PERSONAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 256, 17 July 1918, Page 4

PERSONAL ITEMS

The Hon. Arthur Jr. Myers, Acting Minister of Finance, accompanied by Mrs. Myers, left for Auckland bv yesterday's express, and will return to" Wellington on Monday next.

A Press Association telegram from Christchurch states that private advice has been received that Lieutenant-Col-onel John Findlay, C.8., D.5.0., who left with tho Main Body, has had conferred on him the Egyptian decoration of the Order of tho Nile.

A bar to his Military Cross has been awarded to Lieutenant (Acting Captain; .rallies Ferrand Dearden, D.5.0., M.C., Royal Fusiliers, "for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as brigade major. He was continually in the line, and was responsible for marking out the assembly positions for the attack. During an attack, when the situation was obscure, lie reorganised the line and visited every advanced post under heavy fire, bringing back most valuable information.'' Lieutenant Dearden is an Ashburton Coumty man. Ho was born at Lowclifl'o 21 years ago, his mother being a sister of Mr. John Grigg. His younger brother. Midshipman Percy Dearden, has also had some stirring adventures during tho present war, being on llio Queen Elizabeth when that battleship was operating around Gallipoli. Subsequently he served on the Queen Mary, and was on board that shin during the Battle of Jutland. when tho vessel was blown lip. Midshipman Dearden was rescued by a German destroyer, and for 18 months was a prisoner in Germany, but is now interned in Holland.

Mr. H. H. Seed was decorated with tho long service medal at the St. John Ambulance Association's meeting last evening. Mr. Seed assisted at the formation of the branch in Wellington in 1900, and is at present holding command of the brigade for New Zealand during Colonel

Tho death of Mr. Fred Stott occurred on Monday at his residence. Rosenoath, after a lengthy illness, the result of a strain. Previous to coming to New Zealand in IMS, Mr. Slolt. was a member of the Warrington (Lancashire) CountyBorough Council in the Labour interest. He was also a Justice of. the Pence in •tho same borough. He was secretary of the AYnrrington Trades and T.abowr Council and local secretary of the Warrington branch of A.S.li. Mr. Stott bad"been, for many years president, ot the Wellington General Labourers' Union, a position which be still held at (he timo of his death. He leaves a widow and hvo children. Mr. J. D. F. Perry, librarian o£ the Newtown Municipal Librarv, has been rejected for military service. Prior to the end of the business of the Management Committee of the Wellington Rugby .Union last evening, opportunity was taken by the membeis to bid farewell to Mr. W. i. Hornig, who is going into camp shortly. Ihe chairman, Mr. D. D. Weir, paid a warm tribute to the enthusiastic manner m winch Mr. Hornig had carried out his duties in the interests of Rugby during the many years he had been connected wuh tho union, and expressed the hope that he would havo a quick and safe ictu n to New Zealand. The union felt/grateful to Mr. Hornig for what ho had done and the assistance he had rendered in every possible way. The members- present signified their approval ot Mr. Weir's remarks with hearty aPP I ' 1 "® 0 ; Mr. Hornig briefly returned thanks, ami mentioned incidentally that it so ■ P pened there was not one member on the committee now who was present when ho was first appointed,, Weir had been ou the committee befoi . Mr. Hornig concluded by saying it: would always be his endeavour to foster the game of Rugby. Mr S C. Farr, whoso death was reported from Christchurch on Monday, was born in Baldock Hertfordshire IS'27, and came out to New Zealand 1850. He was an architect by P™^ 10 ."' and designed tho first English Chill ell ill Akaroa, and also the Akaroa M on, ™ e j£ Tn 1862 Sir. Farr removed to V" , church, and there are private buildings there desirned by him, including the Norma School and St. Paul's Presbyterian Chinch. J. or vear 'lie was secretary to the Canterbury \cclimatisation Society. He established "tho first Sunday School Union in Unchurch, in 1860, « n, !„} va V!yf^ first seven years. The. lirst side-channels oi the streets of Christchurch were de»ne 1 by him and constructed under Ins biciitu v.) ~ i oaY es a son (Mv. WolliWoh) and a daughter wife of Dr. F- Macßean Stewart, of Christchurch. , , i * -\i r S R. Dickinson, headmaster of St' Andrew's College, who was recently officially informed that Ins sister, Sister Ruby Dickinson, had died on June .3 whilst on activo service, after being invalided to England, received news on Saturday that tho report was incorrect, and that Sister Dickinson is still servinc with her unit in Salonika. A tew davs after his sister's death was renoi'ted Mr. Dickinson received iv cablegram 'from his brother in Melbourne saving that the official information was almost, positively incorrect, as ho had that day received a cablegram from Sister Dickinson, dated June 30, a weekInter than the date of her reported death. Investigations set on foot at Base Records in Melbourne revealed the fact that there were two nurses recorded with tho same Christian and surname—olio located in England, the other at Salonika. The remarkable identity of both name and occupation is responsible for the mistako, and the sad feature of it is that the correction of it involves another family in sorrow. Another interesting side of ihe experience is that Mr. Dickinson found that tho two Defence officials in Christchurch who assisted him in his inquiries were returned soldiers who had both been in tho 21st General Hospital. Alexandria, and know his sister, one of them having been in her ward.