MANY TASKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 September 1941, Page 3

MANY TASKS

SOLDIERS AS STEVEDORES VERSATILITY OF NEW ZEALANDERS. ACTIVITIES IN MIDDLE EAST. (From the Official War Correspondent!

with the 2nd N.Z.E.F.) | CAIRO, August 16. I So much has been said about thel versatility of New Zealand troops thatl repetition is apt to place the state-1 ment under suspicion as propaganda ofl the crude type so familiar to the Nazis.l But once again members of the N.Z.-I E.F. are turning their hands to tasks] other than those for which they have] been trained and they are making al success of it. I Sc important a task is the transpor-l tation of supplies arriving in the Mid-1 die East that troops are now tempor-B arily engaged in all tasks involved inß the unloading and loading of stores tcß ensure rapid and safe transit. Remark-® able feats in the way of stevedoring® coal-heaving and loading and stacking® of supplies are being performed dailj® by members of a New Zealand Brigade® which was the second large body ofl New Zealand troops to arrive in the® Middle East. H It has already been stressed in House of Commons by Mr Churchill® how essential it was to get supplies to® the forces in the Middle East. Furth-® ermore those supplies have been arriv-® ing here in large quantities in spite® of enemy attacks on our convoys. Ra-® pid handling of the stores by the New® Zealanders is rendering the troops infl the Middle East a most valuable ser-fl vice. I

Recently I visited a huge supply depot and saw the New Zealand soldiers at work on this task for myself. In the first place it was rather a shock to find! apparently unlimited supplies were! coming into the country. Huge stacks! of cases of all sizes reaching almost! mountainous heights and long trains! packed with supplies gave the lie dir-l ect to the enemy claims that they were! sending our supplies to the bottom oil the sea. I It was a fine sight indeed to see New] Zealand lads stripped to the waistl their bronzed bodies glistening in thel sun, heaving huge cases from stores to] trucks or new supplies from trucks tJ spacious storehouses . Besides using all the physical strength required for thel task the man had to think quickly, a] the cases had to be stacked accord-1 ing to date, quality, quantity and otheil classifications. I “The vigour they have put into then] work is remarkable,” an officer hacß said. That is why I went to have a] look. Another officer said he had seer] another infantry battalion of this bri® gadde unload ten tons of flour in a.® many minutes. Remarkable feats ofl 2oal-heaving had also been mentioned® The spectacle of another battalion ol

the brigade at work stacking foddci was worth seeing. The men realised that it was not mere manual labour-1 that it was an important contributioil to the efficiency of the Middle EaJ .Forces. Heavy bales were thrown ol to stacks almost with gay abandoil There was no thought of reward—it wa| a matter of life or death. There was n| turning of the eyes to the clock—the! were freely giving a service just al they had gallantly given it iff Greecel It was only to be expected that 3 little humour would intrude. Two soil diers struggling under a load that was obviously heavier than their pi'evidul one eventually discovered that a coml rade had added his pile to their load] Retaliation came swiftly needless fl say. There was one who was not ad] verse to taking a nap in a comfortabll position in a nearby completed stacM The fitness of these troops is almos| frightening. Practically ever since thl evacuation of Crete by the alliel troops these men have been engaged ifl solid hard training under ideal condil lions. They have been living in morß pleasant surroundings than the ariß base camp where they normally traiiß Of their efficiency as a fighting un® there can be no doubt. B Here are a few feats performed bfl some of these lads. At 4 p.m. on a re® cent hot day they were given the tasß which would normally take 24 hour® They had to unload heavy cases cB stores. Their officer said the worjß would be finished at 5.50 p.m, the sanfl I day and he ordered trucks for that lime to take the men back to camp. (Kt 5.52 the work was finished. Another oattalion unloaded a ship in a frac,ioh of the time normally taken by the abour regularly employed. Others performed marvels at the most unpopular of fatigues—coal-heaving.