Eric Bickerton

In the latter half of 1942 Eric was attached to the Headquarters of The Third New Zealand Divisional Artillery which departed for the Pacific Islands in early December 1942. The following passage is from the Unofficial History of the Third NZ Division Artillery, titled 'The Gunners'.

On 10 October 1942 the unit proceeded to Tirau by road and rail where a tented camp was pitched under the capable guidance of Sergeant-Major Bickerton, or 'Bick' as he was known to most of us. Every era produces its famous men: be they statesmen or gangsters. 'Bick' was one of the world's greatest 'acquirers'. He came from a great family of 'acquirers'- the Gunners. It was once said of him that if a quartermaster observed even casually in the course of conversation that he was worried over the shortage of a few nuts and bolts, 'Bick' would show up with a 25-pounder gun which he had 'found in the bush'. And so, on arrival in Tirau, the odd bit of timber and oil drum found its way into our camp.