NEW ZEALAND'S OFFICERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1722, 12 April 1913, Page 14

NEW ZEALAND'S OFFICERS.

SENIOR AND JUNIOR. 1 SOME SONS OF NOBLE HOUSES. Several New officers hold vjiecutivo rank on board H.M.S. New Zealand. Also among tho lieutenants 'is Prinoo George of Battenberg, while the midshipmen include the Earl of Carlisle and Lord Burgnersli. 4 Captain Lionel Halsey is a war service mani and he has certainly risen rapidly on the naval ladder, for ho is only forty years of ago. It is not so long ago—to bo precise,' in the dark days of the Boer war in 1899—sineo/ he was "seeking the bubble Reputation at tho cannon's mouth." He was one of the distinguished ! naval' officers : who, under Captain tho Hon. Hedworth Lambton, just squeezed into Ladysmith in tho nick of time with tho naval guns 'which had hastily been stripped from the Philomel,, the Porte, and other ships then serving on the South African station. It was, as will bo well remembered, these naval" guns which knocked -respect into tho heavy Canet picces which the Boers were using as part of their. field' artillery, thus' astonishing tho military savants of tho time by the spectacle ot "guiis of position" used for the first tirno as guns of mobility. Young Halsey . was in chargo of one of the naval redoubts on tho perimeter of Sir Georgo White's defences, ajid his chief duty was an almost daily duel with tho Boer Long Tom," which'had.been einplaccd on tho hog back of Mount Buhvana. How effectively, his guns carried out their, work has. been told in a very brilliant chapter by tho late war Mr! W._ ,G., Stcovehs., '-'Good morning 4,7;" tho sketch began, "have you used Long Tom?" "Wo have," barked back Halsey's guns,, "now have a'taste of us!" And 1 the almost daily duel began. ; Some time after tho •relief of Ladysmith'he returned to his ship, tho Philomel, and subsequently commanded tho cruiser Good. Hope, wlien Mr. Chamberlain visited South Africa. More lately lip was in command of tho cruiser Donegal. Captain Halsey is son of the Right Hon. T. P. Halsey, '.a very prominent Hertfordshire man, and for,morly in. Parliament. Commander Henry E. Graco ought to bo something of a cricketer, for he is a son of the world-famous oricketer, Dr. W. G.' Graoe. He has lately been engaged ia tho Ordnanco' Department of the Admiralty. The navigating lieutenant, Edward R. Jones, was formerly on tho books of the battleship Russell. Another of the wardroom officers, Lieutenant Dudley North, was flag lieutenant to Sir Wilmot Fawkes when tho latter was commanding at the naval baso at Devonport. Tho gunnory officer, Lieutenant Richard T. Down, has connections in Taranaki, where his ■ father servedf in one of the Maori wars. Other New Zcalandcrs are Lieutenants . Rupert ,C. Garsia and Lieutenant Alexander D. Boyle. The latter is, a son of Mr. A. Boyle, of Christchurcli, and a member of the family of tho Earl of Glasgow. Of tho two sub-licntenants, New Zealand claims one in. Penrose L. Barcroft, while tho other sub-lieutenant is Prince George of Battenberg, tho son of Princo Louis, First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. Princo George was a middy on the cruiser Blancho when she was attached as parent ship to the destroyer flotilla of the Home Fleet,

Among tho sixteen midshipmen, one of

them, Hugh B. Anderson, is a Christchurch lad, and Patrick Beauchamp Heard, who is 18 years of age, is the eldest son of Colonel E. S. Heard, Chief of the General Staff in New Zealand. Anthony G. Cunard, aged il9, is grandson of Sir Edward Cunard, thfr founder of the famous Cunard line of Atlantic steamers. Lord Burghersh, who is 19 years of ago, is the'eldest son of the Earl of Westmoreland. Tho Earl of Carlisle, who is only 17 years of age. succeeded his late father to the title last year. Claro George Vyner, another member of the complement of midshipmen borne on, tho strength of IT .M.S'. New' Zealand, is nephew of tho Marquis of Northampton. The complete list is as follows:— . Captain—Lionel Halsey. Chief Executive Office-Commander H. E. Grace. ' ' Lieutenants—E. R. Joins .(Navigation), R. T. Down (Gunnery), ■ A.'A. Lovett.Cameron (Torpedo).' G. W. Walker-Jones, R. C. Garcia, D. North, A. D. Boyle, ,T. S. Bovill, and C. Gore Pi.N.R.); and I'. L. Barcroft and Prince George of Battenberg. ( ... Engineers—Engineer Commander T. H. Turner, and Entnncor Lieutenants J. D. Grjeve, E. M.K. Phillips, and F. H. Hall. Marines Officer—Caotair. Harold Blount, R.M.A. : . " Chaplain—Rev. W. E. G. Jackson. Medical Officers—Fleet Surgeon C.' IT. Rock and Staff Surgeon J. R. A. ClarkHall. Paymasters—Staff Paymaster F.' P. E. Hnhiiam and Assistant .Paymasters D. R. Thurstan and A, C; A. J anion.. Gunners—J. H. Mack. ,[V C. Willis,! V. S. Robinson, and. ;A. ;E. JElliofct■ Boatswains—S; C.'Legg;W. J. Reynolds, .and A, Lewis. Carpenter—R. Isitt. ■ Artificer Engineers—J. iLamond,. R. ,K. Weir,- find P. R. Brookor. Tho Midshipmon will include the Earl of Carlisle, Lord Burgliereh, G. T. Scott, T. A. Robinson, J. C. Annesley, 0. J. Symon, A. L. Poland, C. S. Miller, E. C. Coore, C. P. Bowlbv, C B. Graham-Wat-son, P. Heard, A. Barlow, H. ; Anderson, and C. S. Vyner.

And eo the fire-control station was established, which is a steel protected platform upon. one of the masts in the position which tho now obsolete fighting top formerly occupied. This platform, from its elevation, serves the further purpose of an observation station and enables the officer (or officers) stationed on it to readily correct errors in range and direction. A series of electric wires and a switchboard enable him to communicate with every primary gun position in the ship. , In-order to reduce the risk of the fire control station being shot away, tho masts of British Dreadnoughts are constructed of tripod steel tubes at the apex of which, "the'platform is mounted". The United States have gono further in this direction as each of their chief ships have been fitted with two trellis-work