World War II letters and cards, Howard Kippenberger

Dear Glen : Image 2 of 6

Image of Dear Glen 20/4/42

  • Title Dear Glen
  • Creator Howard Kippenberger
  • Date 20/4/42
  • Image 2 of 6
  • Notes Letter summary: 752/10. 20 April 1942. Letter to Glen, was called upon for by the Free French Commandant. Felt homesick after reading the note from May. Is now established as the Commander of all troops in the Aleppo area, mainly from his own Battalion with some French, Syrian & British soldiers. HQ is in the city but had several hundred miles of frontier. Main job at the time was frontier control. Just given an order to surround a village and search it for martial papers, meetings with secret service and delivered a "stiff reprimand to two young officers sent in by their CO." Has an official visit later in the day. Describes Aleppo, partially modern but far more Eastern in appearance and in the way the people dress. Dominant feature is the 'great ancient citadel'. Troops are in "good fettle", they like the city better than the desert. So many soldiers are employed as guard that it wasn't easy to get in training. Worried about the "Japs" for a while but decided others could be depended upon for them. Mention that in NZ tanks would do poorly against properly equipped infantry. Morale and efficiency are high both with staffs and units. "The General makes no secret of his opinion "the best troops in the world"." [?] Base is near Tel Aviv called in there and found Jack Johnston, a smart and efficient captain. Enjoys commanding a Brigade, still about 100 men from the original group. List men's statistics, deaths, prisoners' etc. Archie MacDuff captured in Libya. Comments on Archie as a person. Hornwell not having a "good spin", incredibly rude. Now in a solid job in the Canal. Already promotion had passed him by and Kippenberger had been trying to get him another shot and he was to command a Field Maintenance Centre. Pleased Glen getting a good job in the Home Guard. Most of that afternoon had been spent socially. Meet with the Governor[?] will be harder in dealing later. After visit went to see the French delegate then went to a conference about plans for putting people in bags. Mentions plans for the next day.
  • Source Archive 752
  • Parent Collection World War II letters and cards, 1940-1945.
  • Parent Collection Description Howard Karl Kippenberger (1897-1957) was born in Ladbrooks, south of Christchurch. In 1916 he served at the Somme, where he was wounded and discharged. He trained as a lawyer, practising in Rangiora. In 1922 he married Ruth Isabel Flynn in Lyttelton. In 1939 at the outbreak of war he was given command of the 20th Canterbury/Otago Battalion. As these letters show, he served in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, rising to the rank of Major General. In Italy he stood on a land mine, losing both his feet. He became an administrator, in charge of the relocation of prisoners of war. Back home in New Zealand after the war he was appointed Editor-in-chief of the War History Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs. Service numbers: WWI 11682, WWII 7128.
  • Collection Location ANZC Archives
  • File Reference CCL-C81111945-037

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This material has been digitised by Christchurch City Libraries.