MRS. "COMMANDER" PARRY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 51, 14 June 1940, Page 42

MRS. "COMMANDER" PARRY

has been peopled with distinguished men; men of action and imagination-who get things done. And behind them always there is a woman, I was privileged to meet such a woman the other day — Mrs. W. E. Parry, wife of Commander Parry, of the Achilles. I can describe to you what Mrs. "Commander" Parry looks like — tall, slender, with delicate features, the softest dark eyes, and a clear olive skin. What I cannot capture for you is the serene and tranquil charm of her. You would have to meet and speak with her to feel it. There are other things — a keen intelligence, sensitiveness, sympathy and understanding. She is that gracious and lovely thing-a womanly woman. When she spoke of her married life, one sensed its complete and happy unity. She said a striking thing. "When one is happy, time, in the term of months and years, is negligible." Her Children Mrs. Parry has two children, twins, a boy and a girl. Her one sadness is that she has been obliged to leave them in England. "It means so much for me to be here with my husband-for how long, I do not know, but if only the children could be here with us! For my daughter especially, just leaving school, it. would mean so much to come out here and adapt herself to a new mode of living. That is an education in itself." "You approve of New Zealand, then?" I felt the warmth of her response. "I love it. You know, the East is traditional for its hospitality, and I have travelled pretty well all over it, but I have never found any place to equal New Zealand hospitality." She Likes Our Girls "That is a very charming tribute to New Zealand." "It is true. I have the greatest admiration for your girls here, they are so capable, so independent, they make the best of everything-they stand on their own feet. The women, too, in their homes-everything they do seems to be a natural expression of their best. Incidentally, I have never seen better examples of needlework than here in New Zealand." She admitted, half apologetically, that her chief hobby is her family. With her husband, she is passionately fond of reading-life is too limited for all she would like to do. She also loves music. She is, herself, a gifted pianist, and her daughter and son make up a little family world, down through the ages,

orchestra with the addition of violin and flute. Her husband, she admitted, was not musical to the same degree, though he bore admirably with their orchestral efforts. He prefers outdoor sports: golf, tennis, riding. Pride in Her Husband Mrs. Parry is a native of Wales, and during the last war she did V.A.D. work and later became a fully qualified nurse. Her eyes looked back into the past. "That was a very wonderful experience in. my life-one that I would not have done without. It has been suggested I might do the same sort of work to-day, but there are so many younger women waiting for the chance that I feel it would be unfair. There are other ways in which I can help." I said the obvious thing. "You must be very proud of your husband, Mrs. Parry. I have seen his photograph, of course, in the papers and in the movie gazettes-he seems such a friendly and human kind of person." She smiled. "He is a darling. Every time I look at him I feel proud." A Black Moment She told me of her dreadful experience in Auckland. She was with three other wives of English officers on the day -that the newspaper placards came out with the announcement that the Achilles had been sunk. It -was not until nine o’clock at night that they received a denial of the news. "One cannot describe,’ she _ said quietly, "just what that experience meant." She made it seem very real to me. When Commander Parry was just outside Auckland with the Achilles, he sent a wireless message: "Have I a wife here?" The reply came back-he had. It was the first intimation of his wife’s presence in New Zealand. The incident prompted this question. "What are your ideas, Mrs. Parry, on the life of a naval officer’s wife?" "That is not very easy to define. The main thing is that it has its compensations. People always seem to show of their very best. That, at least, has been my experience. When I have been alone, the kindness of people has been overwhelming. There are the partings and the absences, of course, yet one accepts them inevitably as part of one’s life." Good Luck Charm A small gold image, suspended on a long slim. chain about her neck, caught my attention, I commented on its similarity to the New Zealand tiki. She explained that it was the lucky charm

of the Incas, which her husband had sent her from South America. With it was a lovely specimen of greenstone, presented to her recently by the Maoris of Rotorua. They are her talisman against ill luck. At present Mrs. Parry has set up housekeeping in Auckland. For how long, she does not know. But she is enjoying this brief snatch of domesticity, and is interested in adjusting herself to our ways and means of living. As she spoke I realised that here, all unknowing, lay her greatest treasure. She has the rare gift of "living."