U-series. Talk by Y.M.C.A. Secretary Don Hunter

Rights Information
Year
1940
Reference
11051
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
1940
Reference
11051
Media type
Audio
Series
U series
Duration
00:02:52
Credits
RNZ Collection
Hunter, Don, Speaker/Kaikōrero

Talk by Y.M.C.A. Field Secretary Don Hunter [Military Service no.26201] on board a troop transport with a section of the New Zealand 3rd Echelon.

He describes the entertainment provided to the men on the ship. Each evening they have either a concert or picture show in the main hall and occasionally a lecture in an aft lounge.

Ships concerts are most popular. The entertainers wear pierrot costumes and the audience strips to the waist and even then, swelters in the heat.

He mentions recordings have been made of one of the concerts, which he hopes radio listeners will hear, and he refers to the "Crossing the Line" ceremonies the men enjoyed when they crossed the Equator.

He sends greetings to his mother, father and friends in Wellington. A big cheerio to
my Auckland friends at Ponsonby and Papakura, and to the YM secretaries still in camp, especially Les, Fred, Albert and Mac

This item is part of a collection of recordings made by the Mobile Broadcasting Units, which travelled overseas with New Zealand forces between 1940-1945. They recorded New Zealanders' experiences of war and messages to their families and friends, which were sent back home to be played on a weekly radio programme.