Radio digest. 1955-04-24. No. 310, part 2 of 2.

Rights Information
Reference
22857
Media type
Audio
Item unavailable online
Ask about this item

Ask to use material, get more information or tell us about an item

Rights Information
Reference
22857
Media type
Audio
Item unavailable online
Series
D series, ca. 1935-1950s.
Categories
Nonfiction radio programs
Radio news programs
Radio programs
Sound recordings
Duration
00:16:28
Credits
RNZ Collection
Dale, Henry H. (Henry Hallett), 1875-1968, Speaker/Kaikōrero
Gwynne, Peter, Interviewer
Goddard, Jessie, Interviewee
Cooksley, Bertie Victor, 1894-1980, Speaker/Kaikōrero
New Zealand Broadcasting Service (estab. 1946, closed 1962), Broadcaster

The programme features Sir Henry Dale talking about Einstein, Mrs. Jessie Goddard describing her world tour, including meeting Chiang Kai-shek, and Mr. Bertie V. Cooksley, M.M., with his ANZAC day memories of Gallipoli.

Announcer: In 1949 Einstein revealed the completion of a unified mathematical theory which he believed would cover all the various forms of force that science had revealed in the universe. Tributes are being paid to him from all over the world and speaking from London, Sir Henry Dale, a fellow scientist and past president of the Royal Society, gave this appreciation.

Sir Henry Dale: When I think of Einstein my mind goes back to an occasion in the 1920s when his name came before the Council of the Royal Society for a candidate for the Copland Medal, the Royal Society's premier award, recognised as one of the greatest scientific honours by all the world. Among the members of the council, at that time, the late Sir Arthur Eddington, the late Sir James Jeans, men whose own work qualified them pre-eminently to give an appraisement of Einstein's. And when Einstein's name came forward, one of them immediately said and the other promptly endorsed the statement that the work which Einstein had been doing and was still doing on mathematical physics was at least equal to what Sir Isaac Newton had done at the peak of his achievement. Well since then Einstein has been working continuously. Einstein's theory of relativity caused a revolution in the conception of the physical universe by mathematicians, astronomers and theoretical physicists, comparable indeed in its effect only to that which Newton's theory of universal gravitation had produced nearly 250 years earlier. It changed the whole method of approach to thought about such problems for a much wider community than that of the mathematical specialists, for many members of the intelligent public, indeed, as well as many scientists who, like myself, cannot make any pretence of being able to grasp of the nature of the theory.
When the Nazis came to power, Einstein left Germany and visited Britain on his way to the United States and there he was to find an ideally peaceful opportunity for continuing his great work at the Institute for Advanced Studies associated with Princeton University. And there I myself had the pleasure of seeing him, in later years. He struck me as a Romantic, an otherworldly figure, as he must have appeared to others. Einstein with his spare, fluffy hair which he allowed to grow long. His friends knew him as a man with simple personal habits and tastes. It would have been impossible to think of him as being interested in making money. His private hobby was chamber music.
It would take me too long, too much to say, that Einstein laid an essential section of the the trail which lead to the release of atomic energy. We could put this another way. His famous equation, establishing the equivalent for the ultimate inter-convertibility of matter and energy was the basis from which came the development of nuclear fission. Without his mathematic theories, sub-atomic physics in it's present sense would hardly have been. He was a prime mover in convincing the United States government of the need to prepare against the eventuality of atomic weapons being used before the end of the last war and he did this even before the United States had entered the war. This role for Einstein had its ironical side for by natural sentiment, he was undoubtedly a pacifist and was conscious of the danger which the misuse of atomic energy might entail for the freedom of science and indeed for humanity itself as the world at large is now so acutely realising.

Announcer: That was Sir Henry Dale talking about the late Dr. Albert Einstein. A New Zealander, Mrs. Jessie Goddard has recently returned from a world tour. She was interview in Auckland by Peter Gwynne.

Mrs. Goddard talks about visiting the island of Formosa that was her first experience of a Chinese community. During the visit she had a 45 minute interview with 68 year old Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. She said that he breathed integrity.

Announcer: Tomorrow being Anzac Day, here is a reminiscence of the Gallipoli campaign by Mr. B.V. Cooksley, M.M., Member of Parliament for Wairarapa and the only present Member of Parliament who was in the Anzac landing.

Cooksley: While the name of Anzac was coined as a result of a combination of Australia and New Zealand troops as a army corp, the Gallipoli campaign had in it men from British Army regiments, French troops, Royal Marines and at the back of all these units, the Royal Navy had many ships from the Queen Elizabeth, with her sixteen inch guns, right down to destroyers and steam pinnaces. From the day of the landing on 25 April 1915, the Australian and New Zealand troops at Anzac and the British and French troops, ten miles away, were fully supported by the Royal Navy. Not only did the Royal Navy convey convoy troops to the first landing, it remained to provide a protective force, using the ships guns virtually as floating artillery. Also they were the only means of supply, for reinforcements, ammunition, food and water. Much of it conveyed from bases as far distant as Egypt and Malta. An extract from General Ian Hamilton's order of the day issued to all ranks on the eve of the landing portrayed what lay ahead, he said: "Before us lies an adventure unprecedented in modern war. Together with our comrades in the fleet, we are about to force a landing upon an open beach in the face of positions thought of by our enemy as impregnable." These were the words of our GOC.

The Turks weren't surprised by the landings because previous and frequent bombardments had been carried out by the Royal Navy. Also, for at least a month before the date of the landing, the fact that troop ships and naval units were concentrated at Mudros was known to the Turkish staff. Turkish dispatches on Gallipoli, which became available after the war, had this to say: "The ANZACs succeeded well in throwing back our advanced troops, and in reaching the positions they did. Their first efforts in this difficult country was beyond praise."

The casualties on Gallipoli were heavy for both the enemy and our own forces. The total of New Zealand troops, all ranks, landed on Gallipoli was 8,556, and New Zealand casualties killed and wounded were 7,447. These figures did not include losses by sickness. One of the great problems was water, particularly as the weather became warmer in May and June. Most of our water came from Egypt in barges. Much of it was tainted with kerosene. Washing for the troops was a problem, and sea-bathing was resorted to. It was not uncommon to see staff officers and other ranks in the water together, frequently under fire from Turkish guns. Once when I was enjoying a dip, my neighbour was short, red-headed and obviously English. You could imagine my surprise, when he dressed afterwards, to find that he was General Birdwood. In any case, my lingering impression is that he wasn't a very good swimmer. The incident, however, typifies ANZAC. We were all in it together. The shortage of water was not helped by the fact that our main ration was bacon, which came out from England packed in salt. No other kind of bacon would have carried that distance, of course. But it certainly didn't help to make the water go further. As the warmer weather drew on, flies became a great problem. One day in June, on Pope's Hill, I went along to see one of our fellows, he was in his dugout. Outside it, he had a biscuit liberally covered with jam. This was black with flies. I said 'Fred, what are you doing with that?' 'You see, Cookie,' he replied, 'while those flies are outside on the jam, they're leaving me alone in here'. He was making the best of things. That was the way of Gallipoli. For all its grim side with hardships, privations and the heavy casualty list, it was a very human campaign.

Announcer: That reminiscence of the Gallipoli Campaign was given by Mr B. V. Cooksley, MM, and Member of Parliament for Wairarapa, who was in the ANZAC landing.

And there we end this edition of Radio Digest. We shall be back on the air at the same time next week.

[Closing theme music].