|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 10, 2010 21:15:27 GMT 12
Yes, the 3rd Div also took Mono Island. I used to be great friends with a local old man, Jack "Robbie" Robinson who was involved in the amphibious landings, which he described to me once in great detail of how fearful he and everyone was on these as they had no idea what they were going into. he was an anti-aircraft gunner and said he once shot down a Zero which exploded above him and he reckoned it seemed like half an hour before all the bits had fluttered down onto the beach and into the water nearby.
Bruce will probably recall Jack's awesome war stories, he was my first ever war veteran.
|
|
|
|
Post by strikemaster on Nov 11, 2010 13:43:58 GMT 12
Fantastic bit of history there, thanks guys. In relation to North Africa, I had 3 great uncles there and only just recently figured out that their outfit (The Div Cav) were used to start the LRDG. Also our insolvent with the Desert Rats was not to be sneezed at, so yeah, we sure helped in a big way. All the way through the Mediterranean too for that matter.
My Grandads best mate was chief stoker on the Leander, tough as nails he was. Its easy to forget in this day in age we had a serious navy in the pacific back then, let alone an Air Force.
I do remember the bush tuckerman ep too, Dave. It was quite scary, yet completely expected to those that live over here. The north and central parts of Aussie are not for the meek on foot.
From what I recall the troops were recalled from the Pacific to increase crop production for the allied forces. According to Wiki (which isn't always truth I guess) half of the troops were sent to support the 8th army and the other half back home to tend crops. I can believe that. There was a post recently about a US camp near Rerewhakaaitu, which I remember Dad talking about and what you say makes perfect sense. He was a Doc ranger and used to fish out there a lot. Great place to train. As Poppa would say tho, "Over paid and over here"
Its a pity actions like The Treasury group aren't more widely recognised. In fact, it seems to me that a lot of WWII campaigns have been forgotten or passed by. The pics you have on your website are pretty impressive tho.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 11, 2010 15:40:04 GMT 12
Strikemaster, when you say "Also our insolvent with the Desert Rats" do you mean 'involvement'? The New Zealanders were certainly a key part of the Desert Rats in some of the battles. Rommel himself stated he feared nothing more than the Maori battalion and he also had a lot of respect for the kiwis as a whole. Of course New Zealanders also contributed highly to that campaign in the Desert Air Force (including a kiwi at the top!!) and in the shipping convoys of both Navy and Merchant Navy vessels, and at Malta (with another kiwi at the top!!) and in the Fleet Air Arm.
Is your Grandfather's mate from the Leander still alive?
yes, that's right about the reason the Third Division was recalled - because of the mutiny that saw the Furlough men of the 2 Div not return to the Italian front, the Division was very short of men. And at home most of the farm workers had been called up and our promised production of crops like wheat, dairy products and meat were not going to be met in 1943 and 1944 so the Army were engaged in harvest and farming duties. Special camps were set up in Canterbury and the Waikato for Army harvesters, one of which was at the Army base here in Cambridge at the race course. So soldiers both new and returning from the pacific were congrageated at these specialist camps and became a pool to draw from. Farmers could, i believe, register for manpower to be supplied and the men would be distributed from these camps to where they were needed. Of course there was also the Woman's Land Army, Home Guard and reserved occupation farmers working on the land, and together they were able to make the quota for sending to Britain plus keep NZ fed, and feed the US troops too that we were supplying food to under the Lease Lend agreement.
I guess the actions of the New Zealanders in the Treausry Islands has been somewhat forgotten because it was a success. Like the british we tend more to remember our military disasters like Gallipoli, Greece, Crete and Helen Clark.
|
|
|
|
Post by strikemaster on Nov 11, 2010 18:19:53 GMT 12
Uncle Pete (as we called him) died around 7 or 8 years ago, he's buried at Otahuhu IIRC. You would not have been able to find any one more typically Navy than him. Hell of a character but, alas, his stories have gone.
I have an old Pommy Battle comic from the 1980's that has a strip on the invasion of Green Island I think. It depicts a Kiwi wining a medal for bravery fighting along side the yanks. I'll dig it out and scan it.
I have read up on the div cav and also the armoured campaigns in North Africa by Kiwi Desert Rats. Romell was certainly not too pleased about them being there, even if they were under equipped by comparison. It would seem the LRDG were formed specifically from the Div Cav as the requirement was for more hardy types, Kiwi farmers seemed to fit the bill.
As for Helen Clark, that's a cracker, Dave. She would have to be the greatest disaster in Kiwi history I reckon. I have been reading around here on the Macchi's, Skyhawks and general mess. I still have trouble getting my head around her logic, or lack there of.
|
|
|
|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Nov 11, 2010 23:15:08 GMT 12
And at home most of the farm workers had been called up and our promised production of crops like wheat, dairy products and meat were not going to be met in 1943 and 1944 so the Army were engaged in harvest and farming duties. Special camps were set up in Canterbury and the Waikato for Army harvesters, I seem to recall a feature article in the Wairarapa Times-Age a few years ago about Geoff Fisken and how he told the reporter who wrote the article that he was pulled out of the RNZAF after the first tour of No.14 Squadron RNZAF and told he was more valuable as a farmer than a fighter pilot, so he was going back farming, and that was that. Apparently too many farmers had joined the armed forces and it was severely affecting food production. I think the newspaper article may have been about 3-4 years ago. BTW....I've now watched eight episodes of The Pacific. I had seen seven episodes on TV, so I'm now into the ones I didn't see before. The good thing about this DVD set is that it has a full digital surround-sound soundtrack. So if you've got a decent 5.1 or 7.1 sound system (like I have), the soundtrack is mind-blowing — you are literally in the middle of it all with the sound coming from all around you. |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 12, 2010 8:11:48 GMT 12
That is not strictly true about Geoff deciding to leave the RNZAF on his own accord or whim. He had been quite badly wounded in one action and the after affects of that were catching up with him. He did not tell me this himself but I have also heard from a reliable source that Geoff had told him there was also an amount of disciplinary action that forced him to leave the RNZAF as well. i won't go into it here but if true it's not surprising as he admitted himself to being quite forthright and said what he thought. But no, there's no way he simply decided some day to hand in his notice and leave to become a farmer, just like that. He was the RNZAF's most valuable fighter pilot and they would never have let him just leave - if it was just the wounds I could see the RNZAF putting him into a training job where he'd be very valuable, or equally valuable in an organisational job within the Fighter structure. But the ill discipline does seem the most likely cause for release from the service.
|
|
|
|
Post by obiwan27 on Nov 12, 2010 12:50:11 GMT 12
Like the british we tend more to remember our military disasters like Gallipoli, Greece, Crete and Helen Clark. Best quote EVER!!!!! ;D |
|
|
|
Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Nov 12, 2010 16:46:18 GMT 12
That is not strictly true about Geoff deciding to leave the RNZAF on his own accord or whim. He had been quite badly wounded in one action and the after affects of that were catching up with him. He did not tell me this himself but I have also heard from a reliable source that Geoff had told him there was also an amount of disciplinary action that forced him to leave the RNZAF as well. i won't go into it here but if true it's not surprising as he admitted himself to being quite forthright and said what he thought. But no, there's no way he simply decided some day to hand in his notice and leave to become a farmer, just like that. He was the RNZAF's most valuable fighter pilot and they would never have let him just leave - if it was just the wounds I could see the RNZAF putting him into a training job where he'd be very valuable, or equally valuable in an organisational job within the Fighter structure. But the ill discipline does seem the most likely cause for release from the service. From what I recall of the Wairarapa Times-Age article, he didn't just decide to leave the RNZAF. It was more like being directed to go back farming because of food production shortfalls due to too many farmers joining the armed forces. However, I guess there could also have been other things involved too. |
|
|
|
Post by obiwan27 on Nov 20, 2010 9:45:11 GMT 12
Whitcoulls have 'The Pacific' for $65.00 at the moment. Either grab it now or wait for the after Xmas/New Year sales.....
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2010 18:38:41 GMT 12
I haven't seen a single episode although I am DYING to, but I am going to wait until the Blu-ray set is cheaper in a few months and get that. With a newish TV you REALLY see the difference, and things like Pacific, Band Of Brothers etc deserve the best treatment money can buy. And if it was 3D, that'd be even better!
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 20, 2010 22:45:19 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by guest on Nov 21, 2010 15:48:39 GMT 12
I haven't seen a single episode although I am DYING to, but I am going to wait until the Blu-ray set is cheaper in a few months and get that. With a newish TV you REALLY see the difference, and things like Pacific, Band Of Brothers etc deserve the best treatment money can buy. And if it was 3D, that'd be even better! You can buy the Blu-ray version at The Warehouse this weekend for only $54. They have a special BR deal. |
|
|
|
Post by chinapilot on Nov 23, 2010 2:28:26 GMT 12
Indeed a great series...
Don't want to rain on anybodies parade but accounts of 'hundreds' of Japanese landing in the NT are completely unsubstantiated even though there may have been referred to in a TV program...
|
|
|
|
Post by ErrolC on Nov 23, 2010 7:25:10 GMT 12
Indeed a great series... Don't want to rain on anybodies parade but accounts of 'hundreds' of Japanese landing in the NT are completely unsubstantiated even though there may have been referred to in a TV program... The Wikipedia article on Australia in WWII talks about this, and is well foot-noted. |
|
|
|
Post by strikemaster on Nov 23, 2010 11:32:07 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by chinapilot on Nov 23, 2010 11:58:18 GMT 12
Yeah, a little less than a dozen :-) Wikipedia is not a 'primary source' but these days is being taken at face value. Incidental, I'm surprised that the program didn't cover the Tawara assault...This Marine Division trained in Wellington and many were slaughtered at low tide at Tawara. Their stay in Wellington is covered in this book... 'The Yanks Are Coming' www.capitaldefence.orconhosting.net.nz/review/tyac.htm |
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 23, 2010 12:17:00 GMT 12
The guys featured were part of a different Marine Division I believe so never went to either NZ or Tarawa.
It was - according to the Bush Tucker Man who is an Austraslian Army historian - dozens of Japs that survived the invasion, but a coupole of hundred that initially landed. His research is usually pretty souind, he has done some brilliant programmes on historical events.
|
|
|
|
Post by strikemaster on Nov 23, 2010 15:36:27 GMT 12
Interesting book, chinapilot. Another to add to my list. ;-)
I'll have to dig up that BTM doco again too, Dave. I might do a little research on the subject.
|
|
|
|
Post by chinapilot on Nov 23, 2010 20:29:25 GMT 12
|
|
|
|
Post by strikemaster on Nov 23, 2010 22:32:46 GMT 12
Plenty to read there. My wife is heading to Darwin this weekend, I have been a couple of times but never long enough to do any real adventuring. Got to pat the B-52 tho. ;-)
|
|
