Young Papuan's Service In Abyssinia

SOME weeks ago, the news papers referred to four young Australian sol diers who had been sent deep into the heart of Abys sinia, to organise the native Abvssinians as a force to fight against the Italians.

It was said that one of the four came from Papua.

It transpires that he is young Ronald Woods, who was an assistant on the Godson rub ber plantation. “Itikinumu”, in Papua. His father is a member of the staff of Messrs. Pitt Son and Badgery, Sydney.

Sergeant Ronald John Woods was three years in Papua before ill-health forced him to leave the Terri tory. He was in Sydney when war was declared and he im mediately enlisted in the AIF, and left for the Middle East in January, 1940. Although then only a private, he was selected, together with the three other Australians, for special service in Abyssinia.

In Cairo, he received three months of special training with all sorts of wea pons, and then went into Abyssinia

The accompanying photograph, taken

in Cairo, shows the four young Austra lians who were in Abyssinia—K. Burke L. Body, W. Howell and R. Woods (of Papua),