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From a photocopy of an Entry in the Register of Births Deaths and Marriages, registered at Kawhia, NZ. "Clifford James, M, born on June 19 1917 at Oparau. Mother Jane Rankine Norrie m/s Savage age 26 born in Helensburgh Scotland. Father James Richie Norrie, Storekeeper, 31 years, born Aberdeenshire Scotland. Married March 2 1911, in Glasgow Scotland, one sibling, a sister aged 4. The informant was C Shaw, duly authorised in writing by the father at Oparau and registered on August 1st 1917." Clifford James Norrie: July 1996 Clifford, or as normally called, Cliff, was born at Oparau near Kawhia which is a coastal township on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island, on the 19th of June 1917. His parents were James Ritchie and Janet Rankine Norrie who were Store Keepers at Oparau at that time. He was the second child in the family, he had an older sister called Violet, and later became older brother to Lenore, Maxwell, and James. This Norrie family didn't appear to stay put for very long, Cliff's parents had emigrated from Scotland shortly after their marriage on 2nd March 1911. They had travelled via Canada where Violet was born in 1913, and left Canada for New Zealand in 1916. From the Kawhia area the young family moved to the town of Matamata in the Waikato where they were Green grocers. Around this time one of James's sisters, a Liz Lanni (or Lannie,) arrived from Glasgow with four children and was supported for a while by the Norries. This couldn't last and she was asked to leave, which, amongst other pressures such as James' restlessness, must have strained the marriage and around 1924 he deserted the family. He died on the 23rd May 1937 aged 52 and is buried in the Tauranga cemetery. Janet, also known as Jennie, moved to the construction site of the Hydro-Electric Power site at Arapuni on the Waikato River, taking her family of five and settled in a cottage on the corner of the Horahora and Arapuni roads. Here she established a small business serving meals and tea to the labourers. Later, Cliff and his brothers built her a cottage in the township of Arapuni. Janet, (maiden surname Savage) died after an illness in the Waikato hospital in Hamilton in 1963 and is buried in the Hamilton Lawn Cemetery. Cliff had tightly curled red hair and blue eyes, a true Scotsman! He was a handsome young man and always fit, not only as a result of hard labour but he also attended a gym in Putaruru where he learned to box. He played Rugby Union as a youngster and one sporting injury resulting in several stitches above his eye left him with a permanent scar. Cliff attended school at Horahora until the age of twelve, or Standard 6, then left to help make ends meet at home during the depression years. Later he found employment with the Post and Wireless Department (PWD) as a Linesman. Working from the Transmission camp at Onehunga in Auckland, he helped construct a considerable amount of the high tension distribution lines through the Waikato and King Country regions. The work involved cutting roads and clearing tracks through some very rough country, and Cliff took pride in pointing out 'his' roads and bridges that survived well into the 1970's. At some stage during this time he owned a Douglas motorcycle and a Sunbeam 'sports' car. He was a skilled driver and was able to handle both light and heavy vehicles all his life. Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War Cliff decided to volunteer for military service and was attested in Auckland on the 8th of July 1940. He wished to join the Artillery, but on the 3rd of October 1940 he entered training at Trentham Army Camp as Signalman Norrie, No. 35114. He embarked for active service on the 19th of December 1940 with the 4th Reinforcements Divisional Signals to join the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Egypt. According to his records, while at sea SGMN Norrie was fined 2/6d for smoking on parade on the 7th of Jan 1941. On the 28th of January he disembarked in Cairo for desert training then on 13th February 1941 he Marched In to 4th Division Reinforcements Signals Company Transport Depot as his first duty posting. Here he stayed, probably employed mainly with the maintenance of equipment and brief forays into the North African deserts to keep telegraph lines in operation between various group HQ's. With this experience behind him he was transferred to a more active unit, J Section Signals, on 25th May 1942. At this time the North African campaign was a see-saw affair with a variety of notably successful operations offset by equally important losses. Judging by the date of Cliffs capture and an account of campaigns in the region, it seems J Section were involved with a night attack which took an eastern section of the El Mreir depression. Unfortunately the position was over-run by enemy tanks in the morning, according to his own account Cliff was concussed when the truck he was sheltering under or behind was shelled. Both his eardrums were punctured in the explosion. He was posted as missing on the 22nd July 1942. No word was heard by his next of kin until a cable from Rome to the 2nd NZEF HQ in London dated 5th October 1942 advised of his capture by the Italian Army. He was amongst the last of those captured from the Division; about 150 men were taken in July and August, then from the Battle of Alamein in Oct 42 till the end of hostilities in Europe, they lost only another 350 men as prisoners. I have not heard my father speak of the period immediately following his capture and my only indication of the conditions he endured comes from 'The Official History of the NZ POW's of WW2'. The POW's were marched back many miles from El Mreir to a plateau and left on the rocks in the blazing sun without food or water. To lie down was unbearable, but they soon became too weak to stand. Men were offering watchs to the guards for a cup of water. Eventually they were taken by truck to a caged area at Daba, near the coast. Here they received half a mug of water and a little biscuit. From Daba they were taken in trucks and trailers packed so tightly they could only stand, to Benghazi. The journey took four or five days, with very little food though water was more plentiful. The Benghazi collection area was a huge encampment, holding at that time some 10,000 prisoners of all nationalities. It was well-used, dirty and infested with lice. Here they were held for about a month until a ship became available to transport them to Italy. Food consisted of a small tin of 'bully beef,' half a loaf of coarse bread, and some rice every few days. Water was rationed at about 2 quarts (approx 1.2 litres) per man daily. To occupy their minds and prevent brooding on their miseries the men devised dozens of ingenious ways of cooking and serving the monotonous diet. Dysentry spread from the open latrines, and malnutrition problems became common place. Cliff was included in the first draft to leave Benghazi in mid-August. The prisoners were loaded into the holds of the Nino Bixio. Two days out in the Mediterranean a British submarine torpedoed the Italian vessel, striking it with two torpedoes, one of which exploded in a hold full of prisoners. 117 NZers were killed. The ship however did not sink and was taken in tow by an Italian destroyer to Navarino in southern Greece. From here they were shipped to Bari (Campo PG 75) after a brief stay in Corinth. Campo PG 75 had a very poor reputation, and in that time many junior ranks slept on straw under a groundsheet, or even in a dry canal bed outside the camp. Food again was scarce and it is noted that a 10 minute walk became the limit of most mens endurance. Medical facilities were almost non-existent. On 15th December 1942 Cliffs mother was adviced by telegram that he was at Campo PG 29, and two weeks later at Campo PG 82. By the 15 of January 1943 however Cliff was at Campo PG 57 at Gruppignano, in the north of Italy, which contained the largest number of NZ prisoners at any time. In September of 1942 the camp held 1000 NZers and 1200 Australians. Campo's PG 29 and 82 must have been small transit camps and they are not mentioned in the Official History. Campo PG 57 however, was a work camp from where POW's were drafted for work groups on local farms and vineyards. The camp was crowded but conditions were considerable better than previous camps with kitchens, latrines, ablutions and laundry. Red Cross food parcels were available, and mail arrived freely from NZ taking about 10 weeks. The YMCA was able to supply some sport equipment, and other hobbies such as knitting, wood carving and gardening was permitted. It was not all good however and disciplinary punishments for minor offences could result in 30 days solitary confinement. Several NZers were shoot during escape attempts. Although the winter was mild; still, conditions in the huts with no heating, and sleeping on bare boards with just one blanket, was freezing. The Red Cross parcel supply broke down during winter and men died from Beriberi and exhaustion from previous ill health. Between July and September of 1943 the Italian Armistice took place , and although the more strictly controlled camps such as Campo PG 57 were kept in the dark, by early September the POW's were expecting their freedom. This was not to happen at PG 57 because they obeyed the orders of the time to stay put until Allied troops arrived. Unfortunately they were rounded up by a comparatively small German detachment and in groups of 50 commencing on the 13 September were entrained to Germany. Many escapes were made from the trains, which were acutely uncomfortable. Cliff was obviously not amongst those, and probably appreciated the glimpses of Alpine scenery as they travelled through the Austrian Tyrol. Most prisoners passed through the German Stalag VIIA at Moosburg, overcrowded and dirty. Here Cliff would have tasted his first German POW staple diet of black bread, vegetable soup, boiled potatoes and mint tea. They would have been registered, searched and deloused; then all their spare gear confiscated. To deal with overcrowding, German authorities built new camps at Teschen and Sagan. It was to the latter, Stalag VIIIC in Sagan, that he was transferred to and spent the remainder of the war in. Cliffs mother received a telegram that he was now POW No 32144 on the 5th February 1944 after his transfer to Stalag VIIIC. His records show however that a capture card had been received from Germany on the 5th of December 1943. Stalag VIIIC was really only a base camp and the prisoners were divided into fifty or more Arbeitskommandos. Cliff spoke of working in a coalmine in Poland and this corresponds with a camp E596 at Jaworzno just inside the Polish border. The POW's were billeted at an old boarding school in fair conditions. All were inexperienced at mining but within a month were labouring pushing carts or working at the coalface. They worked long hours in 3 shifts with one Sunday rest per month. There were many accidents due to inexperience, but neutral inspectors kept watch and conditions could have been worse. Cliff mentioned to younger brother Jim a joke they used to play with the German political prisoners who sorted the coal by hand near the mine entrance. Obviously POW's worked in the cramped and dangerous mine face area, and toilet facilities were not available. The POWs would relief themselves in the coal trucks, so the German political prisoners at the surface would get a little handful of 'Kiwi' as they sorted the coal lumps..... The Russian advances through Poland caused the most bitter part of the war for Cliff and his fellow POW's as evacuation of the prisoners into 'safer' camps took place. On 12 February columns were marched from Sagan to Spremberg hoping for rail transport. It did not eventuate and they walked 300 miles in bitter cold with freezing rain and snow to Duderstadt, near Gottingen. They slept in the open, with rare days of rest, and it was during this period Cliff contracted pneumonia. He and many of the other seriously ill completed the march in open horse drawn carts. The camp in Duderstadt turned out to be a 3 story brick factory, cold, filthy, infested with lice and with 1 primitive latrine for the several thousand men. No fires or lights were permitted, though there was one hot meal a day, which for some arrived after midnight. A truckload of food parcels arrived by the Red Cross 'White Angel' lorry shortly before many prisoners were forced onto the road again. On 9th April 1945 advancing American forces meant those capable of walking were marched to Magdeburg, from where 4 days later they were liberated. Those remaining at Duderstadt, including Cliff, were liberated by the Americans on the 9th. With tens of thousands of released prisoners in Germany it was a logistical nightmare to repatriate them first to the UK and then home. Cliff had several weeks in German villages and Transit Centres near Duderstadt for de-infestation, washing and kitting, before being taken to Hildesheim to be flown by the RAF to England. While in the transit centres they were given pay and leave, Cliff found a folding Kodak camera that he possessed for many years until son Doug dismantled it. Cliff's records list him as safe in the UK on the 12th of May 1945 where he marched in to Pottick Wing, and a week later Freyburg Wing before embarking for New Zealand on the 25th of July 1945. He arrived back in NZ on the 2nd of September, and was processed for discharge from the army in Hamilton. He was placed on leave without pay on 10th December and finally the discharge was complete on the 1st of October 1948. Cliff was awarded the Africa Star, (a campaign medal only), the 1939-45 War Medal, 1939-45 Star and NZ War Service Medal for his experiences. These medals were written away for and claimed by son Doug on Cliffs behalf in 1967. He remained an active member and supporter of the New Zealand Ex-POW Association for the remainder of his life. Cliff used a repatriation loan to buy a truck and contracted to the Hydro Commission on the Maeraitai Dam, in the Mangakino area, also in this time he took flying lessons in a Tiger Moth aircraft and graphically recalled his reaction to aerobatics in later life to son Doug when he took an interest in flying. In 1952 he met Gabriel Legge, a student Teacher in Howick (Auckland). On the 14th February 1953 Cliff and Gaye were married in the Anglican Church Papakura, and honeymooned in Queenstown. The flight to Queenstown in a DC3 Aircraft must have been relatively unpleasant, because Gaye was extremely reluctant to fly again until much later in her life. Married life started for the new couple as farm-hands on a farm at Honokiwi, and here their first child, Douglas James, was born in Otorohanga on the 8th July 1954. Cliff used a Returned Serviceman's Home Loan, one of the last to be given, to build a home at Rolleston St Kihikihi, (although later numbered 64, the road was only a dirt track when the family home was built. It was sealed in 1963 and then street numbers issued), here in '56 he started a Parcel Delivery service with a '52 Ford flathead V8 truck. Office space was rented in Te Awamutu on the intersection of Alexander St and Kihikihi Rd, close to where the town clock was to be placed. Child No2, daughter Marilyn Gaye, was born on the 15 September '55 in Te Awamutu, then another daughter Sandra Beverley on 7th June '58. The foundations for the home in Kihikihi were laid just as Marilyn was born. The first colour was apparently sky blue, which was most unusual for the time. The family moved in during Easter 1956. The house was on a fairly large block of land and Cliff built a chicken run and coops out the back. The clothes-line he made between two big telegraph poles, and arranged a playground swing from one crossbar. The backyard flourished with a range of fruit trees and one in particular, a Feijoa, did better than most. It was positioned over the septic tank run-off. A large shed was soon constructed on one side of the block, Cliff set to and built the foundations and besserblock walls himself. The roofing he left to a professional, who discovered a minor problem; the walls were 18 inches closer at the front than the back! Although the Parcel Delivery business must have been fairly successful, the truck was getting long in the tooth being used for family transport as well as business and in 1963 the engine broke a con-rod while descending the Bombay range on a family trip to Gaye's parent's farm at Hunua. It was just as well it occurred on the down-hill side of the ranges, but the noise and consternation it caused was spectacular as it coasted to a stop at a small shop at the bottom of the hill. A telephone call was made to the in-laws to rescue the family, while an impromptu picnic took place beside the truck. A very rare Studebaker Landcruiser (very similar to a Champion), was purchased shortly after that but proved relatively unreliable as family transport ( it was not known to Cliff at the time just how rare the car was in NZ). It was a lovely old car and quite fast with its small V8 engine, several times he showed me how it could do more than the old 'ton' (100mph, or 160kph). It had an automatic overdrive, and the 'air-conditioning' was a pair of vents in the footwells which opened out and scooped in air. The Studie unfortunately had a habit of blowing the radiator core, and when it did, the water blew back out of the bonnet and coated the windscreen in an opaque yellow film. C. J. Norrie's Parcel Delivery Service was sold to the competition in Te Awamutu, Norm Cox Transport I think, around 1965. Cliff worked for a while as a Railway Stores Clerk, then as a Well-drillers hand before becoming a Fencing contractor for the Lands and Survey Dept. The well-drilling was an interesting job and took him on to local farms, as well as far into the back blocks of the Waitomo limestone cave and 'tomo' land. The tomo's were deep holes in the limestone, often covered in an unstable dirt roof which was known to cave - in under the weight of farm machinery or even stock. The fencing suited him at the time and he used a series of Landrovers as transport through the very rugged Golden Bay area of Taupo, sleeping rough in shearers quarters and hunters huts for weeks at a time. He thoroughly enjoyed this job, the challenge of the four-wheel driving over farm tracks or less, the untouched native bush and the chance to do a bit of deer or pig hunting on the job. For this purpose he carried a .303 Jungle Carbine rifle in the Landrover, but although many targets were sighted he rarely boasted a victory. That's not to say he was not a good shot, in fact he was very good, proving several times he could hit a cigarette packet at 100yds with the short barrelled carbine. However he would tell stories of seeing game at close range only when the Landrover was well out of reach, for instance on one occassion and agricultural aircraft panicked a Stag and several Does from the bush nearby and they charged into the newly strung wire of Cliff's fence. Not only was the .303 twenty minutes away, but the fence had to be retensioned and strainers straightened. Fencing was very hard, labour intensive work; and the country steep, rugged and very cold in winter. Small fires would be lit by the fencers every few chains during the worst cold so as stiff, numb hands could be warmed back to feeling for the dextrous task of stapling wire to batons. However in 1967 Cliff bought a Humber Hawk and a Taxi licence in Te Awamutu. Something of a softer job, but he thoroughly enjoyed the driving, and meeting people, he was well known around town and enjoyed the social interaction of the new job. That doesn't mean the job was easy, the drivers were required to work shifts at all hours of the day and night, and take turns at being 'on the phones', that is, having the phones switched through to the home after normal office hours. This stretched his wife Gaye's patience, and disrupted weekends as well as a good nights sleep for the family. A variety of cars served him as Taxi-cabs, including a Wolseley 1800, HD Holden, VC Valiant, and finally what was probably his favourite - the Valiant Ranger XL. This served him into semi-retirement, though he had long worked part time driving buses in Te Awamutu and he continued to drive school buses until very late in his life. He bought a number of other cars in retirement, including another rare example - a Talbot Alpine, his Audi 100, and his last car a Mazda 323. At one time he even bought another little motorcycle, a Honda CG 110cc, this was used for quick trips around the village of Kihikihi, but wasn't up to the pace of his other mates who owned bigger machines. Cliff enjoyed boating and fishing, he took a holiday with friends some time about 1964, as crew on their yacht and sailed around the Coromandel area and Mayor island near Tauranga. They fished and snorkelled, and many stories were made to be retold for years later. For instance the big Schnapper that took his entire rod overboard in an unguarded moment, only to be retrieved later complete with fish tangled in the anchor chain. Cliff bought a pretty little 16ft cabin cruiser soon after that, it was powered by a small flathead Ford engine that gave adequate performance but sounded like an aeroplane engine in enclosed waterways. The boat was towed many miles during holidays, as far north as Taipa in Northland behind the Studebaker, to Waititi Bay near Coromandel behind the Humber Hawk, and for outings at Bulmers Landing on Arapuni Lake, Kawhia, Raglan and Auckland Harbour launched from Maraetai. Later Cliff won a small yacht in a raffle. It was called a 'P' class Moth, a 'P' class sized hull with a moth sail. It suffered the indignity of one outing to Bulmers landing before being stored in the roof rafters of the shed. One stormy night the hull fell from it's storage onto the front of the Humber, such was the strength of both that the car suffered only a very minor dent and the yacht a little scratched paint. The yacht was eventually donated to the Te Awamutu Venturer Scouts. The above covers his working life, but in the mean-time his marriage was suffering. Whether due to the significant age difference between Cliff and Gaye, or Gayes independence and Cliff's Scottish feuding instincts and red-headed temper, anyway the couple endured at least one trial separation when Gaye left and worked as a teacher at Arapuni for some months. Throughout her married life she had worked either full-time or as a relieving Primary teacher, and in the early '70's purchased land at Whiritoa and built a home on it. It was there she retired in 1980 soon after the last of their children (Doug) married. Later Gaye moved to Waihi and was to marry again. Cliff stayed on at the house in Kihikihi after Gaye left and continued to drive school buses and special charters to supplement his pension. One of his favourite charters was a regular service to the Te Awamutu and Districts Highland Pipe Band; after doing one trip away, and a number of the Christmas and New Year trips with the band Cliff was hooked and continued to drive for them for years after son Doug had left. They were a very social mob and knew how to party. He had no other special or consuming hobbies or interests to indulge in, and spent alot of time with Marilyn and husband Russell on their farm, to their chagrin. One interest he did follow intermittently was with UFO's, and he was interviewed by the local newspaper at one time for his knowledgeable opinion on possible landing marks found on a district farm. Another interest was in alternative medicine, for example in colour therapy, and he also followed spiritualism to a minor extent. Cliff remained a smoker all his life apart from a number of short abstinences during which he usually looked much fitter, but he always returned to the habit. He smoked a pipe for quite some time, and also enjoyed a cigar. He also enjoyed a drink, mainly a beer although in recognition of his ancestory he also indulged in Scotch or his liquer of choice, Drambuie. However he wouldn't turn down a wine or any other drink offered to him either, though his drinking was never more than social. When son Doug was posted to Te Rapa in Hamilton with the RNZAF it gave him an opportunity to watch the successful Base Rugby team; rugby remained an interest with him all his life. Another interest was boating and fishing and several neighbours were able to take him on fishing trips to his pleasure. After Doug married and emigrated to Australia, Cliffs only real diversion was Marilyn and Russells farm. About this time the first signs of impending bowel cancer manifested and this tended to limit his travel because of poor bowel control, he was loath to seek adequate medical attention. He did manage however to make several trips overseas in tour groups to visit Crete and Greece. His later life started to become consumed with his wartime experiences. In 1991 Cliff sold the home in Kihikihi and moved to a Caravan park at Mt Maunganui, it was here that the cancer took hold and he was forced to admit he needed greater medical attention. In 1993 he was found by friends, the proprietors of the Ocean Pines Motor park, very ill in his caravan. He was admitted to the Bernadette Nursing Home where on the 27 March 1994 the old warrior died from acute myocardial infarction after a battle with Malignant Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma aged 76. I regret not being present at his funeral, I was however able to visit him shortly before his death. My father was a big strong man to me, not only physically but in spirit, and many of his characteristics and ideals I try to live up to for better or worse. I try not to remember how his disease had reduced him prior to his passing. References
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