By John McCormick
WAIPUKURAU, New Zealand — Prince Philip has just died. Right now New Zealand media is going live on this. Radio NZ is Broadcasting the BBC Live. He is, of course, a Greek and Danish Prince. His family escaped from German-occupied Greece with General Fryburg’s New Zealand 2nd Division’s retreating army.
My Kiwi son in-law’s maternal grandfather was a senior NCO alongside Captain Charles Upham, VC and bar, in the retreat to Crete and from there to Egypt. Philip’s mother, Princess Alice, is buried in Jerusalem, Israel. She stayed in Greece and did not evacuate with the New Zealand Army to Crete and Egypt. She protected a Jewish Family in Athens. She is remembered at Yad Yashem.
Many New Zealanders’ only connection to Prince Philip is via the Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Awards. It is a multi level program that encourages growth in young people in over 100 countries reaching far beyond the Commonwealth. It is not a rival to Scouts, Girl Guides or the Outward Bound group. Today in New Zealand more than 15,000 young people are taking part in the program. As the Canadian Prime Minister said today millions of young people have taken part since 1956.
I will sign a book of condolences here for Prince Philip this coming week. I remember being in London and standing outside the Abbey when his Uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten’s funeral took place. There were masses of Burma Boys with their green and yellow badges everywhere. As the carriage went past they formed up as if on parade. I stood behind such a line of Burma boys.
It is reported that Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, did not want a big fuss made of his passing. I think he is wrong on that as my family learnt from the response to Dad’s private funeral. The UK has to allow the people to respond.
He is the highest ranking military officer in our New Zealand forces being Marshal of the Air Force, Field Marshal of the Army, and Admiral of the Fleet. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as part of her condolence message ordered Flags to half Mast and that order went to the RNZ Navy with all ships to lower the flag.
Sir Lockwood Smith, our High Commissioner to the UK, some years ago presented to the Duke our highest award, Military or Civil, The ONZM. Order of New Zealand Medal. Only 20 people can hold the medal at any one time. The medal he was given was the one previously given to Elizabeth the Queen Mother. So now we have to find someone in the UK for the Medal. No hurry in that.
I saw coverage last night from CNN and FOX News as well as the BBC which I have on now and will watch NZ coverage as it comes on air. His death happened about at 11pm NZ time so was too late for much coverage in our Saturday newspapers. Wellington’s Dominion Post was delivered late this morning and of the three that I read each day, it was the only one that had any coverage with a small rewrite of its front page. Sunday papers as well as Monday’s will be going through major rewrites. I will buy them all for the coverage.
The Queen and Duke have been to NZ 10 times since 1953. On one of those visits they were in Hamilton. When reviewing a parade of what we now call “first responders,” he spotted a fireman in dress uniform with his medals on. This fireman had a ribbon but no medal showing. Philip recognized the ribbon as a Greek war medal . He stopped and spoke to the fireman and found he had been awarded the medal for his action in the retreat and was given the ribbon by the Greek military but they had no medal with them.
Some months after the Royal visit, the Greek Ambassador to New Zealand came to Hamilton and presented a medal for the ribbon to the Kiwi fireman.
Philip on his return to England had contacted the Greek government and arranged for the medal to be presented. This story is one of a few that can be told about Philip in New Zealand.
I am two years younger than Prince Charles, my sister is two years younger than Princess Anne and our two youngest brothers are about 18 months younger than Andrew and Edward. My daughter has children born a month before each of William and Kate’s children.
Most Kiwis keep an eye on the Royal Family one way or another. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Queen and Head of state of New Zealand. That is something we like.
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John McCormick is a Christian Zionist who is an active supporter of Israel and a foe of antisemitism. “Kiwi,” a bird indigenous to New Zealand, has become the nickname for New Zealanders.