New Zealand’s Involvement in the Far East
Jim Dell ex Warrant Officer Radio Supervisor has kindly provided a potted history of New Zealand’s Involvement in the Far East. It makes for interesting reading and could I suggest some members of our current Defence Force might do well to also make themselves aware of the contents. Click HERE to read more.
Thanks Jim, a good read & put some explanation on some historical issues, I had read HMS Ulysses as a teen & enjoyed it. I had not realised Royalist was the inspiration for the authors story – amazing how we are always learning something new even in twilight years.
I recall being on HMNZS Waikato 1967 returning home from the FES via Jakarta and Bali. Entering Jakarta to our berth was a row of merchant ships each side of us, and outside of them was a bunch of Indonesian patrol boats following us. Later, ashore in Jakarta, being sailors we found a suitable drinking establishment. I was at the bar ordering when a non-Indonesian fella came alongside me at the bar and being ever so friendly, asking me questions about who I was and the Waikato came up in his conversation. I was very suspicious of him, and shortly thereafter the local Indonesian barman took me aside and told me he was a Russian from their Embassy. “Reticence is my Middle Name”