the Wellington Quarry Museum is planning a reunion of descendants of those involved in the Battle of Arras. A dawn ceremony at the Wellington Quarry on April 9, 2017 will be the centrepiece.
film Beneath Hill 60, will also speak and film will be screened following the seminar. Personal stories will include a presentations by Isaac Solomona, the last-born grandchild of Solomon Isaacs, service number 16/1033, a Cook Islands soldier. Solomona will share his recent experience discovering his grandfather’s contribution in World War 1, especially the etching on the tunnel walls in Arras. Baker-Wilson says the seminar structure will allow plenty of time for questions and discussion, and delegates will also be able mingle and share stories at a dinner at the RSA. The next day, Robyn Ramsey, a member of the Waihi branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists, will guide a tour of the Waihi Cemetery, where 15 tunnellers are buried. Baker Wilson says the memorial dedication and seminar will form a commemoration of this special group of men and those who served with them. “Their story has previously received little recognition. With such a diverse group of people attending the seminar, this is the ideal opportunity to share information and learn from each other. We will be videotaping the presentations and collating the proceedings, so this will be the first time so much recent information about the tunnellers has been gathered in one place.” Registration details: New Zealand Tunnelling Company website www.nzetc.co.nz On the same day, a statue designed by New Zealand sculptor Marian Fountain, will be unveiled at the museum entrance. • Anyone with a photo of a tunneller or information that might help locate photos, or descendants of tunnellers who want to register for the 2017 commemoration, can contact the Wellington Museum (Arras): wellington@explorearras.com or isabelle@explorearras.com.
Remembrance day brings RSA, Red Cross together at Geraldine PHOTOS: Remembrance day at Geraldine. Left, upper: From left, Rev John Hayhoe, James Goodman (vice president, Geraldine RSA, Carrol Ball,(Canterbury/Westland Red Cross) obscured, Pat Duggan (president, Canterbury District RSA), Tony Badderley (president, Geraldine Red Cross), Geoff Clarke and Rev Bob Moore. Left, lower: James Goodman (vice president Geraldine RSA), Campbell Paton (president, Geraldine RSA and Tony Badderley (Geraldine Red Cross).
Almost a century after the slaughter of World War 1, some of villages on the Somme look like they are finding life a struggle. One such village is Courcelles-au Bois, population 85, which lies about 27 kilometres south-west of Arras. Mechanisation of agriculture and concentration of farm ownership have served to hollow out places like Courcelles, which 10 years ago was home to five farmers active in the area. Now there is not one. Some of the old farm buildings are in a tumbledown state, the primary school has closed, and not even a café remains open. Grocery shopping means a drive to a supermarket two villages away. The mayor, who retired after making his mark as a venison farmer, has moved to another village to live. As a result Courcelles-au Bois is scratching to find a mandatory seventh person for the town council. But, however uncertain the future, Courcelles is sure about its past. Every Bastille Day, July 14, the community gathers at the cemetery to honour its dead from the Great War, most of them victims of the hell of Verdun, in which 163,000 Frenchmen died. Next door to the village burial place is a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, which contains the graves of 115 soldiers, five of them New Zealanders. Identify yourself as a New Zealander in Courcelles-au-Bois today and you are likely to get a cheery wave because it was liberated in 1918 by soldiers of the Wellington Regiment. B&B operator Christine Pecourt makes much of the link, not least because 90 per cent of her custom is from those honouring the World War 1 dead. Her home was built in 1898 and was only slightly damaged during the 1918 fighting as Germany made one final push for victory. The village was occupied by the enemy for four months. And it served as a backdrop for a photo now in the Alexander Turnbull Library in which a German soldier looks surprised to be captured by the Kiwis. Mrs Pecourt also has other shots from the Turnbull library, including those of a horse show put on by the New Zealand troops. “We shall never forget who threw out the Germans,” she says. While Courcelles-au-Bois and other villages nearby might look slightly down at heel, appearances can be slightly deceiving. There are now 33 more people living in the village than in 1990. The population has risen by 10 in recent years as three new houses have been built by commuter families. Age shall not weary Courcelles-au-Bois, nor the years condemn.
`Good spread’ of Malay vets at reunion
About 50 New Zealand veterans who fought in Malaysia gathered for the 25th biannual reunion in Dunedin in October. Dunedin resident Ray Wright, who served as a Navy ‘’culinary technician’’ (otherwise known as a cook, he laughs) in Malaysia in the 1960s, helped organise the reunion, says about 74 people all told were there – ‘’a good spread from all around’’.
26 RSA Life
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
What’s On REGULAR MEETINGS AUCKLAND BRANCH, CMT/NS ASSOCIATION INC Meets monthly on third Tuesday, 1100 hours, New Lynn RSA. New members welcome for friendship and camaraderie, fun and laughter, perhaps a light lunch. Guest speakers, outings, bus trips. Anzac Day parades; unit parades as at Auckland Naval Base HMNZS Philomel, for Armistice Day memorial service to pay tribute and lay a wreath. Contact: Mark Sinclair, president – 09 534 8138; Malcolm Baird, vice-president 09 2676557; Brian Caltaux, secretary– 09 4209794. CMT/NS ASSOCIATION CHRISTCHURCH INC Anyone who did Compulsory Military Training or National Service welcome. Meets monthly, Papanui RSA. Variety of activities, Contact: Alison Smith, secretary – 21 Kearneys Rd, Christchurch 8062; 03 9817623, legles@paradise.net.nz. ITALY STAR ASSOCIATION (CHRISTCHURCH BRANCH) Meetings – 27 Feb, 30 Apr, 11 Jun, 27 Aug, 22 Oct, 26 Nov (Christmas luncheon), 2pm, Papanui RSA, 55 Bellvue Ave, Papanui, Christchurch. New members ( veterans, family members, historians) welcome. Contact: Peter Scott – 27 Kenwyn Ave, St Albans, Christchurch 8052; 03 3556732; peter.judy@actrix.co.nz. SOUTHLAND CMT GROUP Ex-CMT and National Servicemen welcome. Meets monthly, third Thursday. Gore RSA or nominated venue. Usually lunch, on-site visit, or speaker. Contact: John Turner – 03 2016084, ardlussa@farmside.co.nz.
Box 839, Hastings 4156; 06 8785649; puk.hmec@ xtra.co.nz. KAITAIA WAR MEMORIAL RE-DEDICATION 24 Mar, Kaitaia Cenotaph. All returned service men and women invited to rededication on 100th anniversary of original dedication. Enquiries: Red Beatson – 09 4453526 (home) 09 9505642 (bus); Arthur Simeon 09 4080031; David Russell 09 4080490; Richie Taafe 09 4067198.
APRIL LOCH CLASS FRIGATES ASSOCIATION UK 22-25 Apr, Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom. Annual reunion in recognition of 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy. All New Zealand Loch class sailors invited. UK contact: Andrew Nunn, honorary secretary – andrew.nunn@blueyonder. co.uk; NZ contact: Mick Richards – 09 4397870; awakinopoint@xtra.co.nz. 23 ACS/5 CET ROYAL NEW ZEALAND AIR FORCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY 23-25 Apr (Anzac weekend), Blenheim. Reunion of 23 Intake Airmen Cadet School/5 CET. Information and registrations: 23intakeacs@gmail.com. ANZAC TOUR 23-30 Apr. Seven-day tour to Australia – three days (including Anzac Day at Currumbin RSL) at Currumbin, Coolangatta; four nights at Broadbeach, Surhers Paradise. Information/ expressions of interest: Maurice Mitchell – P O Box 9352, Newmarket, Auckland 1149; 09 5202506; alarm1@xtra.co.nz.
REUNIONS/EVENTS/MEETINGS
SAPPERS ASSOCIATION Decade 1975-1984 ‘do’, 5pm, 23 Jul, Taupo RSA. For all army engineers who joined up between 1975 and 1984. Sappers from outside this era welcome. Details: www.sappers.org.nz. Contact: Vail ‘Hub’ Hubner – 027 4978651.
AUGUST BATTLE OF LONG TAN (VIETNAM) 50th ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL ANZAC TOUR 12-24 Aug. Twelve-day tour to honour the fallen and those involved in the Battle of Long Tan, which took place on 18 August, 1966. Tour via Singapore is $4580 per person. Information: Ray Farrell (Vietnam veteran 1969-70) – 021 02666294; farrellr28@yahoo.com.
SEPTEMBER NATIONAL COMMEMORATION OF POST-WAR MALAYA/MALAYSIA OPERATIONS (MALAYAN VETERANS’ DAY) 16 Sep, Hall of Memories, Pukeahu National Park, Wellington. Two-day programme. Information: Bill.wullie@gmail.com.
OCTOBER RSA NATIONAL DARTS 22-24 Oct (Labour weekend), Tauranga. RSA NATIONAL SNOOKER SINGLES 22-24 Oct (Labour weekend), venue to be announced.
MAY FEBRUARY 2016 NEW ZEALAND BATTLE OF CRETE ASSOCIATION 23 Feb, Mount Maunganui RSA. Annual meeting and luncheon. Contact: Deidre Nottle – P O Box 4011, Mount Maunganui South 23116; 07 5482018; dee.hauschild@gmail.com.
DECEMBER SAPPERS ASSOCIATION Decade 1995-2004 ‘do’, 5pm, 28 May, Taupo RSA. For all army engineers who joined up between 1995 and 2004. Sappers from outside this era welcome. Details: www.sappers.org. nz. Contact: Vail ‘Hub’ Hubner – 027 4978651.
JUNE RNZN ARTIFICER APPRENTICES CLASS 1/66 50TH REUNION 26-28 Feb, Auckland. Includes all who joined on 12 Jan, 1966. Registration and interest: Mike Wade – 022-3552850; mcjwade@gmail.com. SAPPERS ASSOCIATION Decade 1965-74 ‘do’, 5pm, 27 Feb, Taupo RSA. For all army engineers who joined up between 1965 and 1974. Sappers from other eras welcome. Details: www.sappers.org.nz. Contact: Vail ‘Hub’ Hubner – 027 4978651.
RSA NATIONAL SNOOKER PAIRS 4-6 Jun (Queen’s Birthday weekend), Mt Maunganui. RSA VICTORY CLUB DARTS 4-6 Jun (Queen’s Birthday weekend), Napier. RNZRSA NATIONALWOMENS’ ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING/CONFERENCE 13-14 Jun, Swanson RSA. Contact: Deidre Rich – 09 834 3998; richfamily@xtra.co.nz
NATIONAL SERVICE 11th INTAKE TO 33rd INTAKE WHO WERE IN ROYAL NZ ENGINEERS. Sappers Association invites you to Decade 1965-74 ‘do’, 5pm, 27 Feb, Taupo RSA. For all army engineers who joined up between 1965 and 1974. Details: www.sappers.org.nz. Contact: Vail ‘Hub’ Hubner – 027 4978651.
RSA NATIONAL INDOOR BOWLS 25-26 Jun, Rotorua.
MARCH
ALL SHIPS REUNION – 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF COMMISSIONING OF HMNZS BLACKPOOL F77 & 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF COMMISSIONING OF HMNZS ROYALIST 15-18 Jul, New Plymouth. Details to be finalised. Apply for application forms; will be sent when programme completed. Trevor Wylde – 146a Ngamotu Rd, Spotswood, New Plymouth 4310; 06 7515595 (phone/fax); 027 4844587; trevor. cherryl@xtra.co.nz.
RSA NATIONAL LAWN BOWLS TOURNAMENT 7-9 Mar, Gore RSA. Contact: Secretary – P O Box 333, Gore 9740; 03 2086218. GURR BATTALION IRNZIR MALAYA/MALAYSIA 1963–65 ‘THE ORIGINALS’ REUNION 18–20 Mar, Hastings RSA. Members, wives, widows, families welcome. Registration: c/- PO
JULY
SAPPERS ASSOCIATION Decade 1955-1964 ‘do’, 5pm, 7 Dec, Taupo RSA. For all army engineers who joined up between 1955 and 1964. Sappers from outside this era welcome. Details: www.sappers.org.nz. Contact: Vail ‘Hub’ Hubner – 027 4978651. NATIONAL SERVICE 1st INTAKE TO 12th INTAKE WHO WERE IN ROYAL NZ ENGINEERS Sappers Association invites you to Decade 195564 ‘do’, 5pm, 7 Dec, Taupo RSA. Details: www. sappers.org.nz. Contact: Vail ‘Hub’ Hubner – 027 4978651.
ASSOCIATION CONTACTS BRITISH AIRBORNE FORCES (NZ) INC Are (or were) you para-trained and like to meet other ex-(or current) paras? Regular meetings of Northern (Auckland to Taupo), Central (Taupo to Wellington) and Southern (South Island). Full membership – all ranks of Parachute Regiment, SAS, support arms (engineers, signals, medics, artillery etc) and those with special service to British Airborne Forces; associate membership to immediate family; afflilate membership to airborne units of other countries. Contact: Frank Clark, president – 04 2336123. Roy Tilley, secretary – 04 5660850, rmt@xtra.co.nz. Website, www.britishairbornenz.tripod.com. CMT ASSOCIATION SOUTH CANTERBURY BRANCH Ex-CMT and National Servicemen welcome. Contact: Bruce Townshend – 14 Ewen Rd, Temuka 7920; 03 6156637; Temuka-RSA@xtra.co.nz.
CMT/NATIONAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION CHRISTCHURCH Ex-CMT and National Servicemen welcome. Contact: Colin Rae – 28 Cranbrook Ave, Christchurch 8053; 03 3583099; colandglen@ hotmail.co.nz. EX-RAF HALTON, RAF LOCKING OR RAF CRANWELL AIRCRAFT, RNZAF APPRENTICES Contact: Ed Austin – 67/46 Beresford St, Pukekohe 2120, 09 2392698, edaustin38@gmail.com. HOROWHENUA ARTILLERY ASSOCIATION – LEVIN 50th year; gunners, ex-gunners, associated corps. Meets May and Sep to celebrate Gunners’ Day and El Alamein Day, lunch, Levin RSA. Contact: Adam Gibson – 34 Gordon Place, Levin; 06 3684187. ITALY STAR ASSOCIATION (CHRISTCHURCH BRANCH) New members, veterans, family members, historians. Contact: Peter Scott, chairman – 27 Kenwyn Ave, St Albans, Christchurch 8052; 03 3556732; peter.judy@actrix.co.nz. J FORCE ASSOCIATION, WESTERN BAY OF PLENTY BRANCH Meets third Wednesday of month at Mt Maunganui RSA. Welcomes visitors. Membership: 19 veterans, 22 wives and widows. Activities: Christmas dinner, quarterly 8 ball competition, short trips. Contact: President, Ron Browne – 07 5758916; ronaldbrowne@xtra.co.nz. MOUNTED TROOPERS’ ASSOCIATION (MTA) North Island branch of the Royal NZ Armoured Corps Association (RNZAC). If you are serving or have served, in an armoured unit in any way, you are eligible to join. Family members of deceased personnel welcome. The aim is to bring comrades together through national reunions, member’s birthdays, funerals, unveilings and regimental occasions to which the association is invited, and to provide collegial support to members. The MTA is managed by a six-person trust board: Stew Couchman (chair), Doug Walker (secretary), Zac Hunter (treasurer), Morris Meha and Jim Taylor. Membership enquires, application form: Zac Hunter – 027 343 2017, ikehunter@xtra.co.nz; Stew Couchman – 06 3258593, BLongami@xtra. co.nz; Doug Walker – 027 4950473, walkd@tpk. govt.nz. Annual subscription of $25 includes membership of both the MTA and RNZAC. NEW ZEALAND BATTLE OF CRETE ASSOCIATION Contact: Deirdre Nottle, c/- Mount Maunganui RSA, P.O.Box 4011, Mount Maunganui South 3116; 07 5482018; dee.hauschild@gmail.com. NEW ZEALAND BRANCH, ROYAL MARINES ASSOCIATION Meets two-monthly, 2pm, Pt Chevalier RSA, Auckland. Full membership to serving or former RM, RMR and RN, HM Forces RM units, family members, Royal Marines Cadets. Contact: Peter Collins – peter-collins@xtra.co.nz; www.royalmarinesassociation.org.nz/rma_nz_home.html. NEW ZEALAND KOREA VETERANS’ ASSOCIATION INC Veteran membership available to NZDF members who have completed a posting in the United Nations Military Commission since 1 Jan 1958 and have been awarded appropriate medallic recognition. Membership details: Douglas Callander, secretary – 23 Longcroft Tce, Newlands, Wellington 6037; 04 4783238; 04 4783602 (fax); callanderd@clear.net.nz. NEW ZEALAND MALAYAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION INC Welcomes new members who served with Commonwealth forces or police in Malaya/
RSA Life 27
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
VETERANS’ ADVOCATE HONOURED Marian Barclay’s 25-year contribution towards the welfare of veterans and their dependants has been recognised by the Northland District RSA. Northland District RSA president Ian McDougall presented her with a plaque on behalf of the district RSA and the Northern District RSA Trust, while the Whangarei RSA and the Whangarei RSA Trust presented her with a gift. She says she was “really, really touched” by the presentation which “came out of the blue”. She is already a Whangarei RSA life member and has been awarded the RSA Merit Badge and Gold Star award, and the Northland District RSA Long Service Award for 20 years service. In 2008 the Whangarei District Council presented her with a Civic Award for her services to the community. She is a justice of the peace and has been involved with the Whangarei RSA womens’ section, Grey Power, Age Concern, Alzheimers Society, Abbeyfield Whangarei, the Positive Ageing Advisory Group and Meals on Wheels. Her RSA work began in 1990 as a pensions and welfare officer on the Whangarei RSA welfare committee. As a trustee on the Whangarei RSA Trust, she spent a decade dealing with negative issues affecting veterans. Archie Dixon, who chairs the Whangarei RSA and Northland Districts RSA trusts, says her submissions and appeals
The Ashhurst contingent at a RNZRSA National Women’s Association meeting.
Angel awarded for putting in hard ‘k’s
Marian Barclay receives her plaque from RSA Northland district president Ian McDougall.
were valuable in getting veterans the support they needed. He says her dedication in dealing with these matters and her exceptional expertise, which included successful appeals to the ombudsman, helped achieve “some astonishing outcomes.” She is particularly proud of her involvement in establishing the Northland Districts RSA Trust in 2002 and chairing it until her retirement. During her time, the trust funded 110 cataract operations: “It made such a difference to not just those getting the operation, but to their
spouse and the rest of their families as well.” She also made jams which she sold at the RSA, often raising more than $1000 a year for welfare funds. She says she went into it because she saw a gap she had the skills to fill: “It was very rewarding, very fulfilling, and it wasn’t limited to the RSA – it got me out into the wider community.” The little things, such as getting notes from people thanking her for what she had done for them, have always stuck with her: “No salary on earth could give you that.”
New patron, president take the helm at Howick RSA There has been a change of guard at the Howick RSA. After three years as president Mike Cole has stepped down under club rules. Ray Sangster, vice-president for the past three years, has taken over. And Adele White, vice-chair of the Howick Local Board and a marriage celebrant, has replaced the late World War 2 El Alamein veteran Watty McEwan, who died in May, aged 96 as patron. Adele White has served in the police and in the Solomon Islands. Her late father, Basil Findlay, who died in 2001, was in the Air Force in World War 2 and was an active member of the Howick RSA. Ray Sangster is the first associate member to become president. He says he became involved through a mate in the Territorials. “He insisted I
President Angel Erstich has been awarded the RNZRSA National Women’s Association’s first long service badge. Since March she has travelled 30,587 kilometres from her home at Awanui in the Far North, visiting NWA sections. Her last visit this year will be to Waihi Beach for the Christmas function. The award was made by RSA National President BJ Clark. The 2016 conference and annual meeting will be hosted by the Swanson RSA women’s section on June 13-14. Women have been an integral part of the New Zealand since it was formed in 1916, and there there are plans to celebrate that centenary over next year. The executive is: president, Angel Erstich (Kaitaia);vice president, Diane Wilson (Taupo); secretary, Deidre Rich (Te Atatu); treasurer, Joy Bray (Tauranga); committee, Lena Carleton (Hakaru), Lynda Gage (Birkenhead), Raewyn Martin (Te Awamutu), Barbara Philps (Te Awamutu), Eileen Strongman (Kaikohe).
Life members at Tauranga NEW LINE-UP: Left, Howick RSA new president Ray Sangster with the organisation’s new patron, Adele White, and immediate past president, Mike Cole. Photo: Wayne Martin. Howick Times.
come in for a beer. The next thing I was involved in the fishing section.” The rest is history. He says his aim for the club is to become more focused on younger family people and make them feel it’s a place they can come to. He is chairman of the club’s refurbishment
committee which has been looking at development of the RSA building. With an upstairs upgrade complete, club members’ eyes have shifted to the downstairs basement, which is seen as another revenue source through functions.
them to re-establish contacts. Membership: $10 a year (1 Jul-30 Jun. Contact: Secretary – RF Cadet Association, P.O.Box 715, Paraparaumu 5032; www.rfcadet.org.nz.
ROYAL NEW ZEALAND NAVAL ASSOCIATION, CANTERBURY BRANCH All who served in RNZN or Commonwealth navies, and their partners, welcome. Monthly meetings, regular social get-togethers, ship visits, four newsletters a year. Contact: Miles McIlraith (ex-RNZN), treasurer – 4987 State Highway 75, R.D., Little River 7591; 03 3251937; 03 3251936 (fax).
Bob McLintock (left) and Bill West (right) after being presented with life membership of the Tauranga RSA.
WHAT’S ON Malaysia/Borneo or Singapore. Contact: Barry Allison – 6 Coldstream Rd, Gisborne 4010; 06 8677284; bazbarbzinggizzie@xtra.co.nz. OX & BUCKS LI, KINGS ROYAL RIFLE CORPS, RIFLE BRIGADE AND ROYAL GREEN JACKETS All past members of RGJ and former regiments invited. Contact: Frank Jones – 09 4766974. RAF CHANGI ASSOCIATION Includes HQ Far East Air Force, seeks New Zealand members ex RAF or RNZAF, who served at RAF Changi 1946-71. Contact: B W Lloyd – 32 Redwood, Burnham, Bucks, SL1 8JN, UK. REGULAR FORCE CADET ASSOCIATION (INC) Provides contact between ex-cadets and enables
RNZAF COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE GRADUATES New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College has formed an alumni association. Records of previous associations’ members misplaced during move from Whenuapai to Trentham in 2004. If you wish to join, would like information, or wish to re-connect with former colleagues and course members, contact: Alumni secretary NZDF CSC – Trentham Military Camp, Private Bag 905, Upper Hutt 5140; 04 5271008; 04 5271009 (fax); csc.alumni@nzdf.mil.nz.
SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY VETERANS OF AUSTRALASIA (SAMVOA) All who served in uniform in South Africa and now live in New Zealand are invited to join. Also in Australia. Aims to preserve memories, and commemorate those who were injured or fell in action. Attends Remembrance Day and Anzac Day
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Contact: RSA Review, PO Box 27248, Marion Square, Wellington 6141 Email: rsareview@rsa.org.nz Phone: 04 384 7994 If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll receive a 2016 renewal letter from us shortly.
parades; regular meetings. Information: Chris Pattison – 021 2316612; ytrose@vodafone.co.nz. THE REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION Seeks members to rekindle their activity with the association. Regular meetings at Papanui RSA, Christchurch. Send rank, name, address, phone number and e-mail address to: Frank Newsome – Unit 19, 53 Condell Ave, Papanui, Christchurch 8053; 03 3525471; frankandaudrey@ clear.net.nz. TS VINDICATRIX ASSOCIATION Ex-Vindicatrix boys – those who served on training ship TS Vindicatrix are invited to join Lower North Island branch. Write: Arthur Woolard – 21 Pohutukawa Drive, R.D.1, Levin 5571.
Subscription Rates: Subscriptions cover 4 issues from January – December. If you’re a new subscriber, contact us. For a 2016 subscription, you’ll pay: $20.00 a discounted price if paying by direct credit or direct debit $25.00 if paying by cheque or credit card $40.00 for overseas subscribers
28 RSA Life: Morrinsville RSA
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
RSA ‘TICKING WELL’ BEHIND ARMED COW Sue Russell The Morrinsville RSA, nestled in the heart of Waikato dairy country, opened its doors in 1931. Club president Trevor Close says that while membership dipped a little a couple of years ago, he has been pleased to see it improve recently. “We have about 900 members who enjoy good company in our club, but like most clubs, there’s a much smaller core who use the facilities often. We are keen to see new, younger members join.” Unusually, the Morrinsville RSA does not employ a manager. Instead, each committee member takes on a management function and Margaret van Rooyen looks after the office. Trevor’s role is to look after the bar and liaise with the employed bar manager to ensure that all is well. He says this structure works well for the club and members do not see any need to change the way the club operates. Anzac Day this year was very big and busy, with two services, one at dawn and then a civic service at 11am. As usual, breakfast was provided at the club for those at the dawn service, and after the civil service, members and guests spilled back in to enjoy comradeship and share memories. This year the ex-navymen put on a beating of the drums at sunset which, Trevor says, was very poignant and special. “It was the idea of Barrie Chivers to do this while the flags were lowered and to then do the same at the RSAs at Matamata and Te Aroha. But, sadly, Barrie passed away.” The Morrinsville RSA has several adjuncts for members to get involved in. These include outdoor bowls, indoor bowls, snooker, 8 ball, darts and a very strong fishing club formed in 2002. While the fishing club is affiliated to the RSA, membership is open to the public as well as RSA members. The aim was to encourage members of the public to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, says Trevor Close.
PHOTOS” The Morrinsville RSA sports two recent additions to its frontage – the 105mm restored Vietnam War 105mm Howitzer gun greets members and guests by the front door, while the ‘armed’ cow and its bren gun stands guard as part of the town’s thrust to promote itself as the’cow capital of New Zealand’.
“Fishing is a very strong activity in this town,” he says. “And though we’re in the central Waikato, we are never more than a couple of hours away from some of the best fishing spots in the country.” The club is open Tuesday through to Saturday each week. The restaurant opens for dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and for lunch every second Tuesday to align with pension day. The women’s section is very strong, Trevor says. “They do a lot of the catering for funerals and functions. A couple of months ago, they put on a fashion parade and presented the club with $1100 to go toward the cost of us replacing the van soon.”
In pride of place outside the club is a recently upgraded M2 A1 105mm Howitzer gun, which saw use in Vietnam. The restoration project was funded by the local Rotary club and the gun now greets members and guests by the front door. Another recent addition been a life-size, artificial cow out front. It is one of a number of artificial cows that have popped up around the town in keeping with the town-wide initiative
to celebrate Morrinsville as the cow capital of New Zealand. “It’s fitting, I think, that our cow is sporting a gun on its back,” Trevor says with a chuckle. He says the club welcomes visitors from other RSAs and members of clubs affiliated to Clubs New Zealand. “We are ticking along well at a time when many RSAs are struggling.”.
Neil and Chris, RSA Morrinsville members, welcome you to the Morrinsville Motel. Comfortable, quiet and affordable. 356 Thames St Morrinsville, Waikato Bookings: 0800 379 179 Email: info@morrinsvillemotel.co.nz www.morrinsvillemotel.co.nz
Morrinsville Museum
Proud to support Morrinsville RSA
See our smart facility and contribute your own stories, items and information to the history of Morrinsville.
Morrinsville Ph 07 889 8057
Canada St, Morrinsville
41 Canada St Phone: 07 8894 190 info@morrinsvilleheritagecentre.org.nz www.morrinsvilleheritagecentre.org.nz
Classified 29
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
Local RSAs NORTHLAND
Northern Wairoa RSA Club
Hokianga Rd Dargaville Ph: 09 439 8164
ALL VISITORS MOST WELCOME
Clubrooms open 11am Meals: Thurs Fri & Sat 6-8pm Light Lunches: Always available CATERING ON REQUEST 09 439 8164
Ph 09 407 8585 37 Cobham Road
KERIKERI
RSA (Inc) Visitors and Guests Most Welcome Bistro Wed-Sun 5.30 - 8.30pm
Open Seven Days
SILVERDALE
43A Vipond Rd, Whangaparaoa, Turn off at top of Silverdale Hill onto Whangaparaoa Peninsula. Vipond Rd is 2.7km on left A special welcome to members of clubs with reciprocal visiting rights to use our club facilities. Comfort & friendship is assured
Open: 11am Mon-Sat. Noon on Sun
(Kaitaia) RSA CLUB
Matthews Avenue, Kaitaia When visiting the Far North you are welcomed to visit our Clubrooms where comfort and friendship is assured.
AUCKLAND
Billiards - Snooker - Pool - Bowls - Darts
Pleasant lounge and excellent bar facilities
Hours 11am-10pm, Mon to Sat. Noon-6pm Sun
Family Restaurant - Meals Wed Thurs Friday and by arrangement. Courtesy Coach Available Please phone (09) 408 0423
HOBSONVILLE
114 Hobsonville Road • Ph: 09 416 7227 Restaurant Ph: 09 416 9239 • E: hobbyrsa@xtra.co.nz
RSA
THE HUB OF THE CITY
Warmly welcomes visitors to our Clubrooms at 7 Rust Ave Bar Service 7 days Snooker, Pool, Darts, Gaming Courtesy Coach Bistro Wed to Fri 12-2 & 5-8p.m. Saturday 6-8p.m. PH 09 438 3792 admin@whangareirsa.co.nz
www.whangareirsa.co.nz
WARKWORTH & DISTRICTS RSA Inc 28 Neville St Warkworth Ph 09 425 8568 Opening Hours 11am Mon - Sat 3pm Sun Gunners' Restaurant
Lunch 12 - 1.30pm Wed- Fri Dinner 5 - 8.30pm Thurs-Sat Full Bar Facilities 18 Pokies * Mystery J/P * Sky Tv * Pool * Snooker * Darts * Bowls
Live Entertainment & Dancing every Friday evening.
Call in on your way north & view our memorabilia tables - A warm welcome awaits you
RUSSELL RSA 1 Chapel St Russell 0202 Ph: 09 403 7773 Fax: 09 403 7885Email: russellrsa@xtra.co.nz www.russellrsa.org.nz OPEN EVERY DAY EXCEPT TUESDAY FROM 11:30AM TILL CLOSE Diggers Restaurant open 6 days Lunch & Dinner Bar snacks available Pool, Darts, Gaming Machines Huge outdoor courtyard
Come and enjoy our clubrooms while holidaying in historical Russell We will make you welcome
Kaikohe & District Memorial RSA (Inc) We are open everyday from 11am Meals Daily from 11am till 9pm Great quality food at affordable prices All visitors are most welcome to enjoy our club facilities • • • • • •
Sky TV TAB Pod Gaming Machines Pool Tables Courtesy Van Available Facilities available for function hire
Open Tues - Thurs from 2pm. Fri - Sun from Midday. • Restaurant open Fri - Sun lunch, Wed - Sun Dinner. Excellent meals at reasonable prices. • Live entertainment last Friday of each month. • Quiz Nights 7pm 3rd Thursday of every month. Car Boot Sale last Sunday of every month 8am, sellers $8 • Excellent Bar staff & service • Large car park. Easy bus turnnig • Coach Tours welcome - advance booking essential • Facilities available for function hire • Other facilities include darts, pool, indoor bowls & fishing club
BIRKENHEAD RSA Recreation Dr, Birkenhead, North Shore Ph: 09 418 2424 Fax: 09 418 3054 Email: secman@birkenheadrsa.com www.birkenheadrsa.com
We welcome all RSA members & their guests to enjoy the friendly atmosphere & excellent facilities at our clubrooms
CLUBROOMS OPEN SAT - MON 11AM TUES - FRI 9 AM BAR OPEN 7 DAYS from 11am DON STOTT MEMORIAL RESTAURANT
Provides excellent ecconomical A la Carte meals Wed-Friday 12 -2pm Wed-Sunday from 5.30pm. Groups by arrangement
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Wed: 1.30-4pm. Fri & Sat: from 7.00pm POOL * DARTS * I/D BOWLS * TAB LARGE SCREEN SKY * GAMING MACHINES TEA/COFFEE & LIGHT MEALS ANYTIME
Visitors always welcome
MEALS Lunch: Mon to Fri Dinner: Everynight Entertainment: Thursday, Friday and Sunday Evenings If you are in town give us a call. Ph: 09 828 5000
Mt Wellington Panmure RSA 163 Queens Rd, Panmure
Ph: 09 570 5913 Fax: 09 570 5903 Email secrsa@vodafone.co.nz Bar Menu Seven Days. Bus loads by arrangement. Live Entertainment every 2nd Friday
Darts - Pool - Snooker - Gaming Machines - Courtesy coach available for local pick-ups / drop-offs When in Auckland Visit our Friendly Club.
Memorial RSA (Inc)
2 Veronica St Ph: 09 827 3411 Where a friendly welcome is assured. A must stopover when visiting Auckland BAR & TAB FACILITIES Open 7days Gaming Facilities FREYBERG RESTAURANT Lunches: Tues-Sun 12-2pm, Dinner: Wed-Sat 5.30pm open
Band Friday Nights Handy to rail & bus. Shop in New Lynn & relax in our spacious clubrooms
The Best in the West
SWANSON MEMORIAL RSA MEALS Our spacious Restaurant allows us to cater for up to 200 people at any one time Lunch open from Wednesday - Sunday 12 - 2pm Dinners Wednesday - Saturday 5 - 8.30pm Sunday Buffet 5 - 7.30pm We have large outdoor garden area, Big Screen for major games, Sky T.V., pool, bowls, darts, cards, fishing, golf, quiz.
663 SWANSON RD - PH 833 9013 A WARM INVITATION IS EXTENDED TO RSA MEMBERS & GUESTS TO THE FRIENDLIEST RSA IN THE WEST
Ph 09 846 8673 1136 Great North Rd
Affiliated Members and Guests Most Welcome Restaurant, Family Karaoke Sundays from 1pm Functions venue available email admin@ptchevrsa.co.nz
Friday night raffles, Entertainment Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun
HOWICK RSA
When visiting Auckland’s Eastern Suburbs call into our pleasant clubrooms and enjoy our hospitality
IN THE OF HOWICK Fridays & Saturdays from 7 pm DINE & DANCE LIVE MUSIC www.howickrsa.co.nz
The Orpheus Restaurant Open Thurs - Sat lunch 12 - 2 pm, dinner 5.30 - 8pm Bus Trip Lunches phone Rona Snooker - Pool - Darts - Warriors Supporters Section
We have excellent facilities for reunions and other functions NEW RETURNED AND SERVICE MEMBERS WELCOME.
ORAKEI RSA
Ph: 09 528 6245 & 09 521 2710 (Members)
Hours: Mon : 12-7.30pm. Tues:11am-8pm
Wed: 11-9pm. Thurs & Fri: 11-11pm. Sat: 11-9pm. Sun: 2-7pm. Bistro Lunch Tues-Fri 12-2pm. Evening Thurs-Fri 6-8pm Function room bookings for catering. Sports sections, gaming machines ,Sky TV, big screen TV Handy to city centre, Ellerslie Race Course, Kelly Tarlton Underwater World, Eastern suburbs, Mission Bay, St Helliers, Remuera etc.
ALL NEW MEMBERS WELCOME
NEW LYNN
Come & visit your mates. A friendly Welcome Assured
Phone: 09 534 9702 • 25 Wellington St Howick
Inquiries to Sec/Manager 09 636 6644 PO Box 13016, Onehunga
11am - 11.30pm Sun 1pm - 9pm
158 Broadway, Kaikohe Ph 09 401 2368 kaikohersa@xtra.co.nz “Look us up on Facebook”
Contact Manager 09 424 9026 Fax: 09 424 2446
Major Games on Big Screen or Weekend Entertainment
HOURS Mon toThurs 11am - 11pm. Fri & Sat
“Friendliest Club in The North”
Entertainment & Dancing Fri & Sat night Snooker * Pool * Indoor Bowls * Fishing *Outdoor Bowls * Golf and Darts* Gaming Machines Raffles: Wed, Thurs
A warm welcome is assured to all members and visitors. Special welcome to local and out of town visitors.
THE SMALL RSA WITH THE BIG HEART
WHANGAREI
Overlooking the Racecourse
Family Restaurant Hrs Lunch: 12-2pm, Tues-Sat. 12.30pm-2pm Sun Dinner 5.30-8.30pm Wed-Sat, 5.30-7.30pm Tues & Sun Note Sunday Lunch & Dinner Carvery Bus trips catered for by request.
KAITAIA FAR NORTH
AVONDALE RSA
WAIHEKE RSA
RSA
66-70 Railside Ave Ph (09) 838 9012 www.hsnrsa.co.nz
Service with a smile, and bar prices better than most. 18 gaming machines, self service TAB, Housie every Thursday, live entertainment Friday and Saturday evenings, 4 snooker tables, 3 pool tables and 8 competition dart boards. 5 big screen TV’s.
Whatever you’re interested in we’ve got it covered, visit us today!
EAST COAST BAYS RSA (Inc)
15 Bute Road Browns Bay Ph: 09 478 8033 North of the Harbour Bridge ecbrsa@xtra.co.nz
INC
29 Belgium Street, Ostend
Clubrooms and Bar Open 7 Days Restaurant Open 6 Days, closed Monday Take advantage of the free transport to our doorstep for Super Gold Card holders. Spoil yourselves with a trip to our wonderful Island and enjoy our hospitality. Ph: (09) 372 9019 Bar: (09) 372 5554
HENDERSON
Restaurant: (09) 372 6655 E-mail: waiheke.rsa@xtra.co.nz
PAPATOETOE DISTRICT RSA (Inc)
22 Wallace Rd Ph: 09 278 6372 Email: papatoetoersa@xtra.co.nz Bar Hours Mon 11am -7.30pm Tues, Wed: 11am - 10pm Thurs: 11am - 10.30pm Fri: 11am - 10pm Sat: 11am - 11pm Sun: noon - 7pm BISTRO Lunch: Tues -Fri 12-1.00pm Dinner: Tues 6pm - 7.30pm Thurs Fri Sat 6pm - 8.00pm. Ph: 09 278 6374
(Hours may vary without prior notice) Social Nights with live bands: Thurs Family Nights - have entertainment on the second Friday of the month and starting in mid-July on Friday nights and Housie
Snooker Gaming Machines 8 Ball I/D Bowls Darts Sky Tv
Whether you are going to or from the Airport or just passing through pop in & spend a relaxing & friendly time with us.
We Are Your Airport Club
When heading north, staying or visiting the North Shore, stop at East Coast Bays RSA Lunches Tues-Sat 12-2pm.Dinner Wed Carvery 6-8pm Thurs-Sat 6-8.30pm Sun from 5.30pm VISIT OUR CLUBROOMS Open: Mon-Sat from 11am Sun 2-8pm
DANCING FRI & SAT 7.30PM Coach tours welcome by arrangement Gaming Machine * Darts * Pool * Snooker Housie I/d Bowls * Dinning & Dancing * TAB * Raffles
A WARM WELCOME TO ALL MEMBERS & THEIR GUESTS
WAIKATO / KING COUNTRY / BAY OF PLENTY
TE AROHA MEMORIAL RSA (Inc) Rewi Street
Ph 07 884 8124
Club open from Mon 3pm- Tues - Sat 2pm, Meals Available Thurs, Fri, Sat from 6pm A warm, friendly welcome awaits you
VISITORS CORDIALLY WELCOME
OPOTIKI COUNTY RSA INC When passing through Opotiki call in and enjoy our hospitality.
We are the Gateway to East Cape
Glen Eden RSA
9 Glendale Rd West Auckland Ph: 09 818 4219 Web: www.glenedenrsa.co.nz
Meals Lunch: Tues - Fri. Dinner: Thurs - Sun. Entertainment: Fri & Sat.
We are better than the rest. We are the friendliest in the West
Club Hours: Mon-Sat 1pm till late Sun 2pm till late Meals + Bar Snacks 7 days Membership draw nights Wed, Fri, Sat. Snooker - Pool - Indoor Bowls - Darts St John Street, OPOTIKI. Phone (07) 315 6174
30 Classified
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
Local RSAs MT MAUNGANUI
27 Studholme Street Morrinsville Ph: 07 889-7014
RETURNED & SERVICES ASSOCIATION (INC) 544 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui
Restaurant open 7 days Lunch: Mon/Fri Noon-1.30pm Dinner: Mon/Sat 6.00-8.00pm Sunday: Carvery 5.30pm-7.30pm
Entertainment every Friday & Saturday night, Sundays from 4.00pm Regular Shows. TAB, 18 Gaming Machines, 3 Eight Ball & 8 Snooker Tables, Sky TV, Big Screens & Data Projector, Courtesy Bus, Friendly Members, Great Staff, Wonderful Food, 12 Beers on tap, Excellent Wines, All This in the best climate in NZ Phone / Fax: 07 575 4477 Web: www.mtrsa.co.nz Email: mtrsa@xtra.co.nz
Hours: Tues - Fri: 3pm - 10pm, Sat 11am - Late, 3rd Sunday each month: 3pm - 8pm
NGARUAWAHIA RSA (Inc)
4 Market St, P: 07 824 8905, E: ngaruawahiarsa@gmail.com
Friendly social atmosphere. Entertainment including live music, raffles, quizzes. Children welcome till 8:30pm. Pool,Darts, Gaming Machines, Sky TV, Courtesy Van
Open 7 days, Poppies Restaurant available at RSA Visit us on Facebook
Bar Hours - Open 7 Days - From 11.00am
Family Lounge: Regular entertainment, 12 gaming machines with $1000 jackpot, Sky TV on the big screens, pool & snooker tables, indoor & outdoor bowls, fishing and darts.
Open 7 Days from Breakfast - 7.00am - Lunch - 12.00 noon Dinner - 5.00pm
www.morrinsvillersa.org.nz
TE AWAMUTU
District Memorial RSA (Inc) 381 ALEXANDER STREET P. 07 8713707 E. tarsa@xtra.co.nz
MEMORIAL R.S.A. (Inc.) Ngaio Street Ph: 07 888 7190 Open from Mon- Sat 3pm, Sun 4pm.
Poppyfields Restaurant:
Open for bus tours & private functions by arrangement
MEMORIAL MEMORIAL RSA RSA A (Inc) (Inc)
16 Oxford Street Ph: 07 573 7922
Hours: Club open daily from 3pm. Monday - Sunday Restaurant: Thurs, Fri and Sat nights. Lunch ‘Pension Day Tuesday’
All RSA members & Visitors are most welcome to our warm & friendly, air conditioned club
TAUPO “The Centre Of it All”
Bar Hours - Mon-Thurs: 11am- 9pm Fri: 11-11pm. Sun: 1- 8pm
Restaurant Hours
Sun, Mon, Wed, Thurs 5:30 to 7:30pm Fri & Sat 5:30 to 8:30pm Lunch Thursday 12pm noon Groups catered for during week on request
Come and visit our friendly Club the
‘ROSE of the WAIKATO’
HAMILTON Combined Returned Services Club
Rostrevor Street, Po Box 9028 Ph 07 8380131 Fax 07 8340170 Email: hamcrsc@clear.net.nz. Web: www.hamcrsc.co.nz
OPEN 7 DAYS Club Restaurant Lunches Tues-Fri Dinner Tues-Sun from 5.30pm. FUNCTION BOOKINGS BY ARRANGEMENT 18 Gaming Machines * TAB * Sky Big Screen * ATM *Eft Pos * 8 Ball * Snooker * Euchre * 500 * Darts * I/D Bowls
* Gaming Machines * Sky Tv * Snooker * 8 Ball * Indoor Bowls
Club Hours Mon- Wed: 11am -10pm.
Thurs- Sat: 11am - Late. Sun: 2 - 8pm Horomatangi Street Phone: 07 378 7476 Please visit our wesite at: www.tauporsa.co.nz
Taumarunui & District RSA 10 Marae St, Taumarunui
PO Box 24 PH: 07 895 7517 FAX: 07 895 8343 Email: taumrsa@xtra.co.nz
MANAGER: John Callinan MEMBERS: 862 Restaurant open 7 nights from 5:30pm Club open daily from 11:00am Sunday from 1:00pm 18 Gaming Machines, Courtesy Coach Charge back facilities to local motels. If you are coming to Taumarunui we can arrange local tours, golf club bookings, Motel Bookings.
Entertainment Centre of Taumarunui
WHANGAMATA RSA (INC) 324 Port Road, Whangamata Ph/Fax: 07 865 9419 Email: whangamata.rsa@actrix.co.nz Web: www.whangamatarsanz.com
& Districts Memorial RSA
Ph: 07 386 8717 PO Box 1 Katopu Place Turangi Email: trgirsa@hotmail.com Bar 7 days from 11am Restaurant Thur - Sat evenings Gaming Machines, Snooker, Pool, Darts, Indoor Bowls, Library, Big Screen Sky TV TURN 3RD RIGHT FROM ROUNDABOUT
EAST COAST - HAWKES BAY WAIRARAPA - TARANAKI MANAWATU - WELLINGTON
WANGANUI Great Entertainment...
S BER MEM ME W E N CO WEL
Live Bands 18 Gaming Machines TAB Terminal Big Screen TVs' 8 Ball * Darts * Bowls Euchre * Housie Raffles * Members' Jackpots
Gallipoli Restaurant
Lunch Tuesday to Saturday from 11.30am Dinner Monday & Wednesday to Saturday from 5.30pm Tuesday Pension Day Special - Lunches Whiteboard Dinner Specials
A warm, sunshine welcome is extended to all visitors to our modern, comfortable clubrooms OPEN 7 DAYS PER WEEK Restaurant Open:Lunch: Mon- Sat. Dinner:Mon-Sun
Top meals at reasonable prices
• Live entertainment Fri & Sat nights • Parking • Conference room • Taxi chits available for discounted fares
Membership still open. Affiliated members Welcome
Conveniently located to Marine Parade, motels and city centre THERE ARE NO STRANGERS AMONG US, ONLY FRIENDS WE HAVE NOT MET.
Otaki & District Memorial RSA 9 Raukawa Street Ph: 06 36 46221 Open Tues - Sunday Dining room Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun roast lunch TAB - Sky - Snooker - Darts Fridays entertainment Affiliated Members and Guests most welcome
SOUTH TARANAKI RSA (Inc) Bar Hours: Mon, Tues 3-7pm Wed 3-9pm, Thurs 3-7pm. Fri, Sat 3-9pm Clubrooms open some mornings Bistro Meals: Fri. 5-7pm
Princess Street Hawera When in our area you are cordially invited to visit our Clubrooms & enjoy our hospitality. A friendly welcome is assured to all.
… MEMBERS AND BONA FIDE GUESTS WELCOME ... 170 St Hill Street, Wanganui Phone: Clubrooms 345 5750 * Restaurant 345 4140 *
Courtesy Bus 027 345 5750
Email: admin@wanganuirsa.co.nz * Website: www.wanganuirsa.co.nz
1 Easton Street, Ph: 06 3637670 Fax: 06 3636838 Email: foxtonrsa@xtra.co.nz www.foxtonrsa.co.nz Friendly & safe environment (children welcomed)
Open:
HASTINGS RSA Avenue Road West Ph: 06 878 8808 Fax: 06 878 7642
OPEN SEVEN DAYS
GALLIPOLI RESTAURANT
Mon. & Tues. Wednesday Thursday Fri. & Sat. Sunday First & last Sun of the month
11am - 7pm 11am - 9pm 11am - 10pm 11am - 12pm 2pm - 7pm 12pm - 7pm
Reasonably priced quality meals available: Lunch – Thurs., Fri., Sat. 12pm to 1.30pm Sun (first and last of the month) Dinner –Thurs., Fri. & Sat. 6pm to 8.00pm SKY TV, big screen, pool, darts, pokies, juke box Campervans welcomed (two sites are powered) Venue available for hire for special events and functions
Ph: 06 876 4739
VISITORS WELCOME
Clubrooms Open: 7 days from 11 am Restaurant Open: 6 days from 11 am Closed Mondays Group Bookings, Bus Tours, etc. by arrangement
Entertainment Big Screen TV’s, Snooker, 8 Ball, Darts, Indoor Bowls, Golf, 12 Gaming Machines
Lower Hutt Memorial www.lowerhuttrsa.org.nz
Kensington Restaurant Open Upstairs Wednesday - Sunday from 5:30pm
Live Band Friday and Saturday 8.00pm and Sundays 3.00pm 3 Bars, Garden Bar, Large TV Screens, Sky Sport, TAB, Internet, Library, Gaming Room, Conference Facilities.
47 Udy Street, Petone. Ph 568 5404 Members, Guests and Affiliated members welcome
Live Entertainment Friday Nights Close to motels in the heart of town
Richardson St Ph: 07 307 0343 E: admin@whakatanersa.co.nz
NEW, RETURNED & SERVICE MEMBERS MOST WELCOME
BULLS SH1 Bulls Ph 06 322 0875
Hours Mon, Tues & Sun:11am -8pm Wed -Sat:11am -10pm When passing through Bulls call at our clubrooms, enjoy our hospitality and have a friendly chat.
Open 7 Days ---- Bar Hours
Gaming Machines - Big Screens - 8 Ball - Snooker Darts - Indoor Bowls - Line Dancing - Karaoke Thursday evenings
Thurs, Fri & Sat. Dinners 5.30 - 9.30pm
Bistro Open 7 Days A Week Lunch 11.30 - 2.00pm Dinner 5:00 - 9.00pm
Mon-Thurs 10am-10pm.Fri & Sat 10am till late. Sun 12noon-6pm Lunch and Dinner Tues-Sat Bar Snacks Available
* Sky Tv * TAB * Gaming Room * Pool * Darts * Indoor Bowls * EFTPOS * Wine Club * Kapa Haka BAR HOURS
RESTAURANT HOURS CLUB night every FRIDAY 4.30 - 6.30pm in the ANZAC Lounge
A Friendly Welcome in Warm Whakatane
5 -7 McKillop St, Tel: 04 237 7695 Fax 04 238 2343
Mon 11am - 7pm. Tues 11am - 7pm. Wed 11am - 8pm. Thurs 11am - 11pm. Fri 11am - 12pm. Sat 10am - 12pm. Sun 10am - 9pm
Visitors Most Welcome
WHAKATANE RSA (Inc)
PORIRUA RSA (Inc) OPEN SEVEN DAYS
Gateway to the Coromandel Peninsula
Restaurant Hours
TOKAANU-TURANGI
“When in the Bay stay with us” Motor Inn accommodation available Excellent Rates “Visitors Welcome Anytime”
NAPIER RSA
34 Vautier Street, Napier Office: 06 835 7629 Fax: 06 835 1357 Club: 06 835 1034
All The Games You Can Play, TAB & Superscreen TVs/Videos
Rendezvous Restaurant Wed, Thur, Fri Lunch 12 - 2pm Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat Dinner 5 - 8 Closed Tuesday and Sunday
Oaktree Restaurant
Turn into the main street at the traffic filter and look for our Rose Garden at the end of the main shopping area.
Sat: 11-10pm
MATAMATA
Big Screen TV’s, Snooker, Pool, Darts, Indoor Bowl, Cards, 18 Gaming Machines, Live Bands
Retreat Restaurant: Thurs - Sat 5pm - 8pm Lunch every 2nd Tuesday 11am - 1pm
Affiliated Members, Guests and Potential Members Welcome
TE TE PUKE PUKE
1237 Cameron Road, Greerton, Tauranga
Ph 07 578 9654 Fax 07 577 0715 E: admin@tgarsa.co.nz | www.tgarsa.co.nz
THE NEW GENERATION RSA
Clubrooms open 7 days Mon/Tues 10.00am-9.00pm Wed/Thurs 11.00am-10.00pm Fri/Sat 11.00am-11.00pm Sunday noon-8.00pm
RSA TAURANGA
TAWA RSA
Visitors Made Welcome
89 Oxford St. Ph: 232 5788
A warm welcome is extended to all RSA & Char tered Club visitors We are open: POOL Wed to Sun from 4pm DARTS Meals Friday 6.00 - 8.00pm Sunday Roast the last Sunday of SKY TV each month 6.00pm-8pm
ANY CHANGES TO CLUB ADVERTS OR CLASSIFIED ADVERTS PLEASE CONTACT DAVE McKEE Ph: 03 983 5518 Fax: 03 983 5552 Email:davem@waterfordpress.co.nz
Classified 31
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
Local RSAs RICHMOND/WAIMEA R.S.A. INC. P.0. Box 3034 Richmond 7050.
TARADALE
& DISTRICTS RSA INC
156 Gloucester Street Ph/Fax 06 844 4808
Clubrooms Open Mon-Fri 8.30 am Sat-Sun 10.30 am
Meals Available 7 days - Lunch & Dinner
CHARTERED CLUB
35 Centennial Ave. Alexandra
Alexandra Clyde RSA
When in Napier or Hastings visit us, we are only 8 minutes from either city. Motel accommodation next door with discounts available
PO Box 10 Ph: 03 448 8090 Fax: 03 448 8023 Bar Hours Mon-Sat: 11am-Late Sun: 4.30 9pm Bistro Hours Thurs: 6.30-8.30pm. Fri: 6-9pm Sun: 6-8pm Snack Bar open all hours
All Visitors Assured of a Warm & Sincere Welcome
CATERING A SPECIALTY Gaming Machines, Sky Tv,Snooker, Pool Darts,Bowls
Visitors Welcome MARLBOROUGH - NELSON WEST COAST CANTERBURY OTAGO - SOUTHLAND
ashburton rsa [inc]
12 Cox Street
All Indoor Sports available. Gaming Machines Live Music Every Alternative Saturday nights. Wheelchair available
ashburton Where the North meets the South
PAPANUI RSA Ph: 03 352 9770 55 Bellvue Ave Papanui Rd & 1 Harewood Rd
Access also from
Visiting Christchurch
Try our hospitality in the heart of Papanui. Adjacent to major civic amenities incl. shopping mall,motels & hotels Club Hours Mon -Tues: 11am -9pm. Wed-Thurs: 11am-10pm. Fri- Sat: 11am- 11pm. Sun: 11am- 8pm
Bistro Meals
Lunch: 7 days 12 - 2 pm Dinner: 7 days 5pm onwards
Facilities
Eftpos, Sky TV, Snooker Billiards, Pool, Bowls, Cards, Darts, Gaming Machines, Library, Live Entertainment, Off Street Parking. Power Point for Campervans
Call and make some West Coast friends
31 Union Street, Milton Ph: 03 417 8927
Open daily from 5.00pm *All Welcome*
INVERCARGILL WORKINGMEN’S CLUB INC. Incorporating the INVERCARGILL R.S.A. 154 Esk Street, Invercargill Ph. 03 218 8693 Fax 03 218 3011 e-mail office@iwmc.co.nz Hours Mon - Wed. 11.00am - 10.00pm Thurs. 11.00am - 11.00pm Fri. 11.00am - 12 midnight Sat. 10.00am - 1.30am Sun. 12.00noon - 9.00pm Bottle Store Corinthian Restaurant open for lunch Mon - Fri 12noon - 1.30pm Dinner Thurs. - Sun. from 6.00pm Corinthian Convention Centre available for meetings, conferences or functions, large or small 24 Gaming machines - 5 snooker tables Sky TV 5 pool tables Raffles Mon. - Sat. Band on Sat. nights Off-street parking
ALL VISITORS WELCOME
Gore District
Look us up on Facebook
Dinner 5.30-8:30pm Lunch Fri-Sun 11:30am-1:30pm rsa - clubs nz members most welcome
RANGIORA RSA CLUB (Inc) 82 Victoria Street Ph: 03 313 7123
Memorial RSA Inc
12 Civic Ave Ph: 03 208 6218 Fax: 03 208 6220 Email: GoreRSA@xtra.co.nz Clubrooms Open 10.30 am 7 days a week Bar Hours Mon - Fri 10.30 am - 11 pm Sat 10.30 am - 1 am Sun 10.30 am - 9.30 pm Family Bar The Gore RSA Bistro Wed - Fri 12-2 pm. Tues - Sun from 5.30 pm Private functions by arrangement * 5 F/size Snooker Tables * 18 Gaming Machines * Big Screen Sky TV * TAB Live entertainment each month. Tea coffee in our smoke free lounge. Off street parking for visitors. Raffles: Thurs & Fri. Flag 500 Wed 7 pm during winter
ANY CHANGES TO CLUB ADVERTS OR CLASSIFIED ADVERTS PLEASE CONTACT DAVE McKEE Ph: 03 983 5518 Fax: 03 983 5552 Email:davem@waterfordpress.co.nz
Templeton RSA 38 Kirk Rd, Templeton E: templetonrsa@xtra.co.nz
CLUB BAR HOURS
Wed, Thurs & Sat: 4pm - 7pm Fri 4pm till late
MEALS
Friday nights from 6:10pm
NEW MEMBERS WELCOME
RIVERTON & DISTRICTS 141 Palmerston Street Riverton 9822 Phone: (03) 2348737 Enjoy Southern Hospitality Tue-Sat 3-6pm & Fri 3-9pm
Marlborough RSA 42 Alfred Street Blenheim (In Clubs Marlborough Complex)
We extend a cordial invitation to all visiting members to visit our Clubrooms Open 7 Days from 9.00, Restaurant meals - 7 Days. Gaming, Pool, Snooker, Sky TV.
Christchurch Memorial Returned and Services Association Inc.
Welcome
Milton Bruce RSA
49 High Street
Open 7 Days Mon-Thur 2.30pm Fri-Sun 11.00am Restaurant open 7 days
4
181 Tainui Street Phone 03 768 7307 Open Daily - Visitors Welcome
Open from 11.00 am Monday – Saturday; 11.30 am Sunday Tribute: 6.00 pm Wednesdays Lunch 11.00 am – 2.00 pm; Dinner 5.30 – 8.30 pm
motueka
Courtesy Van Available Thurs, Fri, & Sat nights
GREYMOUTH RSA CLUB
NELSON RSA (Inc) 168 Tahunanui Drive, Nelson. Phone 03 548 6815.
memorial rsa (inc)
Restaurant: Lunch Wed, Thurs, Fri. Dinner Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun.
Hours Mon - Tues: 11am-7pm. Wed Thurs Fri: 11am-10pm. Sat: 11am-12pm. Sun: 11am- 5pm Tues+Wed Lunch noon. Bistro Thurs, Fri, Sat 5.30-8pm
Operating from Club Waimea Premises Lower Queen Street, Richmond. Phone 03 543 9179. Open from 11.00am till late. Club Waimea facilities including Caravan Park facilities which are available to all R.S.A. Members. Meals are available Wednesday - Sunday 11.30am Onwards
Facilities: Administration Office Support and Welfare Office Museum • Event/function Centre Trenches Restaurant and Bar (Public License) Poppy Club members’ bar Memorial Plaza and Remembrance Wall Operating Hours: Monday to Wednesday 08:00am to Midnight Thursday to Saturday 08:00am to 01:00am Sunday 08:00am to 11:00pm
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner available P: 03-3799724 E: office@christchurchrsa.org.nz www.christchurchrsa.org.nz | www.trenches.co.nz 74 Armagh Street, P.O. Box 354, Christchurch 8140,
Private function bookings are welcome
Travel New Zealand RUSSELL. F/furn 2 bdrm apartment. Sleeps 4 available all year. 2 adults $400 p week or $80 p night, $15 pn extra person. Ph: 09 426 9747 Email: donandmyra@xtra.co.nz WANGANUI. Bignell St Motel, Quiet, Warm, Friendly, Comfortable, Pets by arrangement. $65 single + $15pp extra. Phone Now 0800 244 635 WHAKATANE. Bay Hotel Units 90 McAllister Street. Very handy to RSA. Discount for RSA members. Friendly service, courtesy pickup, Pets very welcome. Your hosts Betty & Willy Arends. Ph 07 308 6788 Fax 07 308 6749
Travel Australia Anyone for f a Gold Coast Getaway?? Getaway?? Welcome to Palazzo Colonnades boutique, high-rise holiday accommodation apartments in Surfers Paradise.... • Fully self contained, air conditioned one bedroom and two bedroom apartments • Heated swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnasium and BBQ facilities • Under cover, fully secured free parking • Flat screen televisions and AUSTAR cable television free of charge • In room wireless internet broadband service • Extensive choice of restaurants within minutes walking distance
NEW BRIGHTON RSA 21 Mafeking Street, New Brighton, Christchurch Ph: 03 388 9059 Open daily from 3.30pm Sunday 11.30am Meals available Thurs, Fri & Sat “All Welcome”
• 1.5km from Gold Coast Exhibition and Convention Centre • 150 metres to the beach and 6-8 minutes leisurely stroll to Cavill Avenue
HOT DEAL! Stay 5 Pay 4 from AUS $608.00* TO BOOK PHONE +61 7 5538 4555
Address: 2988 - 2994 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise. 4217 Telephone: +61 7 5538 4555 Email: info@palazzocolonnades.com.au
FOR THE BEST RATES BOOK DIRECT AT OUR NEW WEBSITE: www.palazzocolonnades.com.au * Valid for sale 31/03/16 - 15/12/15. Block out dates apply.
32 Classified
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
Travel Australia
Tours VIETNAM TOURS. 20 Days ex Auck, Wgtn, Chch. From $6795 pp share twin. Special conditions apply. Kiwi Vietnam Tours: 305 Kahuterawa Rd, RD 2 Palmerston North. Ph.06 324 8444 info@kiwivietnamtours.co.nz | www.kiwivietnamtours.co.nz
FREE High Speed 271 Elizabeth Street, Sydney + 61 2 9264 6001
DIRECT BOOKING ONLINE NOW AVAILABLE
VIETNAM
Visit: www.hydeparkinn.com.au
The Hyde Park Inn offers friendly, personalised service and spectacular views across Hyde Park. Central CBD location, just minutes to shopping, theatres, Central Station, The Opera House, Darling Harbour and Kings Cross. Our features include: • Self catering facilities • Complimentary continental breakfast • Air-conditioning • Balcony to Deluxe Rooms • Large family rooms and apartments • Free car parking • Free in-house movie channels • Guest laundry • DVD players to all rooms • Flat Screen LCD televisions
BATTLE OF LONG TAN 50th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION TOUR 12 DAYS - Departs 12th August 2015
Owned by RSL NSW Branch • Special rates for RSA Members • Special long term rates available Eligible RSA members can join a NSW RSL Sub Branch for even better rates.
• • • • • •
Memorial service at the battle site of Long Tan 18th August Tour of the Nui Dat camp area and Long Phuoc tunnels Visit to Coral and Balmoral Fire Support battle site Ho Chi Minh City - Reunification Palace & War Museum Cu Chi Tunnels - Extensive underground tunnel network Tour to Changi Prison and Kranji Memorial in Singapore
Price includes: 3 nights in Singapore • international flights • 4 star hotels • sightseeing • entrance fees • all breakfasts, four dinners, one lunch • For an itinerary contact: Erick Greening
Tour led by - Ray Farrell (Vietnam War Veteran) - Erick Greening (Explorer Adventure Tours Ltd)
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Cape Kidnappers safari experience takes you to Hawkes Bay’s Cape Kidnappers Gannet Colony - the world’s largest, most accessible Mainland Gannet nesting place. Travel in comfort in our air conditioned 4x4 Coach, through Cape Kidnappers Station
No walking required
Fully self contained boutique apartments - 4 star self rating, all with lift access, airconditioning & ocean views. Direct access to beach 50 meters. Heated pool and spa, BBQ area. Transport arranged from Brisbane or Coolangatta Airports. Easy walk to heart of Surfers or Broadbeach
Painting by Peter McIntyre Image courtesy of National Army Museum, NZ
Battle of Crete 75th Commemoration Pilgrimage 17 – 23 May 2016 Plus Gallipoli to Athens Overland Expedition 9 – 17 May 2016 On May the 20th 1941, ANZAC, Greek and British forces stood side by side with the heroic population of Crete in the defence of their Southern Mediterranean Island against the elite of Hitler’s war machine. The ensuing battle is etched forever in ANZAC history. Now, 75 years later, veterans and the descendants of these brave soldiers and civilians will gather on Crete to honour their courageous endeavours by attending commemorative services, explore the For more information and a copy of our tour brochure call Tempo Holidays on (09) 520 1490 or email greg@tempoholidays.co.nz
Book direct and get great deals from friendly kiwis, Ph: 00617 5526 7588, Or email: info@emeraldsands.com.au Or visit: www.emeraldsands.com.au
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Our 2016 tours include: NZ: Rangitikei Historic Homes 27 - 31 Jan; Kapiti Island & South Coast 4 - 10 Feb; Top of the South 13 - 24 Feb; South of the South 29 Feb - 15 Mar; Winterless North 17 - 23 Mar; Wonderful Waiheke 5 - 8 Apr; Great Barrier Island 12 - 15 Apr. AUSTRALIA: Touring Tasmania 12 - 24 Jan; Melbourne, Adelaide & Murray River 27 Apr - 10 May. PACIFIC: Hawaii 14 - 28 May; New Caledonia 29 May - 5 Jun; Samoa 4 - 11 Jul. On our Top of the South, South of the South and Melbourne, Adelaide & Murray River tours, shorter itineraries are also available
For our new 2016 colour brochure or to make a booking, phone 0800 66 44 14 or email: info@scottsdaletours.co.nz www.scottsdaletours.co.nz
News/Classified 33
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
PORIRUA HOSPITAL STAFF JOINED WAR EFFORT Allan Dodson
Before the start of World War 1 the Porirua Mental Institute was the largest employer in Porirua. Not only doctors, nurses and attendants, but people employed as farmers, electricians and other trades to support the operation. Many of these people lived and worked at the institute, but a number of families lived in Porirua and relied on the hospital for employment. Following the outbreak of war, a large number of the men from the hospital volunteered for duty, mostly enlisting in the New Zealand Medical Corp. A smaller number enlisted in the Wellington Mounted Rifles and the Wellington Infantry Regiment. The first men to serve overseas were in the Samoa Expeditionary Force, which departed in August 1914 to occupy Samoa, at that time a German colony. Among those with Porirua Mental Institute connections toserve were: Maj Alexander Cameron McKillop Maj McKillop led the New Zealand Medical Corps on the Samoa Expeditionary Force. Before the war, he was the superintendant of the tnstitute. He also served in Egypt and Gallipoil before being invalided back to New Zealand in 1916. www.poriruawarstories.com/ mckillop-alexander-cameron LCpl Wilfred Singleton Many young, single men working in Porirua had been recruited from the United Kingdom, and most enlisted for war service. One of them, LCpl Singleton, enlisted in the New Zealand Medical Corp. He landed at Gallipoli and was not only mentioned in dispatches, but also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for bravery in tending the wounded. He died
Maj Alexander McKillop
Cpl Wilfred Singleton
of wounds and was buried at sea off Gallipoli. www.poriruawarstories.com/singleton-wilfred Private John Gillett: Pte Gillett, one of the Porirua men who went with Maj McKillop to Samoa, re-enlisted to serve in the New Zealand Medical Corps. He was on the transport ship Marquette when it was torpedoed in the Mediterranean on October 23, 1915. His bravery resulted in the rescue of 24 people, including the matron and five nurses. The sinking of the Marquette resulted in a large loss of life including 10 New Zealand nurses. The long-term effect (post traumatic stress) of the
sinking resulted in Pte Gillett being invalided back to New Zealand in 1916. www.poriruawarstories.com/gillett-john-burgess Staff Nurse Elizabeth Mary Findlay Elizabeth Mary Findlay was a trained nurse living in Porirua; her husband, William Farquhar Findlay, was a doctor at the Porirua Mental Institute. When Capt Findlay enlisted, his wife accompanied him to Egypt where she enlisted in 1915 in the New Zealand Army Nursing Service. She served in Egypt and England before resigning in 1918 to have the couple’s only child. www.poriruawarstories.com/ findlay-elizabeth-mary In 1917 a newspaper reported that “of the original full staff of 69 men, 48 had gone to the front. Three had been killed, four reported wounded and seven invalided home”. Porirua War Stories has identified 32 of these men, and their stories will be told on the Porirua War Stories website, along with 157 other men and women from the wider Porirua district who served in World War 1. A searchable database of Porirua War Stories is being developed. • Allan Dodson is the author of the history of Porirua Hospital. He is offering to research any
Patients, nurses and staff at the New Zealand Convalescent Hospital, Cairo, in 1916
South African War or World War 1 serviceman or woman provided the results can be included in the Porirua War Stories website. Allan Dodson’s work was also the source of the some of information included in the story involving Tawa College head boy Joshua Nightingale and Cpl William Earp, from Porirua, in the spring 2015 issue of RSA Review.
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34 What’s New
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
What’s New
SPITFIRE TAKES ON OLD FOE AT WARBIRDS Peter Owens Fading memories will be revived and folklore recalled when a Spitfire and a Messerschmitt rule the skies over Wanaka next April. A Messerschmitt Bf 109, which is now based in the United Kingdom, will join a Spitfire in aerial displays to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain during the Warbirds Over Wanaka event at Easter (March 25-27). This will be the first time in 20 years that a Messerschmitt 109 has flown in New Zealand. Airshow founder Tim Wallis brought one to the 1996 event. Warbirds Over Wanaka general manager Ed Taylor says there are quite a few Me109s in museums, but only a handful still flying.” “It holds the record for being the most produced fighter aircraft of all time with a total of 33,000 built,” he says. “This is a major coup for us. It’s expensive to keep these old aircraft flying and to bring them halfway around the world is no easy task.” The aircraft coming to Wanaka is something ofPeter a movieOwens star – it flew in the 1968 Battle of Britain film and, 20 years later, starred alongside Tom Cruise in Valkyrie. It is owned by the Aircraft Restoration Company, which is based at Duxford in England. ARC owner John Romain, who will pilot the plane in Wanaka, says the show has been on his wish list for some time: “It ticks a lot of boxes for me.” The aircraft performs at many airshows in Europe and has been especially busy in the United Kingdom over the past few months taking part in numerous Battle of Britain 75th anniversary celebrations. “I’m sure there will be thousands of New Zealand and Australian airshow fans very excited about the prospect of seeing the 109 going up against a Spitfire once again.” Romain, one of the UK’s top Warbird pilots
However, once flown and the handling qualities are known and accepted, it is a tremendous fighter to fly. I can see why the German pilots liked it so much.
A Messerschmitt will join a Spitfire in an aerial display marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain at Warbirds over Wanaka next March.
with many hours flying both the Me109 and Spitfires, says the 109 is smaller than the Spitfire, and the cockpit is “much smaller”. “However, once flown, and the handling qualities are known and accepted, it is a tremendous fighter to fly. I can see why the German pilots liked it so much. The Spitfire is certainly easier to fly – lighter on the controls and much more relaxing in the take-off and landing phase. The German pilots became “tired” when flying the 109 because of both its physical and mental requirements. “This alone would point me towards the Spitfire if I was going to war. Having said that, the 109 has wonderful qualities as a fighter and as an aircraft generally. A pleasure to fly.”
The Warbirds Over Wanaka Community Trust is keen to use the Me109 visit to further its mission “to educate through the celebration and promotion of aviation past and present”. The commemoration of the Battle of Britain 75th anniversary will used in the airshow’s free schools’ programme. On Rides Day (Monday March 28), Warbirds visitors will get the opportunity to get off the ground in anything from a warbird to a microlight. And Classic Flights (based at the Wanaka airport) will take veterans over 90 for a free flight in a Tiger Moth before the show starts on the next day (Tuesday March 29). Contact 03 4434043. Event manager Mandy Deans says one of WOW’s aims is to encourage people into aviation
careers and warbird flying as there are relatively few new warbird pilots coming into the scene. There will also be an emphasis on sport aircraft in the 2016 airshow, with some operators giving passengers the opportunity to take the controls during flight. The sport group will include an overseas aircraft, a short-take-off and landing competition, and a jet air race. A number of amphibious aircraft, including a Catalina flying boat, will fly over the Wanaka lakefront in the free, public event at dusk on Friday, March 25, accompanied by a commentary, search lights, music and re-enactments. As well as the star Spitfire/Messerschmitt duo, the warplane contingent will include a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair,(operated by the RNZAF l in the Pacific), a Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk, a sleek North American P51-D Mustang, and a restored, twin-engine Avro Anson Mk1. The jet-fighter air race will see teams of pilots from the United States and New Zealand make a spectacular dash around a marked course. One or more Vampires and L-39 jets, which have a top speed of more than 700 kilometres per hour, are likely to compete. The jets will race out over the Clutha River towards Lake Hawea and loop back to finish over the runway at Wanaka.
A recently published story of a soldier, Roy Haycock from Brightwater, who served in the 12th Nelson Company, 2nd Battalion Canterbury Infantry Regiment, during World War 1, as told from the entries he made in two diaries which he kept during his service, the second of which has a hole caused by the bullet which killed him. He sailed with the 12th Reinforcements to England via Egypt, trained at Sling and fought on the Somme, being wounded during the battle of Flers-Courcelette, September 1916. He was evacuated to England to recover and returned to his unit just after the battle of Messines. He took part in the battle of Passchendaele and was killed in the attack on Bellevue Spur on 12 October 1917. The book contains many photographs and maps which put the diary entries in context, and also includes, on virtually every page, snippets of useful information for the First World War soldier taken directly from the second diary. The book is available from the Author, Richard Palmer at $35.00 post free anywhere in New Zealand. He can be contacted at rnpalmer@xtra.co.nz or on 021 0876 9725
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Author Richard Palmer at the launch of his book about his great-uncle’s part in World War 1.
Bullet-punctured diary basis of book Richard Palmer spent eight years writing about his great-uncle’s part in World War 1. Going Into Support Tonight: The Life and Death of a New Zealand Soldier in World War 1 tells the story of Roy Haycock who fought in the 12th Nelson and Marlborough Company, 2nd Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Battalion. Haycock, a farmer from Hope, was 20 when he enlisted to fight in 1916. He sailed with the 12th Reinforcements to England via Egypt, trained at Sling and fought on the Somme. He was wounded during the battle of Flers Courcelette in September 1916 and was evacuated to England to recover. He returned to his unit just after the
Battle of Messines and took part in the Battle of Passchendaele, He was killed in the attack on Bellevue Spur on October 12, 1917. The book was written with the aid of two diaries belonging to Haycock. Both are now in the possession of Palmer. One of the diaries was with Haycock when he was killed and has a bullet hole through it. Palmer is thrilled to see the book published and launched at Nelson’s Saturday Market in Montgomery Square. He had frequented the market before moving to Hastings. Information/orders: Richard Palmer -– rnpalmer@xtra.co.nz
News 35
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
NURSING HISTORY A BROAD CANVAS It’d be a pity if Sherayl McNabb’s history of the New Zealand’s military nursing service was pigeon holed within that confine. Indeed, it is just such a history – and an exceptionally good one too. But it is far more than that. McNabb’s work encapsulates much of New Zealand society, life and attitudes since the mid-nineteenth century – and particularly of the role of women since the country’s pioneering days. While the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps was formed in January 1915, McNabb does not use that as her starting point. She tells us of nurses from the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s, and more in the South African Wars. Where possible, she fleshes out her nurses with a bit of background and places them in a context far beyond their military roles. She tells of the struggle to establish a military nursing service and the ensuing achievements and misfortunes of the 2700-plus women and men of Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps. When World War 1 started, the New Zealand government did not plan to send nurses overseas: “As far as they were concerned, they were sending the men and the British nurses would look after our men.” However, within days, the message came back that six nurses were needed overseas and the New Zealand Army Nursing Service (as the Nursing Corps was first called) went into action. The unit was formed in January 1915. By August that year, 176 New Zealand nurses were working overseas. A total of 625 nurses served during World War 1. About 680 nurses served during World War 2, and by then, there was no question that nurses would be going overseas.
Sherayl McNabb...’’This is your history’.
RNZNC members have served in nearly every conflict in which New Zealand has been involved since – in Vietnam, Iraq, East Timor, Bosnia and Afghanistan, as part of disaster-relief missions around the world and in search-and-rescue operations in New Zealand. The nurses served as territorials until becoming part of the regular army in 1948. McNabb traces their battle for recognition as full members of the military, their quasi officer status – in both world wars, they were officers,
but not commissioned, and were paid less than orderlies She co-wrote the original history of the RNZNC with the late David Corbett to mark the 75th anniversary and about five years ago decided to revise it for the centenary. It was a project that just kept on growing. “I have basically re-researched it and found so much more information, and now I have a finished product, I can say to the corps ‘This is your history’.” While the book may have got away on her and involved far more than she expected, she says it has been “a very rewarding experience”. The official launch in Christchurch was timed to coincide with the commemoration of the sinking of the Marquette with a number of nurses losing their lives, 100 years ago. The New Zealand Army’s director of nursing, LtCol Lee Turner, acknowledged her immense contribution, noting that much of it had been at her own cost. “If Sherayl hadn’t done it, it would not have been done,” he said. To which I can add as a reviewer: “And a job very, very well done it is.” – Dion Crooks • Orders for 100 Years of New Zealand Military Nursing 1915-2015, by Sherayl McNabb: S.McNabb, 11 Haig St, Wairoa 4108; rnznc_2015@xtra.co.nz. $59.95 (plus $12 per book tracked parcel post or $22 per book courier).
Rawness, immediacy in the Wild West If you grew up in the glory days of cowboys and Indians in the American Wild West, you’ll almost certainly treasure Winston Ramsey’s On The Trail of the Old West: Then and Now. But even if you missed that era, don’t be put off – anyone with any interest in history and life as it once was, can enjoy this publication. Yes, it’s based on the often murderous cut and thrust of what was an extraordinarily, precarious lifestyle, but it’s a wonderful snapshot of American frontier society and its attitudes. Ramsey takes you to the famous towns, recounts the exploits of the lawmen and the outlaws, gives us the rundown on the fabled shoot-outs, and details the workings and characteristics of the weapons of choice. He relies on close-to-the-action source material...then and now photographs of the towns, a surprising number of photos of the protagonists, and many newspaper reports of the time. These day-after-style reports carry a powerful sense of rawness and immediacy that’s hard to ignore, and you can spend hours poring over and comparing the pictures. – Dion Crooks • Information/orders: Battle Books New Zealand – sales@battlebooks.co.nz; www. battlebooks.co.nz; o21 434303. Price: $39.95 (including postage).
Handy flag reference
There’s no shortage of Bernard Freyberg biographies on the bookstore, libary and electronic shelves. Which does make you wonder about Wyn Beasley’s Zeal & Honour: The Life and Times of Bernard Freyberg. Why another? The answer lies in the foreword and introduction. Wellington College headmaster Roger Moses provides the link in his foreword – both author Beasley and Freyberg are old boys. Back in 1992 Beasley wrote a 125th-anniversary history of the school, in which Freyberg featured prominently, as you would expect of one of the institution’s most illustrious old boys. Then, in his introduction, Beasley, a retired orthopaedic surgeon, recalls a young playwright collecting anecdotes for a play to be performed at the Freyberg Pool in Wellington a few years ago, asking him: “And who was Freyberg, anyway?” “With the approach of the centenary of Freyberg’s emergence as ‘a man to be watched’, it is timely to revive public knowledge of him, and this book is an attempt to paint a picture of a man who was at once gallant, modest, wise, distinguished and more competent than the revisionist historians would depict him,” writes
Beasley. Which is exactly what he proceeds to do. You’re unlikely to find revelations about Freyberg, or deep analysis of the man and his many deeds. Rather, Beasley takes the reader through Freyberg’s life and various careers, successes and failures in easy-to-read, concise and straightforward style. The narrative is also very neutral. The author does not foist his views on you; you are left to draw your own conclusions. Yet Beasley does not dodge the tricky bits, especially the inquest into the loss of Crete and Freyberg’s part in it. He works factually and unopinionatedly through the available data of what happened, who did it and to whom, where, when, how and, sometimes, why. This is the real strength of his work. And he does it in just over 200 pages. The closest he gets to a personal opinion is at the end. He quotes Chaucer’s description of his knight, then concludes with an opinion quoted from Jim Henderson’s book, Soldier Country: “He was a thorough gentleman. But above all he was essentially decent to all those around him, from the highest in the land to the lowest.
All the time.” And that, you feel, very much says what Beasley felt. – Dion Crooks
With the New Zealand flag referendum very much in the news, John McLean, of Wellingtonbased Winter Productions, has produced and published a booklet Keep The Flag Flying: The History and Meaning of the New Zealand flag. McLean is a former officer of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve and the author of several books on New Zealand history. He is also a committed supporter of the present flag. His aim is to give voters information on the flag, its history, tradition, purpose and broader context, and how we have come to having these referenda. He does it well, putting the flag and the issue into a broader and historical context, and providing information that should help voters make an informed decision. Two or three times, though, he lets his passion take over and the tone becomes didactic and domineering – sergeant-majorish, you could say. But do not let that put you off. This is a useful contribution to the issue – just don’t get hooked up on those bits. – Dion Crooks
• Information/orders: Tross Publishing – John McLean. P O Box 22-143, Khandallah, Wellington 6441; enquiries@trosspublishing.co.nz; www. trosspublishing.co.nz; 027 5791267. Price: $40 (including postage)
• Information/orders: Tross Publishing – John McLean, P O Box 22-143, Khandallah, Wellington 6441; enquiries@trosspublishing.co.nz; www. trosspublishing.co.nz; 027 5791267. Price: $20 (including postage).
From page 36
“A friend and I put our names down at New Zealand House and ended up on the list of people invited to go. We were in a long line of people waiting for the queen to walk past, and were singled out to be presented to her. I nearly dropped dead and said, ‘Cath, don’t say anything unless she speaks to you first’. When the queen came along, Cath put out her hand and said ‘How do you do’, then realised what she’d done.” Back in New Zealand, Tiny married Eric White, who she had ridden with in the local hunt scene before the war, and they had three children, Neil, Ginny and Tinks. Alongside her family, horses have remained a big passion. She can recall her earliest rides, sitting on a little cushion in front of her mother on the saddle while riding around the farm attending to the stock. After the war Tiny became a champion rider
and an identity in the New Zealand equestrian scene, winning many of this country’s most prestigious trophies, including Lady Rider of the Year and the Lowry Medallion for Rider of the Year. She and Eric were farmers, and Tiny was devastated when he died at a young age more than 40 years ago. But with her independent spirit, she was determined to continue farming, and also travelled the world as an international equestrian judge, judging in Australia, the UK, Germany, France and Ireland. She also supported her daughters in their equestrian pursuits – Ginny MacLeod, who rode competively and judged, and Tinks Pottinger, an Olympic eventer who won a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics at Seoul. Coincidentally, Tinks also has a preference for her childhood nickname ahead of her given name, Judith.
“I always thought Judy was a lovely name, but Tinks doesn’t look like a Judy and refuses to be called it. She was a real little Tinkerbelle waddling out to the stables when she was a wee girl, which is where the name came from.” Tiny was patron of Equestrian Sports New Zealand from 2007 to 2014, was inducted into the Horse of the Year Hall of Fame in 2009, and awarded an OBE in 2010. Her love of horses and farming has been handed down the generations, with her children and seven grandchildren all keen riders. Son Neil continues to farm the family property, Ludlow Farm; Ginny and Tinks are also on farms. Tiny sees her experiences as a land girl as just one of many highlights. “I’ve had some wonderful experiences. I’m also lucky to have made all sorts of friends from all walks of life, and still love meeting people very much.”
‘And who was Freyberg, anyway?’
Tiny’s love of horses and farming handed down through generations hardly get through, it was such a mess.” Times were still difficult as rationing was in place, but Tiny couldn’t help but fall in love with England, and has visited many times since. “I made my base in Shropshire where I had many relations and did lots of touring around with other people, working a bit here and there, and tomfooling a lot of the time.” At one stage she flatted with two girls at Notting Hill Gate in London. The flat was owned by Michael Ormond, from Hawke’s Bay, who at that stage was trying to make a career out of singing on the stage. She also toured the United Kingdom and Ireland by bicycle with a friend from Kaikoura, doing housework and cooking to earn money as they saw the countryside. And she met the queen at Buckingham Palace:
36 News
RSA REVIEW • SUMMER 2015
TINY: LAND GIRL WHO ‘WORKED LIKE A MAN’ Jo Bailey Although the recognition took a long time coming, Tiny (Helen) White, one of New Zealand’s last surviving World War 2 ‘land girls’ says it was a thrill to be presented with a pin and certificate of appreciation for her work supporting the war effort. “As a group we went unrecognised until MP Craig Foss, who is also the veterans’ affairs minister, took it to Parliament and a bit of a fuss was made. I’m thrilled to bits we’ve been remembered because we certainly didn’t laze around during the war. We worked like men.” Tiny was one of around 4000 New Zealand women who volunteered for organisations such as the Women’s Lands Service. They did essential work in place of the men fighting overseas. They worked to clothe and arm the men abroad, and feed the wives and children at home. Some worked on farms and in other essential industries; some were in engineering jobs and making munitions. Many of the women were from towns or cities and not used to the long hours and physical work. She feels the efforts of the land girls have been surprisingly uncelebrated considering what they did for the country. “They certainy kept the home fires burning on many properties as there was not a young man left anywhere. “Working as a land girl also helped us to discipline oursleves and learn to be in command of things. We told ourselves how and what we were going to do, and we were our own bosses. It was a great opportunity for a lot of people.” The Government paid them 30 shillings a month and provided them with uniforms, which included overalls, gumboots and a raincoat.” Tiny, who had grown up on a sheep-and-beef farm at Argylle, in Central Hawke’s Bay, took to the task with relish.
“I was a real tomboy and was always out on the farm with my father. We had draught horses and I had my own pony that I rode everywhere. I was very fond of animals.” Tiny (nee Groome) was boarding at Woodford House Girls’ School in Havelock North when war broke out. “My parents were in England at the time and left to come home just before Christmas 1939. They had a terrible time getting back. Their ship was followed by another boat that was eventually torpedoed. It was pretty frightening.” After leaving school in 1942, she signed up to be a land girl. “My dad pushed me into it and said it would be a good idea if I came home to work on the family farms. So that’s what I did, along with two other land girls from Hawke’s Bay. By this time, Tiny and her family were living in the family homestead, Te Onepu, originally settled by her grandfather. She, her brother, sister and parents had previously lived in a small cottage on a post-World War I rehab farm, and used to travel to the main house by horse and gig. During her land-girl days, Tiny lived in the homestead with her family, while the other land girls were in a separate building out the back, dubbed ‘the barracks’, where farm workers had lived before the war. “It was a good set-up with proper bedrooms and bathrooms, so the girls were comfortable. We all got on terribly well and they dined with us every night in the main house.” Although she was working at home, Tiny says there was no favouritism, with her father working the three girls equally hard. “One of the girls adored cows, so she did the milking; the other girl and I looked after the stock (2000 sheep and cattle) on one of the farms. We would be up very early in the morning to feed the horses, which was something my father was always fussy about – the horses had to be fed before us. Then we’d put our cut lunch in the
We loved being land girls. It was such fun. We could both whistle with our teeth in those days.
Services representative Capt Sarah Linehan (left), recipient Tiny White and veterans’ affairs minister Craig Foss share a joke at the Land Girl presentation in Hastings. Photo : Warren Buckland.
saddlebag and off we’d go for the whole day checking on all the stock and doing our jobs. We wouldn’t get home until about 6pm. ‘They were long days and we worked like men, so it was pretty tough. But it was marvellous too.” They had their own dogs and horses, and were both very keen on riding. They had to deal with dead sheep, digging holes, then puucking the sheep before burying them. During shearing and dipping, they were up about 3am to muster in the cool of the day. “We loved being land girls. It was such fun. We could both whistle with our teeth in those days. We both loved the sheep and I think we did quite a good job really.” She remembers her parents also working hard on the farms, and her mother baking lots of fruit cakes she would wrap up and send to the troops in England. At the time Tiny’s brother, Mick, was fighting in the Pacific with the New Zealand Air Force. He survived the war. Although christened Helen, Tiny has always been known by her childhood nickname: “My dad and his four brothers were all tall, but they had a sister who was small, so they called her Tiny. They said I was tiny like my aunty and the name stuck.” At Woodford House the teachers tried to get Tiny to use her ‘proper’ name, but to no avail. “I’d pretend not to hear them if they called me Helen and would answer only to Tiny. It’s the name I’d been known by all my life and I wasn’t going to change it.” She was a character in other ways too. When she was five she was reluctant to leave home to start primary school at Queenswood unless she could take her fox terrier with her. The school finally allowed it, although it wasn’t long before she made human friends and the dog stayed at home. At Woodford House she was keen on all sports. On Sundays a group of girls used to “fool around” and play rugby in the back field – “the muddier the better”.
Until a neighbour complained to the school: “She said it wasn’t lady-like for a group of girls to be running around playing football in bloomers and tennis shoes. I was never a goody good at school.” Her land-girl duties carried on for a year after the war ended in 1945, then in 1948, Tiny accompanied a friend to England to help look after her children. “In those days I didn’t like children or babies much, but Dad said go, and it was the most wonderful thing I ever did. I said I’d be away six months, but it was two years before I came back.” On her arrival at Tilbury, in London, she was shocked to find post-war London still in “rack and ruin” from the bombing : “Everything was lying on the ground in the city part. One could To page 35
PHOTOS – Above: Young girl Tiny White with her dog, Left: Farmer Tiny with two of her sheep dogs. Below: A rare sight these days...a truckload of wool headed for the store.