WITH THE TROOPS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 162, 20 May 1940, Page 2

WITH THE TROOPS

| A CHURCH PARADE AT CAIRO (N.Z.E.F. Official News Servicc) . EGYPT, March 31. From the pulpit of a new and beautiful Anglican cathedral church alongside the Nile in Cairo, members of the Second New, Zealand Expeditionary Force were welcomed to Egypt today by the Bishop of Egypt and the Sudan, the Rt. Rev. Dr. L. H. Gwvnne, C.M.G, G.B.E. Representatives of all units of th:Force filled All Saints' Church to i lake part in a special service of wel--1 come. Afterwards they marched I through the city's main streets, I which Avcrc thickly lined by civilian jj onlookers. | Clergy officiating at the service | were the Bishop, the Archdeacon | (Ihe Ven. F. F. Johnston) and tjhs | senior chaplain of the New Zealand I Force (the Rev. E. B. Moore). Thechoiristers were New Zealand sol- | dicrs, who had been selected and | rehearsed during the previous week, and the organist was Lieutenant A. J. Crisp, an infantry officer. "God Bless Them." In his address of welcome, the Bishop recalled that in the last war he had had the privilege of confirming and preaching among the New Zealand contingent in France. He knew that some of those in the present force had served also in the Great War, and of them he said: "God bless them for coming again." To the many others who were sons of warriors who had laid down their lives, he expressed gratitude that they had answered the call so readily. Speaking of the fighting record of the New Zelanders, their wonderful courage, steadfastness and endurance, Bishop Gwynne added: "You give us such confidence by your very presence among us, for we all know you will show the same qualities again." As the parade marched away from the church, led by the combined infantry battalion bands, its salute was taken by Bishop Gwynne, who stood with the Divisional Commander until the long column of troops had swung away towards the heart of the city. Strangeness of March. For most of the men that march 1 was the strangest ever experienced, by reason of the colourful and oddly assorted throngs through which they passed. Their route took them first along a street in a more char-< acteristically Egyptian part of the city. There, as the music of the banc! announced the coming of the troops, donkey-cart drivers pulled in to the side of the road; veiled women, with jugs and bundles poised, on their heads, halted in their rhythmic, swaying walk and watched in silence: barefooted urchins mimicked the swing of the soldiers' arms; red-fezzed men sitting at tables in open-air cafes put down their glasses of cold tea and joiner! the spectators. The crowd grew denser as the column reached the streets in which the European influence is strongest, and office workers clustered on the balconies of tall buildings. The scene carried the New Zealandei's back to their farewell parades in the Dominion's main centres —ex-' cept that it lacked the homely cries of friends and relatives in the crowd THE CAMERA ASSAULT ON EGYPT EGYPT, April 12<* Old soldiers observe one characteristic in particular that makes the New Zealanders now in Egypt different from the Anzacs of the last war. It is the way they look at tilings from the viewpoint of a camera lens. Visiting Cairo on leave, they no longer stand and gape at palatial apartment houses and towering minarets. Instead, they eye these landmarks appraisingly, seeking the best "camera angle." This technical way of inspecting sights of interest is an outstanding trait of the men of the force, since photography has become a tremendously popular hobby. No visit to a mosque or a monument is cam-* plete without the sound of shutters snapping. At a recent football match, when both teams were lined up to be pdesented to high military authorities, there were more camera-clicking sol diers on the field than there were players and officials put together. Reel after reel of film is shot of£ in cameras ranging from box models to expensive miniatures. Photographs posted home are subject to censorship in case they betray information of military value.