THE MONOWAI WAS IN MANY ADVENTURES

Chronicle (Levin), 7 October 1946, Page 3

THE MONOWAI WAS IN MANY ADVENTURES

Press Association

By Telegraph—

A ULJXL, AJNU, UCt. O. Master of the Monowai for two yeaTs of her wartime service and commander of the Awatea when she was sunit in the North African invasion, Captain G. ti. Morgan, D.S.O., D.S.C., arrived by air from Sydney on Saturday. Capt. Morgan wai in command of New Zealand sliips at two major invasions of the second world war, taking part in the Algiers landing in 1912 in the Awatea and also putting Canadian troops ashore at Normandy on D Day from the Monowai. The next job of the Monowai was running a shuttle service across the Channel and after this, in April 1945," she was engaged in repatriating Russians and French between Marseilles and Odessa. With Captain Morgan iix command the Monowai was selected for an assault ship in the Far East invasion but t&e Japanes® surrender came and she sailed to Singapore to repatriate the first batch of British prisoners-of war. After that she took Indian troops from Europe to India and did troopship work in the East. The Monowai was now in Sydney undergoing a complete refit before resuming service and it would probablv be nine months before this was completed, said Captain Morgan. He added that the model of the Maori canoe Tainui and cloak which was presented to the ship by the Tainui tribe e'hortly after the Monowai was commissioned as an armed merchantman, would shortly be arriving in New Zealand. These mementoes would be placed in the dockyard chapel at Devonport naval base. Captain Morgan is returning to his home in Christchurch for a holiday after nearly 3$ years' continuous service.