CAMPS AND THE MEN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2709, 2 March 1916, Page 6

CAMPS AND THE MEN

TENTHS ON CEREMONIAL PARADE GOVERNOR'S INSPECTION , Relatives and friends of men in the Tenth Reinforcements visited Trentham in large numbers yesterday afternoon to witness the reviow of these troops by His Excellency the Governor (the Earl of Liverpool). Owing to the dusty condition of the parade grounds, duo to tho continued dry weather and a strong breeze, the review was held' on tho Trentham racecourse. As a result of this the onlookers had a closer view of the proceedings than on former occasions, when they were only allowed to view the spectacle from the camp roadway, whish skirts the parade ground. Drawn up on the grass, the troops made a fine showing, the strong khaki colour contrasting with the softer tirlts of the sunlit landscape. Many expressions of approval of tho men's appearance and fitness were made. His Excellency, with Brigadier-General Robin. Commandant of the Forces, and Colonel Gibbon, C.G.S., arrived shortly after 2 o'clock, and were received by the Camp Adjutant, Captain E. C. Dovoy, repre : seating the Camp Commandant, Colonel 11. It. Potter, who is temporarily on the sick list. Captain Bell, assistant camp adjutant, was with Captain Dovey. From the spectators's point of view the most stirring part of the ceremony was the march past, which followed upon the Governor's inspection of every man in tho ranks. The Trentham Camp Band, which had been playing slow 'music during the inspection, moved to a position near the saluting base, and broke into march music.. Then, marching in fours, in companies, the troops moved off, wheeling and. turning from their respective positions in order to pass the saluting base, where His Excellency stood. From there they marched away to camp, 1 their splendid marching leing freely commented upon. CAMP NEWS AND NOTES. . HEFTY PICKETS. When the 9th Artillery Reinforcements were in camp at Trentham they supplied the tallest picket of twelve men which had ever been sent into the one evening duty, the shortest of the ' 12 being six feet, and tho others well over that height. Such giants in stature do not often occur, however, in the camps, so weight and brawn is now aimed at, instead of height. The members of every-picket are now weighed at the Trentham railway station, while waiting for the train, and recently somo very solid pickets have tipped the balance. Tho heaviest to date averaged 12 stone 13J lbs. Company commanders of other units are' out to beat this, and the result is likely to be that the general standard of the pickets in brawn and muscle, will be such as to command respect. Tug-o'-War Teams. In another direction, also, the camp' officers are looking for big men. On St. Patrick's Day there, will be a number of entries of soldiers in the tug-o'-war contests in the big sports meeting. Already some good teams hayo been selected, and are practising daily with ropes and in other ways getting themselves fit to pull for their lives and the reputation of their companies. Tenth on Active Servico. The Tenth Reinforcements have been on an active service footing since the beginning of the week. is the last night on which leave will be given to visit tho City. This week is a busy one for tho officers and men of tho Tonth and for the camp Staff officers. Tho men's equipment used in camp has had to be handed in and new equipment issued. Tho last scone connected with their change of abode will take place on Saturday morning, when the men's palliasses will bo burned in hugo fires on the parade ground. When tho troops march through the streets on Saturday they will not carry riiles. Late In the Day. Mothers of soldiers under age, and wives of men going on active service sometimes add to the mass of work to b'o done - by the camp staff, by suddonly demanding that their sons or husbands shall not be allowed to continue as soldiers. The mothers do so «m tho grounds that their boys are too young to go. They have known that all along, but do not move in the matter till the last jninuto. Those wives who seek to detain their husbands declare that they have found that they oannot live on tho amount allotted to them. All these cases have to be investigated, and the time involved in doing so is prodigious., Humours of Trench Fighting. The Ninth Reinforcements were ths fil st Now Zealand trodps to be trained in t-rencTi warfare, their instructor being Lleut.-Colonel Macdonald, who is the Infantry Instructor in'the camps. With the arrival of Major Sleoman, of tho Imperial Army, who has fought in Flanders, the course was extended, and the Tc-nth Infantry Reinforcements have been pretty well trained in trench warfare. This form of fighting is intensely interesting to the men. Tho training includes the manning and relieving of trenches, trench drill by night, methods of improving a trench after occupation, tho work of bombing'parties, throwing bombs, and adjusting fuses, is also included, together with the attack and capture of enemy trenches, involving the passing of our own and the enemy's wire entanglements. After, seeing the troops nimbly leaving their ■•deep trenches, Major Sleeman expressed the opinion that they were exceedingly smart soldiers. A' full description of the work gono through cannot be given, as the details are not for publication. There were, however, some humorous incidents when the Tenth began their training. Stones were used as dummy bembs, and the delight shown' in throwing these was almost boyish. Ono of the bombs fell short, having slinped from the thrower's hand. It rolled back towards tho trench, and a soldier said t.i a comrade: "Lookout, Scotty! She'll blow your head .off." "What'll I do?" asked Scotty. "Expectorate on th<> fuse," was tho quick reply. Scotty was nonplussed, and presently remarked that ho hadn't, an expoctorator. Temporary Appointments. The following temporary appointments have been approved of by the Camp Commandant (Colonel H R,. Potter): — New Zealand Medical Corps.—Permanent sergeants, Corpls. Pollard and Tabor; corporals, Lance-Corpl. Wood and Pto. M'Kcllow. Headquarters Staff.—-Pto. Hewison, 0.G., to bo quartermaster-sergeant; I'tes. Yeates and Ford, to he sergeant cooks. Headquarters Staff (Records). — Lance-Corpl. Harper, to be corporal. Army Pay Department.—Corpl. Devlin. to ho pay sergeant. New Zealand Field Artillery, 10th Reinforcements. —Corpl/Driver, to bo sergeant; Bombdr. Lewin, to be corporal; Bnmbdr. Clarke, to bo orderly room clerk. Cifts for Soldiers. The Commandant has expressed his pleasure on the receipt of a' case of magazines kindly donated by tho committee of the Nelson Olub. The pajpers

have been distributed amongst the various institutes. . - Mr. Casey, canteen proprietor, has handed in the sum of £21 13s. 6d., being proceeds of collection box in canteen. This amount has been forwarded to the Mayor of Weljington as a contribution to the Serbian lielicf Fund. Twelve cases of fruit having been received by the camp quartermaster from "H.M.A." and seven cases from Mrs. Bate, the fruit has been distributed as follows: —N.Z.I'. Artillery, 15 cases; Headquarters Staff, 4 cases. An invitation has been extended to troops who have leave on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, to attend the celebration and sports meeting at Newtown Park. The Feathcrston Camp Commandant (Colonel N. P. Adams) acknowledges receipt of fifteen cases of tomatoes and pears from the people of Motueka for men in hospital. Leoture on Trench Fighting. A lecture on trench warfare in Flanders was delivered by Major Sleemaii, of the General Staff, 1 before members of the National Reserve in Bethune's rooms last night. The lecturer, who was for several months with the British Army in Flanders and France, gave a clear and interesting account of the way in which the intricate trenches were made and worked. The lecture was illustrated by plans of some of the actual trenches, which Major Sleemaii had seen and fought in, and some amusing incidents of life in the trenches were recounted. At tlio conclusion of the lcc'ture a vote of thanks was given to Major Sleeman. Tho Natives' Association gave a concert last night at Troistham camp, organised by Mr. Culford Bell. The following artists appeared:—The Misses Segrief, Watkins, Messrs. Byron Brown, Zante Wood, and Bowman. The concert was most successful, and the party were entertained to supper after the entertainment.