interview
Island Life - April/May 2011
Danny pictured with Anthony Goddard and Richard Price 2005.
“I was commissioned in 1965, and
whistles went off, and we were all
in area – covered it with chalk, and it
commanded my own regiment in 1980
convinced we were going to war. There
is still there now. Little did I know that
as a Lieutenant Colonel. I had a brilliant
were many real threats in those days,
at the same time questions were being
time, and some really good postings.”
perhaps more so than many could have
raised in the New Zealand Parliament
imagined,” confirmed Danny.
as to why the national monument had
Indeed, Danny served all over the
world, including the Far East and in
As a member of the Ace mobile
been allowed to become overgrown.
Northern Norway with the Ace Mobile
Force, he was based at Bulford Camp
Force, 249 Signal Squadron, which
on Salisbury plain, and that proved
got a presentation from the Chief of
deployed to the flanks of NATO.
a particularly interesting time. He
the General Staff of New Zealand, the
Remember, those were the days when
recalled: “In 1919 the New Zealand
Kiwi Boot Polish company gave us a
the Cold War was at its peak, and
Army had been sent there from France
silver trophy to compete for, which we
when every European country’s border
and eventually they became a bit
did with a 20-mile march-and-shoot
with the then USSR, including Norway,
restless.
event, on Salisbury Plain in the summer,
Denmark and Turkey, was closely
monitored by such forces.
Throughout central Europe there was
“So when I returned from Turkey I
“So their Commanding Officer put
and on skis in northern Norway in the
them to task to dig the shape of a huge
winter. We were also sent a stuffed kiwi
kiwi out of the chalk ground – similar
for our efforts.”
a very real threat of a nuclear war –
to the famous horse chalk hill carvings
horrific and unthinkable, and a threat
that can be found in the south of
regiment often endured temperatures
that few outside the military and the
England. The kiwi had become virtually
of -30 degrees, and lived in snow holes,
Government realised how close it came
overgrown, so just before we were
with daylight lasting four hours. But
to reality.
deployed to Turkey we had a spare few
Danny recalls: “It was great fun because
days and decided to restore it.
we learned to ski with a rifle in front of
“I remember in 196 8 when Russia
invaded Czechoslovakia all bells and
38
During their time in Norway his
“We dug it out by hand – over an acre
us and a big pack on our back. If you
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