“TIME OF MY LIFE”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 October 1940, Page 7

“TIME OF MY LIFE”

MASTERTON MEMBER OF SECOND ECHELON. PRAISE FOR BEAUTIFUL. COUNTRYSIDE. “I am having the time of my life ovei here, although we have been doing very extensive training since we landed in England,” writes Gunner M. C. Cole, a member of the Second Echelon. in a letter to his parents, Mr and Mrs Fred Cole, of Masterton. "The army travels about such a great deal that one has a great opportunity of seeing a good deal of this wonderful country, for it is truly a beautiful place, with its marvellous landscapes and old historical buildings, castles and windmills.” Referring to German air raids, he states that the German planes keep that high that if they do drop ■ any bombs, it is a safe bet that the majority of them land in some paddock miles away from everybody. The villages, he observes, are very old places, the average age of the homes being’ about 200 years. Thatched roofs are much in evidence and corrigated iron is never used for a roof. Every house is built of brick or stone, all being two-stories high, with casement windows. The paths are laid down in bricks. On one occasion he slept in a windmill 200 years old and the original machinery was still in very good order. The house on the property was at one time the granary. All the beams were stained and polished and the place was full of antiques, one of them being a small box made from timber from the Victory. Parcels from New Zealand were greatly welcomed. He describes visits to many places of interest, including the House of Commons, Big Ben, the wax works museum, where there is an effigy of Mr M. J. Savage, and the Tower of London. Motor cars are very cheap, they can be bought for a couple of pounds, owing to petrol restrictions.