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Pacific Service: the story of the new Zealand Army Service Corps Units with the Third Division in the Pacific

I — Reorganisation in New Zealand

I
Reorganisation in New Zealand

Back in New Zealand, July and August, 1942, were bitterly cold months which were keenly felt by the men who had just re turned from the tropical climate of Fiji. Most of those in the ASC units had heavy colds and were wearing plenty of winter clothing when they set up camps in the Papakura area, after a furlough of 15 days had slipped by quickly. At that time the situation in the South Pacific was critical. American forces made the first large scale offensive action on land against the Japanese on 7 August, when they landed on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and for the remainder of the year a bitter struggle was fought out on that large island and in the seas nearby, where at that time the US navy did not exercise undisputed sway. Meanwhile the 3rd Division was rapidly built up towards full strength in New Zealand by Major- General H. E. Barrowclough, CB, DSO, MC, the new GOC, who replaced General Mead, lost in an aircraft at sea near Tonga in July.

The first stage of the divisional reorganisation saw a great inflow of ASC reinforcements from territorial ASC units. New war establishments were issued, and a composite company, for example, was expanded from a strength of 111 men to 423 men, and then in-page 27cluded a workshops section for the repair of vehicles. The 4th Composite Company was at Papakura Mobilisation Camp, the Reserve MT Section became the 10th Reserve MT company and was stationed at Manurewa, where Headquarters Divisional ASC had also set up, in Orford's Camp. The trying experience of about 150 men, base supply personnel and members of the 16th Composite Company, who assembled at a temporary camp at Opaheke East, was typical of that period. Drafts from 12 separate territorial units arrived suddenly and swelled their number to 600; bell tents were erected to take the rush, but as the weather was unpleasant and camp administration difficult because of the absence of most senior NCOs on a course, conditions were far from happy for a while. New officers were marched in after the men, and there were at first only four officers to attend to the 600. Two thirds of the men were without proper equipment and all were generally 'browned off' at the way in which they had been marched out of their territorial units. Residents of Opaheke and Drury, who realised the unfavorable circumstances in which the men were living, did what they could to entertain them, and there are happy memories of the barn dance and Drury dances which were specially arranged for men at the camp. At the end of August the base supply depot was brought up to its revised establishment and two new ASC units were formed out of these men in Opaheke Camp—the 1st Field Bakery and the 1st Field Butchery.

At a later stage equipment followed the personnel, though much did not come to hand until the very last minute. Those who knew the shortage of men and equipment which had always been present in Fiji could hardly believe their eyes when they saw the abundance of both which the reorganisation produced. The old hands felt that their work was appreciated at last when the corps was put on a proper basis and they were given adequate facilities. Experienced drivers who were allotted brand new American trucks and jeeps were so encouraged that they took a real interest in their training, even though they had to start at the beginning all over again.

When the division moved down to the Waikato at the beginning of October, opportunity was taken to make the transfer a training exercise, and the infantry marched, in some cases as far as 100 miles, setting up bivouacs each night. It was the ASC's responsibility to supply the marching columns with rations, mails and other services page 28during the week that they were on the move. For that short period in New Zealand the ASC had some universal (Bren) carriers as part of its establishment of vehicles, and those were driven down during the change over. Men allotted to the tracked vehicles took a great pride in them, and carrier training was popular. When one ASC company arrived at the Waikato town at which it was to be camped, its convoy of carriers entered in fine style with pennants flying, and created a great stir among the townsfolk. Headquarters Divisional ASG was established at Claudelands, the 4th Composite Company at Leamington, the 10th Reserve MT Company at Te Rapa and the 16th Composite Company at Morrinsville. Base supply depots carried on their normal functions at Cambridge, Morrinsville and Hamilton.

At the time of the move two groups of ASC men separated from the main body and were away several months before they rejoined the division overseas. A detachment from Papakura embarked on the 'Wahine with the 36th Battalion and other troops of N Force, and on 7 October sailed for Norfolk Island. Also, the 1st Field Bakery, some base supply depot personnel, and the 1st Field Butchery transferred down to Trentham, where for several weeks they under went courses of instruction in their special duties. The bakery, though ultimately it was to provide bread for the whole division, had few experienced bakers on its strength, but it set up its own camp at the back of the Allen Range and during a month when it supplied bread to the large mobilisation camp there was great keenness in the unit, and much progress was made. The butchery had been formed so that if possible cattle could be slaughtered and fresh meat supplied to the force, and while at Trentham members of that small unit were on duty at meat works where they obtained experience of killing and the dressing of carcases. At short notice the bakery and the base supply depot men embarked without final leave on the USS Maui and cleared Wellington Heads on 5 November with their immediate future a mystery—the bakery eventually reached the New Hebrides. The butchery sailed in due course with the division.

Meanwhile, during the stay of the bulk of the ASC in the Waikato, a rigorous training schedule was followed which soon made it apparent that the division would probably enter active operations against the Japanese in the Pacific before long, especially when some page 29attention was paid to such matters as jungle fighting and the pre vention of malaria. The 4th and 16th Composite Companies supplied food, petrol and lubricants to all units of the division throughout the period in New Zealand, as part of their training—each night petrol points were set up at different places, and units called there to collect requirements. That training, together with work in connection with the reorganisation of the units, meant that there was not as much free time as some would have liked. Much kindness was received from the people of the district. Some sports and social clubs made personnel of entire units honorary members for the duration of their stay, special entertainments were organised and many private homes opened their hospitable doors to the men.

Manoeuvres which passed into popular legend as 'the Battle of the Kaimais' were carried out from 21 to 27 October, and provided a yardstick for the ASC by which the toughness of all subsequent situations could be judged. There was hardly an occasion when those who had been on the exercise would admit that later conditions were as bad, and complaints in the islands about mud, rain or rations would always draw from veterans reminiscences with openings such as: "But you should have been in the Kaimais! Why, when we were up there …' The virgin bush of the Kaimai Ranges between Matamata and Tauranga was chosen for the exercises because it reproduced as nearly as possible conditions which were likely to be met with later, in the Pacific. The ranges resembled on a small scale the Owen Stanley Range in New Guinea, over which severe fighting between the Japanese and Australians was then taking place, and to add realism fictitious names from that campaign were used. The 14th Brigade was ordered to take up and hold for a period a defensive position astride a mountain track (the Kokoda Trail) from Tauranga (Buna) to Matamata (Port Moresby), and the 8th Brigade was deemed to be a Japanese force attacking over the range from Tauranga.

The two composite companies which were attached to the brigades had contrasting duties to perform. The 4th Composite Company was to supply a force pushing forward and endeavouring to penetrate a defended area, while the 16th Composite Company was to transport up to the defending force on top of the range sufficient rations to last the brigade for the duration of the exercises. Each unit acquitted itself well and earned praise from high ranking officers. page 30Tracks in the ranges were overgrown, and after they had blazed trails the engineers laid rough roads as far as they could, and then cut rough trails in the thick bush, where the grade was sometimes one in two and men ahead were invisible in the tangled growth after they had climbed a few yards up the winding path. Battledress was worn, and one blanket, hard rations and great coats were carried. The first two days were fine, and some of the sweltering ASC men stripped to the waist, but on the afternoon of the third day heavy rain began to fall and continued for much of the remainder of the manoeuvres, quickly making everyone muddy and bedraggled.

The 4th Composite Company had the less spectacular task, particularly as the 8th Brigade did not achieve extensive penetration of the defence line. Some great work was done in supplying the forward elements, and one driver from the company was particularly complimented on his determination in pushing forward with his truck under great difficulties. On the Matamata side the ASC's transport was well tested when the huge bulk of rations was hauled up to the bush line over a newly made track. The going proved too soft for light trucks, which accordingly turned off the road and moved up over the fern covered slopes, but eventually had to be towed by bulldozers. Bren carriers were then driven over the rough country with zest and made lighter work of the job until the ground became too wet even for them, and recourse had to be made to jeeps. These little vehicles made a great impression on that first appearance with the force, as they jumped over boulders, ploughed through deep mud and sur' mounted grades which had looked unclimbable. Above the bush line 250 16th Composite Company men formed a human chain which at first was able to pass the 68lb. cases of bully beef and biscuits half way up to the top of a stepped track in one handling. However, when the wet weather set in, the steps melted away and the whole track became a channel of mud, so the chain closed until the men stood shoulder to shoulder, sometimes knee deep in slush, in order to pass up the heavy cases. Many of the commodities were not suitably packed for use as field rations, and in those appalling conditions such packages as chests of tea were manhandled to the top of the range, to the amazement of American officers who were observers. In all, about 251b of rations were heaved up that track for every man in the hills on that side, before haulage was abandoned as no page 31longer necessary. At the top dump there was a chaotic scene as carrying parties came in from units to collect their ration issues, but an imperturbable supply clerk sat in the centre of the bustle in pouring rain, making out packing lists and getting signatures. Fresh bread which was taken up proved a great booster of morale.

Each side used RNZAF aircraft, and any exposed concentrations of troops were likely to have bombs of flour or paint dropped on them. However, always at the back of everyone's mind was the knowledge that it was only a practice, and towards the end the planes found that the weary figures in the bush just wouldn't play, as by that time they 'didn't care whether the cow calved or not'. At night they were sleeping in their clothes, wrapped in blanket and great coat, in dripping bivouacs of fern and nikau leaves, while mist hung low over the bush and dirty rivulets of water ran every where. The ASC was called on for a variety of work—prisoners were taken (whose one idea was to get a meal), and blankets were supplied for them; experiments were conducted with the dropping of ration canisters from the air; and on the last nights some 16th Composite Company volunteers, who may not have been entirely disinterested, climbed out of their bivouacs and shouldered cumbersome stone jars of rum up to the infantry positions—the trip which took 35 minutes going down lasted four hours climbing back. Possibly the most celebrated ASG anecdote about the Kaimais arose at a supply dump right up in the range, where an harassed subaltern was trying to keep track of battered cases of rations for which he knew he would eventually have to compile a supply account. In a famous phrase he decided to 'have an accounting', and had just started to take stock when a voice over the telephone (which was laid on to the enemy from that point for the convenience of the umpires) informed him with amusement: In a few minutes we're coming over to capture you and the dump! The startled ASC officer yelled back: Hey, you can't do that! We're having an accounting today—come tomorrow!

All unconsumed rations had been withdrawn from the hills by the time the exercise finished after an exhausting week. It was considered that the manoeuvre was more difficult than any before attempted on such a scale in New Zealand, and that it had been as tough as anything likely to be encountered later, even though the climate had not been as tiring as that of the tropics. Though much page 32of it was not spectacular, it involved lots of hard slogging, and as it transpired, in those respects it set the pattern for most of the division's subsequent operations. As the troops came out of the hills, in a gesture which was greatly appreciated, the people of some of the Waikato towns rallied round and took men into their homes so that they could have hot baths, wash their cloths and have a sleep in comfort before they went back to camp. There were not enough soldiers to go round all the homes that offered hospitality.

Events then marched quickly. At the end of October most personnel had 10 days' final leave, and on return to camp the first half of November was a busy period when equipment continued to pour into units and various administrative matters received attention; those who required them received the unpopular vaccinations and a further instalment of 'jabs' (injections). At that stage the kiwi was adopted as the divisional sign, unit serial numbers were allotted and the ASC vehicles had those distinguishing marks painted on them, together with the corps colours—for that purpose a square divided once diagonally into green and red triangles. Ail new members of the division were posted 'on active service' as from 1 November, and it was earnestly pointed out to them how much more heinous under military law various offences had thus become. All those indications pointed in one direction, so that the general feeling was that it wouldn't be long now. ASC units put up a great show when they had a farewell parade through the main streets of Cambridge and Morrinsville, and when the time did come for the troops to leave, residents of the Waikato towns gave them an exuberant send off and turned up in their hundreds at the railway stations to see them go.

The first ASC men to embark, without final leave, were some base supply depot personnel and small advance parties from the 4th and 16th Composite Companies. They had been withdrawn from their units at the height of the Kaimai manoeuvres and left from Wellington early in November with the bakery on the Maui. On 6 November the CRASC was one of the senior staff officers-who accompanied the general when he flew from Auckland to the division's new destination on the flying boat Aotearoa. The bulk of the 16th Composite Company made up nearly half of a draft which departed from Wellington on 22 November on board the Dutch ship Brastagi.

page 33

The balance of the division remained training in the Waikato for some time after-that, subject to a flush crop of rumours, and very restive at the thought of hanging round in camp when the Christmas holiday season arrived. However, events were moving by 27 December when most of the remainder of the ASC embarked among 7,000 troops on the huge US troopship West Point at Auckland. The ship remained at the wharf for two further days while relatives and friends crowded at the barriers or travelled to and fro on the ferries which passed alongside (to the tune Td like to ride a ferry' from the band on the ship). Hung along one ferry was a huge banner with the message 'Good-bye Joe! Good luck!'; one of the thousands of men on deck improved on the system of signalling to those ashore with a handkerchief by giving a blast now and then on some musical instrument; and an ASC NCO who was on the ship's orderly room staff was inundated with messages, hot pies and hamburgers which were handed in by people at the wharf gates with directions scribbled on paper, such as: 'For Bill Jones—he's on board somewhere'. The big ship, which had 10 decks, required 600 men on general and cookhouse fatigues at a time, and whole battalions were placed on picket. The short voyage on the West Point was a memorable one—not a soul could understand the American instructions over the loud speakers, while mysterious bugles seemed to be blowing every five minutes. There was a near panic when a rumour spread that the ship was on fire, and boat drills took place amid confusion of a high order. The coasts of New Zealand were watched with mixed feelings as they slipped down over the horizon, and those on board wondered thoughtfully what the future held for them before they would see home again.