PERSONAL

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 241, 13 October 1942, Page 4

PERSONAL

Queen Elizabeth is making a good recovery after her acute attack of bronchitis, states a British Official Wireless message. Yesterday the Queen attended Divine Service with the King — the first Sunday she had been able to do so since September 14. Mr E. P. Meachen, M.P., left for Wellington this afternoon to attend to-morrow's session of Parliament. He expects to return on Friday. Advice has been received that Trooper Ted Dobson, of Blenheim, who was wounded recently in the Middle East, has been discharged from hospital. Colonel W. T. Churchward, Regional Commissioner for E.P.S. in the South Island, who addressed the Rotary Club yesterday and Blenheim E.P.S. personnel iast night, left for Picton this morning to confer with the 'E.P.S. authorities there. He proceeded later in the day to Wellington. Mr C. W. Hamann, Deputy-Chief Engineer of the British Ministry of Home Security, who is visiting New Zealand as adviser to the Emergency Precautions Service, arrived in Blenheim yesterday and addressed E.P.S. personnel last evening. Mr Hamann, whose wife was a Miss Esson, of Picton, spent last night with her people. He left for Wellington today. Mr E. R. Neale, Mayor of Nelson, is visiting Marlborough in connection with his duties as District Controller for E.P.S. He is accompanied by Mrs Neale. Last evening Mr Neale met local E.P.S. personnel and to-day visited Picton to confer with the committee there. Mr and Mrs Neale are guests at the Criterion Hotel. Mr Arthur John Wicks, whose death occurred in Wellington on Saturday, retired some five years ago from the position of chief draughtsman at the head of the Lands and Survey Department. Born in N.S.W., he served articles with a private surveyor in Sydney and became a licensed surveyor in 1893. After a few years as assistant surveyor with the N.S.W. Government, Mr Wicks, in 1896, received an appointment as surveyor in Selangor, Malay States, and was one of the earliest of the hundreds of New Zealand and Australian surveyors who have seen service in the East. In 1899 he was appointed to carry out a large survey adjoining the city of Shanghai, which had been granted to the International Settlement by the Chinese Government. On completion of this work Mr Wicks retumed to Australia, and in 1904 came to New Zealand. He joined the Lands and Survey Department as a surveyor in Marlborough, and in 1919 was appointed land transfer draughtsman in Nelson and later held the same position and that of chief draughtsman in Christchurch. In 1929 he was appointed chief draughtsman at the head office in Wellington, from which position he retired in 1937. Mr Wicks was a well-known bowler, being a member of the Kelburn Club. Some years ago he belonged to the Wellington Bowling Club. Guests at the Criterion Hotel last night included Mr and Mrs E. R. Neale, Mrs W. E. Newman, Mr H. N. Waring (Nelson), Miss F. M. Vercoe, Messrs A. F. Norman (Christchurch), A. W. Beckford (Lower Hutt), L. F. Row (Wanganui), J. R. Erown (Rae's Junction), E. O. Macpherson, J. Tustin, B. C. McCabe, D. S. Hamilton, W. D. Armit, F. W. Foster, W. J. A. Chartres, J. Blake (Wellington). _v