BACK FROM WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2591, 13 October 1915, Page 6

BACK FROM WAR

MEN LANDING TO-DAY

INTERVIEWS WITH OUR WOOMDED

The following New Zealand soldiers aro due back in Wellington by the Mqeraki to-day:—/ . n Auckland District.—Captam E. G. : Fraser, Auckland Infantry Battalion; Staff Sergeant-Major E. Purdom, Orderly Department, Divisional Headquar- , ters • Pte W. P. Sefton, N.Z. Medical Corps; Pt'e. D. A. M'Gliee. Auckknd Infantry Battalion, 2nd Reinforcements j Pte. W. E. Edwards, Auckland Infantry Battalion, 4tli Reinforcements; Pte. J. Parry, Auckland Infantry Battalion; Sapper J. Coylo, 2nd Field Company, NZ. Engineers, 4th Reinforcements; l'pr. J, Hunter, Auckland Mounted Rifles. t i .n Wellington District.—Lco.-Corpl. F. C. Foster, Ist Field Company N.Z. Engineers, British Scction, attached Mam Body; Sapper C. Gudge, D Signalling Company, N.Z. Engineers; Pte. J. Dunn, Wellington Infantry Battalion; Pte. F. Burgess, Wellington Infantry Battalion; Tpr. W. C. Morgan, Wellington Mounted Rifles. Christchurch District.—Lce.-Corpl. N. Taylor, Canterbury Mounted Rifles; Lce.-Corpl. B. Aldridge, Canterbury Mounted Rifles; Pte. W. T. Bowis, Canterbury Infantry Battalion; Pte. P. W. O'Malley. Nelson District.—Sergt. E. H. Burnett, Canterbury Infantry Battalion; Pte. A. B. Crombio, Canterbury Infantry Battalion; Pte. A. Gridley, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, disembarked at 'Melbourne. Dunediu District^ —Corpl. F. JOtago Mounted Rifles: Pte. C. S. Fraser, N.Z. Medical Corps; Sapper F. Daubney, Field Troop, N.Z. Engineers; Pte. 0. A. Little, Otago Infantry Battalion. , rlTr Dunedin District. —Pte. • M Kce, Otago Mounted Rifles, missed boat at Fremantle. ■ . The New Zealanders landed m Australia, and thero they were interviewed. Extracts from the interviews follow. They are taken from the "Sydney Daily Telegraph" :—

"Best Sport of the Lot." After a man from Marlborough had explained how nasty the Turkish snipors could be, it was suggested that the bombing must have been the hardest thing to bear. "Not on your life," said ho, earnestly. "Best sport of the lot. There's some excitement about that. The sniper's tho man we had a derry on. Good Aots? You go out thero and show a bit of you above the trench, and you'll find out. A shell would kuock a holo m a trench parapet, and the Turk snipers would range on that, and wait for someone to pass along on the inside. He'd suro get it if he didn't duck. We had notices stuck up at all these gaps, saying, 'Duck here,' or 'Bob down, you're spotted.' "Oh, the bombs? Well, you see, it was really exciting, playing that game. You'd see our chaps watching, and then a Turk bomb would como lobbing over from their side, and one of our fellows would catch it and sling it back, so that it would return home just in time to make itself disagreeable -where it belonged. But they dropped down to that, and used shortor fuses, and the consequence was that some hands wero blown off, our side. We generally kept overcoats and things ready, so that when a bomb lobbed into the tronch we could smother it. It always blew the coats to , but the smothering often saved life. One day a bomb landed beside a chap who had a sandbag handy. He dumped the sandbag on the bomb and sat ; on top. When she went off, ho and the sandbag had a joy ride, but ho wasn't hurt.

"Wo had an underground fight, in a san ono day. some of our chaps—revolvers and liand-grenades. That was good sport. Eh? Oh, we won." Tho Maoris Gain Fame. "The Maoris made a grand showing," said a lance-corporal. "Their fine v.'trie on tho Peninsula was really fine. Tlicy landed at 2 o'clock in the morning—in June —and went, straight'' into tho trenches. They held them until the August advance, when they made a world-wide reputation. All the wounded men are talking about the Maoris. Tiiey have been cut up, however, and have had to be abandoned as a separate unit. Two of tho Maori officers are rowon their way back to New Zealand. The Maoris who' were left behind have been attached to other units. There arc probably not 200 Wt out of over 530 who landed at the Dardanelles."