IN WAR ZONE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 250, 19 September 1940, Page 9

IN WAR ZONE

SECOND ECHELON TROOPS. '. __ \ AWAITING INVADER. (From tlie Official War Correspondent witli tlie New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Britain.) (Rec 10 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 18 To the extent that England is now in the theatre of war the New Zealand troops are in the field and the forces have, been allotted a new, more responsible, and much more active part in the defence system of the United Kingdom. , The troops were moved by night and bivouacked in a new quarter of the country, within quick striking distance of a possible invader. They will remain here as long as the threat of invasion continues or until the bad weather season sets in and a rearrangement of dispositions is maue. Officers and non commissioned officers have been busy since their arrival reconnoitring the ground over which they may be called upon to fight, and an early practice advance by the full force is probable. All ranks are _ highly pleased with the prospect of being well forward should the enemy come to England. DAILY AIR COMBATS. Fierce aerial-combat overhead is a daily occurrence. Every night quivers with the din of anti-aircrait guns and long-range artillery. All of us have seen enemy planes shot down and enemy crews baling out. The men or two units luckier than their fellows have been first on the scene of forced landings and have taken enemy airmen prisoners. Competition in this branch of warfare is especially keen,, as one British pilot who -landed by parachute can testify. As lie neared the ground but was still high enough for his uniiorm to be Unidentifiable soldiers with fixed bayonets came charging towards him from all directions. They were New Zealanders acting upon the safe presumption that everyone coming down is an enemy until proved a friend. When they found he was “one of ours ’ they gave, the officer an embarrassingly admiring welcome to earth. TRAINING FOR OFFICERS. Souvenir collecting is brisk and the first parcels can be expected in New Zealand shortly containing possibly little pieces of parachute silk dyed with real German blood. Thirty-eight non-commissioned officers selected to train for first commissions have been assembled for ' preliminary instruction. They arc being drafted into British Army officer cadet training units as vacancies occur. Already the first ten have entered Sandhurst, where they have been attached to a Brigade of Guards company.