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Today in History


JonS

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05 September 1939

The first RAF Officer POW of the Second World War is captured. Flying Officer L H Edwards, a New Zealander, was captured when his Anson was shot down into the North Sea. Two days after the declaration of war. Outstanding effort, F/O Edwards. His back-pay must have been quite substantial by 1945.

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11 September 1944

The War Cabinet approves the disbandment of 3 New Zealand Division, and that 2 New Zealand Division be left in Europe until the end of hostilities. No more swanning around in the Pacific team, time to go fight the Germans.

(also: I found out last week that my Grandfather was part of 3 Div and the Nissan Island invasion force.)

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27 September 1901

South Africa: at the appropriately named Bastard’s Drift, Trooper I.E. Baigent of the Sixth Contingent returned to rescue a fellow New Zealander after his horse had been shot from under him. Reaching the man under intense Boer fire, Baigent took him on his own horse and they rode to safety. Baigent was recommended for the Victoria Cross and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Two little boys had two little toys

Each had a wooden horse

Gaily they played each summer's day

Warriors both of course

One little chap then had a mishap

Broke off his horse's head

Wept for his toy then cried with joy

As his young playmate said

Did you think I would leave you crying

When there's room on my horse for two

Climb up here Jack and don't be crying

I can go just as fast with two

When we grow up we'll both be soldiers

And our horses will not be toys

And I wonder if we'll remember

When we were two little boys

Long years had passed, war came so fast

Bravely they marched away

Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd

Wounded and dying lay

Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out

Out from the ranks so blue

Gallops away to where Joe lay

Then came a voice he knew

Did you think I would leave you dying

When there's room on my horse for two

Climb up here Joe, we'll soon be flying

I can go just as fast with two

Did you say Joe I'm all a-tremble

Perhaps it's the battle's noise

But I think it's that I remember

When we were two little boys

Do you think I would leave you dying

There's room on my horse for two

Climb up here Joe, we'll soon by flying

Back to the ranks so blue

Can you feel Joe I'm all a tremble

Perhaps it's the battle's noise

But I think it's that I remember

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01 October 1956

A khaki general service cap begins to replace the lemon squeezer hat as part of the Army’s working dress. The lemon squeezer is retained for ceremonial use until August 1961. It was reintroduced for ceremonial purposes again in 1977. The distinctive headdress had been developed by Lieutenant Colonel W.G. Malone for use by his Taranaki territorial battalion in 1911, the shape of the hat resembling the shape of Mt Taranaki, and during World War I became the hat worn by most of the NZEF.

lemon-squeezer.jpg

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Military headgear often reflects something about civilian headgear of the time - Shakos are militarized top hats, tricornes were also civilian wear and became bicornes, the lemon squeezer and Aussie "slouch hat" were common headgear in the dominions - the lemon squeezer was also found to have a useful characteristic that it did not gather water in the rain! :)

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04 October 1917

Belgium (Western Front) – after a period of training out of the line, the New Zealander Division returns to take part in the closing stages of the Third Battle of Ypres. They attack the Gravenstafel Spur near Broodseinde at Passchendaele before dawn, suffering 1,707 casualties in about 8 hours. The attack was considered a spectacular success, and continues to be viewed that way today. Some success, and it says a lot about the nature of battle in WWI.

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07 October 1917

Felix Graf (Count) von Luckner, captain of the German raider SMS SEEADLER (Sea Eagle), is captured in Fiji. He and five of his crew arrive in Auckland en route to a prisoner-of-war camp on Motuihe Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

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15 October 1942

17 New Zealand Coastwatchers and 2NZEF servicemen, along with 5 British and Australian civilians, are murdered by the Japanese on Tarawa Atoll, in what is now Kiribati. Their remains have never been recovered.

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Military headgear often reflects something about civilian headgear of the time - Shakos are militarized top hats' date=' tricornes were also civilian wear and became bicornes, the lemon squeezer and Aussie "slouch hat" were common headgear in the dominions - the lemon squeezer was also found to have a useful characteristic that it did not gather water in the rain! :)[/quote']

Is there any material difference between a "lemon squeezer" military hat and the Canadian Royal Mounties hat? For that matter, even between a Boy Scouts hat?

Regards

KR

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Is there any material difference between a "lemon squeezer" military hat and the Canadian Royal Mounties hat? For that matter, even between a Boy Scouts hat?

The USMC and also US Army used a similar design for a good part of the 20th. century. IIRC, the USMC DIs were still wearing it in boot camp right through the Viet Nam war.

Michael

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31 October 1917

Palestine - The Turkish line at Beersheba is broken. New Zealand Mounted Rifles, part of the Anzac Mounted Division, takes part in the battle to break the Ottoman line at Beersheba, making way for the charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade.

31 October 1918

Palestine – the Turkish armies have ceased to exist as fighting formations. An armistice between the Ottoman and Allied forces comes into effect at noon.

What a difference a year makes.

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31 October 1917

Palestine - The Turkish line at Beersheba is broken. New Zealand Mounted Rifles, part of the Anzac Mounted Division, takes part in the battle to break the Ottoman line at Beersheba, making way for the charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade.

There is an article about this focusing on the Aussies in the latest issue of Military History. I haven't read it yet as it just arrived in my mailbox yesterday, but it looks interesting.

Michael

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Is there any material difference between a "lemon squeezer" military hat and the Canadian Royal Mounties hat? For that matter, even between a Boy Scouts hat?

Regards

KR

Completely different from the Mounties one - the Mounties have one of the "flat panels" facing directly forwards - the lemon squeezer has a crease pointing forwards.

..sheesh!! :rolleyes:

Alternatively no - they are all just your basic "slouch hat" as worn for hundreds of years or with the cap formatted in different ways - they aren't actually even materially different from the Tricorne and Bicorne - those forms have the brim folded up rather than the cap pushed in.

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11 November 1942

The troop ship AWATEA is attacked by German and Italian bombers off the coast of Bougie (Bejaia). Although its gunners shot down several planes, AWATEA is set on fire and holed by torpedoes. Everyone on board gets off safely … except for the ship’s cat, apparently killed by a bomb blast.

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