CAMPS AND THE MEN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2707, 29 February 1916, Page 6

TRENTHAM AND FEATIIERSTON

TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS

'Hie following officers have arrived in I'eatherston Camp, and have reported for duty:—Captain Eraser, 2nd Lieutenant Horton, A.S.C. The Camp Commandant Colonel N. P. Adams, acknowledges the receipt of a silver cup presented to the camp by Messrs. Smith and Sherlaw.

The following Main Body m«n has reported for duty, and has been attached lo D : Squadron, lltliSorgt. J. Glenn, ex-Main Body,

The following temporary • appointments have been approved by, the Camp Commandant: —Pte. J. B. Rowlands, 33 Squadron, 10th. to be corporal in Mounted Signallers; Slioeing-siiiith J. C'oker, A Squadron, lltli, to bo shoeingsmith corporal; Pte. M. A. Friend, Headquarters Staff, power-house, to bo quartermaster-sergeant while emplbyed in the power-house; Corpl. Rutherford, Corpl. Ward, and Corpl. Potter, N.Z.A.S.C., lltli, to be sergeants; T)vr. Coloquhoun, N.Z.A.S.C., 12th, to be lance-corporal; Dvr. ' Atkinson, N.Z.A.S.C., 13th Lce.-Corpls. Roud, Strachan, Lindup, Scarr, and Silcock, C Coy., 12th, to be corporals; Ptes. Anderson, Atkinson, Barr, Coxhead, Osgood, Robb, and Rogers, C Coy., 12th, to bo lance-corporals; Corpl. Smith, Headquarters Staff, Camp Commandant's Oflioe, to be sergeant; FarrierCorpl. Reay, B .Squadron, 10th, to bo farrier-sergeant; Lce.-Corpl. Lucas, B Squadron, 10th, to be corporal; Lce.Corpl. Clarke, B Squadron, 10th, to be corporal; Pte. Blair, D Squadron,'lLth, to be orderly-room clerk. Sergeant-Major Connelly, mounted instructor, has arrived in camp, and has reported for duty. The following Maoris have been transferred to Narrow Neck Camp, leaving Peathorston by the 8.30 a.m. train yesterday:—Pte. Anderson, E Coy., lltli: Pte.' Brown, A Coy., 12th; Pte. Tinu 'Piti, C Coy., lltli; Pte. Tini, G Coy., lltli; Pte'. M'Gregor, G. Coy, 11th; Sorgt. Holdcri, 2nd Reserve Coy. TRENTHAM NOTES. Sapper Hall, 10th Engineers, is appointed assistant postal sorter lor the 10th Reinforcements, and temporarily attached for duty at the Camp Post Office from February 18, 1916. The following returned soldiers having reported for duty are transferred to the undermentioned units: —12/1885 Pte. A. L. Bell, February 23, 1910, A Coy., te 1) Squadron, 13th; 2/1250 Sergt. A. C. Parker, February 23, 191(3, N.Z.F.A., 3rd., N.Z.F.A., 10111. Army Pay Department.—Pte. Mastersou lo be pay-sergeant. 'H' Company, 13th Reinforcements —Ptes. IJnggn, Blisseti, Kenrick, Knight, Kiernan, Moore, Oxeiiliam, and Alorgan to be lance-corporais. G Coy., 11th Reinforcements. —Ptes. Scobio, Dougall, Olsen, ■ M'lndoo, and Odgers to ho lance-corporals. '• F Coy., 13th-Reinforcements. —Pte. Brown to be orderly-room clerk, with rank of corporal; Ptes. J. H. Haceluis, It. L, Bacchus, Blake, Blinko, Cook, B. Munro, J. D. R. Munro, Rasmusscn, Robertson, and Slucc to be lance-cor-porals.. D Coy., 13th Roinforcenwnls. —Pte. Strang to be orderly-room clerk with rank of corporal. New Zealand Field Artillery, 11th Reinforcements. —Bombr. Massey to bo corporal; Gnr. Mathias lo be bombardier ; Gnr. Wallis to he bombardier. Now Zealand Field Artillery, 12th Reinforcements.—Gins. Barrow and Griffiths to bo farriers; Gnr. Dalton to be saddler; Gnrs. Evetts, Lepine, Moore, and Grevillo to bo bombardiers.

It is a generally accepted military fact that a machine-gun is equal to 12J- rifles in its capacity to pump bullets into the ranks of the enemy. Testa made at the ■ rifle 'range at Trentham on Saturday proved this comparison to bo correct, there being 40 rifles against three machine-guns. The competition between the two arms consisted in halfminute periods of firing at outline targets: In that time, t'ne machine-guns fired 358 shots, while the 40 riflemen got off 348 rounds. The slight advantage of 10 shots in favour of the ma-chine-guns was discounted, however, by the fact that the gunners only got 27 targets against the riflemen's 48. This was explained by an expert as being due to the machine-gun fire being so concentrated tliat. many of the bullets went between the targets. The machinegun sections have been given a good deal of target practice of late, but on Saturday tbere were some now men on the guns, wliich miglit account for the fow actual hits made.

At tlie present time lilackborries, are plentiful in tlie Upper Hutt and Trentham districts. When tlio Tenth Infantry was manoeuvring near Mungaroa, after tho march from Featherston, the defenders of the Maori Bank tunnel in the night attack, whiled away their vigil by eating .blackberries. In other skirmishes and rcconnaisances, too, the men have not been so intent on the enemy's blood as to forego the pleasures of a repast of the berries. On one occasion, a large party of girls who were blackberrying were surprised by ail outpost, the members of which were also seeking the blackberry brambles. The girls fled, and the soldiers, after gathering all they could cat, filled the tins and baskets which had been left in the flight, and which were doubtless gathered up when the soldiers had gone. In another instance a sentry halted a soldier and told Mm to put up his hands. But the-man's right hand ltopt stealing down towards a blackberry bush which grew tlicre. As the sentry regarded that blackberry bush* as strictly his own, he told the soldier ho w.ould shoot him dead if ho didn't keep his hands above his head.