War service 1940–1945

Returning to a job in the physics department at Auckland, Gascoigne worked on military optics, developing gun sights and rangefinders,[1] although he did not remain there for long. Richard van der Riet Woolley, director of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory in Canberra (now Mount Stromlo Observatory), sought out Gascoigne because his "experience in optical work [was] unique" and Gascoigne was "trained in a way that no one else in Australia has been qualified".[8][9] When in 1941 Gascoigne was offered a research fellowship by Woolley, he moved to Canberra.[2] The Solar Observatory staff had similar responsibilities to those Gascoigne had held in New Zealand. His first task was to design an anti-aircraft gun sight, and he was also involved in a range of other military optical projects. In 1944, the Melbourne Observatory, home to the Commonwealth Time Service, was closed. Gascoigne reestablished the Time Service at Mount Stromlo, using two Shortt-Synchronome clocks and astronomical observing equipment that he and his colleagues adapted; the Time Service remained at Mount Stromlo until 1968.[10] The knowledge and experience Gascoigne gained during the war proved valuable. He was at the only facility in Australia where optical work could be done, from design and manufacture to assembly and testing. Gascoigne developed a wide range of skills and "finished up quite practical, especially with a screwdriver."[1]
A decade after Gascoigne first met Rosalie in New Zealand, she travelled to Canberra, and on 9 January 1943 they were married. Their first son, Martin, was born in November, and their second, Thomas, was born in 1945.[5]


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US-Japan naval drills start as N Korea tensions rise

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington is one of the vessels taking part in the drills
Continue reading the main story
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Japan and the United States have begun their biggest ever joint military exercises, amid growing tension in the region between North and South Korea.

More than 44,000 Japanese and American military personnel are taking part in the drill off Japan's southern islands.

Forty Japanese and 20 US warships are also involved, as are hundreds of military aircraft.

The exercises come 10 days after North Korea shelled a South Korean island, killing four people.

South Korean observers are present for the first time.

'Immediate threat'
The joint military exercises - codenamed Keen Sword - are being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the US-Japan alliance.

They are intended to be a show of solidarity between the Pacific allies at a time of heightened tension in the region, says the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo.

The drills were planned well before North Korea shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last month, killing two marines and two civilians.

But they come just days after the United States and South Korea carried out their own joint military exercises, putting on a show of force in the Yellow Sea.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said North Korea remained "an immediate threat to the region around it, particularly to South Korea and Japan".

North Korea also posed "a medium-term threat, should it collapse, to China", she said.

Beijing has criticised the manoeuvres and called for more talks with Pyongyang, saying it is better to negotiate than "brandish weapons".

Japan's government has been on high alert since North Korea shelled the island of Yeonpyeong on 23 November, killing at least four South Koreans.

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered his ministers to step up information-gathering and be prepared for emergencies.

About 50,000 US soldiers are stationed in Japan.

The US-Japan exercises will continue until 10 December







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