GLOWING TRIBUTES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 October 1941, Page 5

GLOWING TRIBUTES

PAID TO NEW ZEALAND V.C’S. AWARDS WON AS MUCH BY BRAINS. AS BY CONTEMPT FOR DANGER. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, October 15. “In the -Bagdad of the Arabian Nights it was ordered that the story of any-notable achievement should be written in letters of gold. Is gold good enough for the achievements of Second-Lieutenant Upham and Sergeant Ilnlme,” asks “The Times’’ in a leading' article.

'"Upham’s courage in this case,” it adds, “meant something far more complex and intellectual than that demanded of officers, for instance, in the charge of the Light Brigade.

“We all like to think that in the excitement of battle we are capable ol deeds of which the mere thought turns us cold in repose, but the story of these nine days includes not only hour after hour of silent endurance but deliberate, cold-blooded courting of danger for the sake of the platoon, for the army, for New Zealand, for the Empire and for a free world.

“Huhne also won the V.C. as much by brains as by contempt for danger. The men of Talavera and Waterloo were heroically brave but there may be some excuse for asking whether the nature of modern warfare has not raised the standard of courage to unknown heights.’’ The “Daily Herald” headlines read: “No headline can tell the heroism of these men.”

HERO TAKEN ABACK SERGEANT HULME RECEIVES THE NEWS. QUIET & MILD-MANNERED MAN. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) ROTORUA, October 14. Sergeant Hulme, when approached by the Press at Rotorua Sanatorium where he is receiving treatment for a bullet wound in the arm, had not received the Minister’s telegram conveying the information of the award. When informed in the presence of the matron and a doctor, he was greatly taken aback and considered the news incredible.

A quietly-spoken, mild-mannered man, he was very modest in his comment. but relaxed sufficiently warmly to kiss the matron and the sister in charge of the ward. He said that naturally he felt greatly honoured to receive such a wonderful distinction, but if anybody should receive the V.C. he would have preferred it to have been his brother, Corporal H. C. Hulme, who was badly wounded in Greece and subsequently killed in Crete. He said that his wife would be overjoyed and his little son. aged five, who attends the Richmond School, would feel very proud, specially as he was desk mate and a great friend of the son of Bombardier Scottock, who won the military medal on Crete.

Sergeant Hulme said that the Crete action was nerve-racking. He had a roaming commission there and had seen probably more of the action than most of the soldiers. The award made him feel that he had done his bit after having chased “Jerry” as much as he could all over Crete, though the latter had finally chased the British out. He had pondered over the campaign a great deal. He was convinced that the New Zealanders had done their very best in the circumstances. He .had been in a position to observe many of the towns and points after they had been captured by the Germans. His observations convinced him that the British prisoners taken were being well treated and the wounded well looked after. Relatives of the prisoners could be reassured on that point. Sergeant Hulme’s wound is yielding to massage and water treatment and he is making fine progress toward recovery.