Thursday, October 11, 2007

I am a bit concerned.

I usually get to work somewhere between 7:20 and 7:40. Most others arrive about an hour later. I like the time to relax, prepare for the day, and read my work e-mail. It's quiet. I am not tempted to talk to colleagues when I should be working.

But today, I am a bit concerned. I got in, got some water, and sat down to read my work e-mail. And I found this message from my boss concerning an "important directive":

Effective immediately all personnel will stop calling employees by their Christian names and will cease wearing pork-pie hats...

I find this a bit odd.

Post Script. I did some research and found the following that sheds some light on the e-mail I received:

The hat was prevalent in New Guinea in January 1944, when Australian troops had just defeated a Japanese stronghold at Kankiryo Saddle. The book Australia in the War of 1939—1945 Series 1—Army Volume VI—The New Guinea Offensives (1st Edition 1961) states on page 766:

According to the historian of the 2/10th Battalion, when word was received that General Vasey would visit the area on the 2nd, a signal was sent to all companies: "Other ranks will cease calling officers by their Christian names and will cease wearing pork-pie hats."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yay Wikipedia!