CAMPS & THE MEN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2693, 12 February 1916, Page 3

CAMPS & THE MEN

LATEST PROMOTIONS SOLDIERS & CIGARETTES . GENERAL NEWS Second Lieut. J. W. Vernon, N.Z.A.S., laving arrived from Fcatherston Camp, s attached to 14th infantry officers and WC.O.'s for instruction. The following officers have reported at ftentham for duty:—Capt. W. Hobbs, nfantry; Capt. J. H. Bartlett, 111'autry; Lieut. L. H. Gillett, infantry; !nd Lieut. E. Hollis, 15th Reinforcements, infantry; 2nd Lieut. H. A. Woolf, infantry. Featherston Appointments, The following • temporary appointnents have been approved by the Camp Commandant at Featherston: —Pte. T. T. Evans, H Company, 11th, to bo ■ecord sergeant; Q.M.S. P. V. Cradlock, Headquarters (Q.iM. Stores), to ie regimental Q.IJ.S.; Q.M.S. C. H. lolly, Headquarters (Q.M. Stores), to be egimental Q.M.S.; Corpl. F. Keudall, doadquarters (Q.M. Stores), to be Serjeant; Pte. J. Shepherd, Headquarters .Q.M. Stores), to 'be corporal; l J te. W. 3oldie, B Company, 11th, to be corporal, No. 1 cookhouse; Pte. G. Duley, i* 1 Company, 11th, to be corporal, No. 8 iookhouse; Pte. A. Broughton, En;ineers, to be corporal in charge No. i ;ookhouse; Pte. E. j. Itobin, Ist lies, to be corporal No. 5 cooklouse; Pte. J. Blair, B Squadron. 10th, io be corporal canvas ca',up cookhouse; Driver W. G. Henry, N.Z.A.S.C., 12th, x> be corporal. Promotions at Trsntiiam. The following temporary appointments have been made at Trentham N.Z. Medical Corps.—Pte. M'Keown, to bo corporal dispenser; Pte. Kells, to be lance-corporal (N.Z.M.C. Perm.); L'te. Wood, to be lance-corporal. Headquarters Staff (Range Wardens). —Corpla. l'\ Bristow, J. Wallace, J. Coughan, and W. H. Miller, to be sergeants. Field Engineers, 13th Reinforcements. —Pte. C. H. Griffin, to be quarter-master-sergeant. "H" Company, 11th Reinforcements. —Lce.-Corpl. A. R. George to be sergeant; Lce.-Corpl. N. Williamson, Lce.Clorpl. A. Johnson, Pte. J. M. Coleman to be corporals; Pte. F. B. Aburn, Pte. I. D. ISorne, Pte. P. George, Pte. F. 0. Gilmour, Pte. C. R. Russ, Pte. J. Sinclair, Pte. N. S. Turner, Pte. J. Stewart 'to bo lance-corporals. Spr. P. E. Geary, 10th N.Z. Engineers, to be sergeant-cook. The Cigarette Habit. What is reasonable outlay by a soldier upon cigarettes? In an interview nc Auckland with the Defence Minister (says an exchange), a sum of yss. was casually mentioned as being "just about enough to keep a man lor a month' in cigarettes.' - "Surely," said the Hon. .Mr. Allen, "a man would not spend 3ds. a month on cigarettes?" Mr. Elliott Davis suggested that that would bo about two packets a day, and some of "the boys" would spend as much. Mr. Allen said he was informed by the medical men tliat over-indulgencu in cigarettes was a serious matter — that it was unnerving the men. Perponally he was much concerncd about it. Thirteenth Reinforcements, The receiving of the men of ihe 13th Reinforcements at Trentham and Featherston Camps'and their medical examination, attestation, aud allotment to their units havo been accomplished with a gi eater celerity and smoothness than have hitherto been the case. This has been due in part to the division of the men into two camps, the infantry, engineers, and artillery going to Trentham and the mounteds and A.S.C. to J'eatherston. Other factors havo also contributed to the satisfactory handling of the recruits. Formerly, most of the men from centres outside Wellington liave been marched to Buckle Street, given a meal there, and then entrained lor the camps. In the case of the Thirteenth, tho recruits for Trentham havo, been taken straight from the steamer to the train, with the result that they have been at Trentham almost as soon as they would have finished their meal at the Drillsbed. At Trentham, too, the facilities for giving the men their meal are much better. Another innovation has consisted of the detailing of the offfters ancl n.c.o.'s of the 15th Reinforcements, ivho x went into camp this week, for clerical work in connection with the attesting of the new soldiers. XJnder the new arrangement tnere is a clerk to each man, and the speeding-up due to tliis has been most marked. In doing this, work the arid n.c.o.'s have lost nothing of ttieir training, as it is not possible to begin the full training until all of them are in camp, and their arrival from all parts of the Dominion extends over several days. Officers' Strenuous Time, The officers and n.c.o.'s of the various Reinforcements have two months' hard training before their men go into camp. During that time they go through _ the full soldier's training, though in- a shorter time Elian is allowed for the soldier's training. On top of this, an unusually strenuous time is experienced by them when their men enter camp, and, moreover, sinco the men are not given leave until they have been a week in camp, the officers and n.c.o.'s are not allowed any leave during that week. The opinion is freely expressed in the camps that after tlioir two months' training the officers and n c.o.'s are stale, and should have four or five days' leave immediately preceding the arrival of their men. This, it is held, would give tliem a chance to visit their homes, and to renew their freshness, so that they would be feeling fit to face the,, busy days which always follow, when they are initiating the raw recruits into' the elementary of soldiering. In the hot weather prevailing at present such a respito would have been much appreciated by the officers of the Thirteenth Reinforcements. Hot Weather and Swimming. The question of whether there should be any relaxation in the training oi soldiers at Trentham owing to the hot weather is one which has been considered. But it was found that few of those in camp desired to have any extra time to lie about, and no ill-effects have been reported as a result of the weather, A good deal of bathing parado has, howevut-, been ordered, and the soldiers havo hailed this with delight. In addition, the men arc allowed to have cold showers at any time wher not drilling or on parade. Teams o! expert swimmers among them have been taking part with satisfactory results during the past week in swimming contests and carnivals held at tht To Aro and Thorndon baths arid at tin Boys' Institute baths, where special soldiers' entries havo been provided. A largo number of soldier swimmers wil take part in tho sports to bo hold a 1 the Tc Aro baths this afternoon. A Sporting Spirit. Tho officers of tiie camp staff al Trentham aro keen in encouraging tin athletic recreation of the soldiers, one leave to indulge in healthy, ninnlj sports is freely given. But the soklic-i who asks for leavo to 50 swimniuig 01 to play criekct and uses this leave as 1 means to eo fitoteiajuw ajwrt aJirifi

it the hands of his comrades. Naturally, fa few of those men msdc a practice >f obtaining leave by- false pretences, it vould bo necessary to stop sucli leavo 'or all bands. Realising this, and wishng to teach their shirking mates a. :rue sporting spirit-, the men have in iovcral cases put such men out of iricket teams and otherwise shown :-heir disapproval in no uicertain way. imong the men in camp at present the ovo of outdoor sports is most noticeiblo. Twoifth Infantry FiringThe Twelfth Infantry, which will renain at Trentham until February 18, legan their recruits' course of group :ifle practice yesterday. On the completion of this course they will procccd )y train to Feathcrston, taking the >iace of the Eloventh Infantry in the jarraoks portion of that camp, while ;he Eleventh will go into the canvas lamp which will be vacctcd by tlio Tenth Infantry on February 17. Al' ;ho infantry reinforcements will nro ;heir advanced or soldiers' course or -iflo shooting at Trentham on their return to thct camp after route manning over the Einmtakas. Water Supply at Featherstan. Wlic?; the Featherston Military Camp vas dosigned it was intended that less ;han 4000 men would bo in camp ihere. By degrees the plan was added :-o, and the permanent barracks camp ,vill accommodate 4500 men. Further idditions in the form of a permanent lanvas camp have increased the accommodation to 6000 men. To adequately >upply this community with drinking ivater is no mean undertaking, "he original -water . supply scheme, however, ivas a generous one, a supply of 40,000 jallons a day. havingbeen provided for. I'bis is obtained by sinking two_wells to a. depth of 40 feet. After being dug, the wells were -cased in cement, and a connection made between the two" at their bottoms. Two powerful _ centrifugal pumps are stationed at this level, and are driven by belting connected wiih oil-engines, a sloping shaft connecting tho engine-room with ' the pumps. The water is pumped into a tank, tho boftom of which is 40 feet from the ground. From this elevation sufficient pressure to supply tlio whole camp i is obtained. The laying of mains and pipes in the extended portions of the camp was a big task. It is yet completed, though water lYom races is available for washing and bathing. The men have been warned not to drink this water, but to get their drinking water from the tanks, which are replenished from time to time from tanks on lorries which pass constantly to and fro all day. In the hot weather prevailing the demand for drinking water has teen excessive, and some of the men have taken buckets, when drill was over, and gone to the river and to springs some distance away, to get water for drinking. A few. it is said, have not hesitated to drink the racewator. Whether this is unfit for drinking or not depends to a great ex. tent on the country which the race flows through. All agree that it is at least risky. The general opinion among tho men in camp regarding the gastrio troubles which have affected a small proportion of the troops is that it is duo to tlie hot iveather and tlio rough-and-reaily cooking arrangements which they say prevailed during the first few days aft-er moving into the new camp. The completion of the reticulation of the canvas camp will rcmovo tho temptation for tho men to drink any but tho well-water. A Good Reason. Three moil, one a soldier returned from Gallipoli, another an Army Medical Corps man, and the third a discharged soldier, wero talking on tho Trentham railway platform. "Well, they've discharged me," 6aid tho man in civilian clothes. "I've been two months in camp this time, and two months in tho Eighth Reinforcements, and I got as far as Egypt in the Main Force." "What was wrong?" he was asked. "I got crook on the transport," he replied, "and was sent buck sick. Well, I've done my hit, I suppose." "You have, right enough," said the returned man. "I was in Egypt myself," ho added. "What did you come back for?" asked the discharged infill. The other raised a mutilated right hand. , "Two fingers blown off, a bullet in my shoulder, and a silver plate in my head," lie said. "Quite enough, don't you think?" His friends agreed that it was—quite. Bagley's Pharmacy, Featherston, have facilities for developing and printing Soldiers' Snapshots. V.P. Kodaks, 355. and 555. City prices.—Advt.