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The Tanks: An Unofficial History of the Activities of the Third New Zealand Division Tank Squadron in the Pacific

V. Mono Holiday

V. Mono Holiday

With the meagre transport facilities provided by the US navy in the form of a barge service as the only means of communication between the various platoons of the company, life as a unit was relegated to a minor role as compared with life as an attached platoon. The remnants of November were expended in the settling-in period which we had experienced so often in the pre-ceeding years. As soon as the more energetic saw the native huts and had managed to learn the method of construction, they were hard at work building bures, while those who believed in the 'Home for January' and' Easter Bride 'theories expended far page 94less energy, contenting themselves with dreaming beautiful fantasies which, if they had only known, were not to become reality for over six months. Even these optimists were soon constructing card tables and chairs which bore a marked resemblance to the cartoons of Heath Robinson.

By the beginning of December, the company was all fairly well established in its new camps and everybody was looking forward to Christmas for which we had been promised an issue of beer. Quite a technique had been developed in the provision of fish-breakfasts, with a few of the sporting type still using the old fashioned line. Those with less patience employed deftly thrown grenades. By far the most consistent performer in the latter class was Major Logan, who nightly made a pilgrimage to the strip of sand beside the mouth of the river, followed by a pack of retrievers who, with scant regard for the condition of their clothes, hurtled into the water to scoop up the catch. It was with regret that the company learned that Major Logan was to surrender his command on 2 December and enjoy a wellearned rest in New Zealand. After an informal farewell from those of the company who were at Malsi, he left for Falamai on 4 December on the first stage of a journey which every member of the unit envied him. He was succeeded by Major H. A. Wernham, formerly of the 34th Battalion.

Towards the middle of December reinforcements were sent to bring the brigade up to strength. The company's quota was four, including Lieutenant Richardson who had left us in August on a course, and Private Gard who had been in hospital when we departed north. Lieutenant Richardson took over No. 2 platoon from Lieutenant MacMorland who was promoted to the rank of captain and transferred to the 29th Battalion, leaving Lieutenant Sherwin in charge of No. 1 platoon. With these arrivals came a perfect rumour—a beer rumour. Beginning as an issue of 20 bottles a man, by a process of gradual encroachment it became an issue of seven, and that was what we received. The joint philanthropy of the Nat Pat and the unit's canteen funds made the festive season much better by paying for the complete issue which reached us a few days before Christmas. The American authorities provided the materials for a sumptuous Christmas dinner with turkey, fresh fruit and vegetables. This they had also done on Thanksgiving Day, near the end of November, but this page 95time we could understand the significance of the occasion better. With the true spirit of Yuletide in the air, a very pleasant day was enjoyed, especially by those who were not guilty of overindulgence the previous night, one of the first occasions when we must admit that the notorious jungle juice made its appearance.

To make our island home at least a little like our other island home during the holiday, carnivals were held. A brigade sports day was held at Falamai on Boxing Day but the only claim to fame that the unit could make at this carnival was the inclusion of Baxter in the winning relay team. Probably the best meeting of this nature was the three-day fixture conducted at Malsi by the 34th Battalion between Christmas and New Year. With a programme varied enough to include swimming, chopping, dice-controlled racing and a steeplechase from Soanotalu, nobody could fail to enjoy the day's sport. The company distinguished itself on the first day by winning the 25-man relay and followed with victories by Baxter (50 yards), Bray (breaststroke) and Noble (cook's race), while Baxter finished a close second in the harbour swim. For those who preferred humour to putting money in the to talisator, which did a roaring trade in the officers' mess, the greasy pole provided the required answer. The steeplechase proved to be one of the highlights of the carnival, both from a betting point of view and as news-value as the solitary spectator along the route was of Japanese descent and caused the runners slight concern by his hostile attitude. Luckily he did not fire any shots nor did he affect the eventual result when, unfortunately, a rather large dividend was paid out on the totalisator. It was only after a great deal of trepidation that chopping events were included in the programme but they proved to be star attractions of both this and later meetings. Although the assistance of the bookmakers was not evident until later meetings, the closeness of the contests made up for any lack of pecuniary interest. Those who had the foresight to accept the gracious invitation of the 34th Battalion to attend were thoroughly pleased that they had done so. During the complete stay of the unit on Mono we were to learn that the 34th would never allow a dull moment to creep in, for this unit was the most prolific organiser of entertainment.

By now the main disturbing influence on the community life was provided by Japanese aircraft which were paying the nearby bomber and fighter strip what semed to be quite unwarranted page 96attention. With Falamai in close proximity to the target, No. 2 platoon naturally spent the most hectic time; quite often a bomb would land rather uncomfortably close while the blast from the 90mm guns, which were practically in the next backyard, did not improve the evening calm. From the middle of November to the beginning of February an unofficial source gives us the statistics as: alarms, 268; ack-ack fire, 56; occasion on which bombs heard to land, 15. The heaviest raid was on the night of 12-13 January, when more than twenty planes caused the ack-ack to have a busy spell of over eight hours. To the other platoons which were on the opposite side of the island, these air-raids were merely an interesting fireworks display, with the tracers from the bofors substituting for Roman Candles and bursts from the 90mm guns supplying a bizarre touch. Unfortunately, the Japs developed a tendency to approach the airstrip from the direction of Malsi and the flak from the guns quite often played a tune on the tents as it dropped to earth. Luckily none of the star-gazers were ever hit, but there were some lucky escapes.

Two promotions were awarded early in the New Year when in January Staff-Sergeant Auger, after returning to the unit from Guadalcanal left for base and was succeeded by Sergeant Major, while in late February Warrant-Officer McCluggage left for Necal on a tour of duty, Sergeant Cleary being promoted to the position of CSM. During January the first practice shoots since Guadalcanal were carried out. The machine-guns used a target towed by an LCM well out to sea, while rifles were used to try and puncture coconuts thrown into the water and tom my-gunners played havoc with silhouette targets on a constructed jungle course which was also employed for revolvers. The use of inferior tracer ammunition was responsible for only one bulged barrel on this occasion, a slightly better effort than on a later shoot. Luckily the gun which was affected was being fired from Luana by No. 3 platoon and accordingly the infantry audience was not large. It should be kept dark that the armourer had to extract the barrel by the use of an axe. Due to the frequent turbulent state of the Malsi River and the difficulty of bringing rations from the main beach, a landing was constructed on the company's own side of the river and named 'Kings Landing' in honour of the explosive expert, Kingi. Even with these improved transport facilities at company headquarters it was decided that transport of any kind should be dis-page break
Officers of the 14th Brigade MMG Company photographed on Nissan Island shortly before the unit returned to New Zealand and was there disbanded

Officers of the 14th Brigade MMG Company photographed on Nissan Island shortly before the unit returned to New Zealand and was there disbanded

Sergeants of the 14th Brigade MMG Company-

Sergeants of the 14th Brigade MMG Company-

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Lance-Corporal Brewster and Private Walker behind their gun in the jungle at Maquana Bay, Yella Lavella

Lance-Corporal Brewster and Private Walker behind their gun in the jungle at Maquana Bay, Yella Lavella

No. 2 Platoon of the company at Maquana Bay in October 1944

No. 2 Platoon of the company at Maquana Bay in October 1944

page 97regarded
while a series of cross-country jaunts were held. These were from Malsi to Falamai and from Soanotalu to Luana, both being return trips. With practically the whole strength of the company taking part in these marches, everyone was soon familiar with the conditions which infantry patrols had to endure during the period of Japanese resistance. Even with only the climate and the state of the track to contend with, walking was a most unpleasant and fatiguing experience.

Gala days were being held quite frequently. A brigade day was held at Falamai on 7 February, other dates being, Soanotalu, 18 February; Luana, 4 March; while a benefit for the next-of-kin of those members of the 34th Battalion who were killed in action provided the sum of 6,000 dollars. With the increased confidence gained from a knowledge of what the spectators wanted, most enjoyable days were organised during which chopping championship titles were decided along with horse races and swimming championships. On 4 February a company sports day was held to compete for an inter-platoon shield' constructed and donated by Staff-Sergeant Major. No. 3 platoon was successful, mainly because of its skill at swimming and basketball. However, the first challenge was from No. 1 platoon which, in a medley relay conducted off the Luana landing, wrested the shield from the holders. Another red-letter day in the unit's history was 10 March, the date of a beer issue. On St. Patrick's night those of Irish tendency had a royal time, although they did not enjoy the following morning quite so much. The next week was to see the company move together for the first time since the preceding October.