"FIT TO FIGHT FOR A KINGDOM"

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2736, 3 April 1916, Page 4

"FIT TO FIGHT FOR A KINGDOM"

* MEN OF THE "ELEVENTHS.' , A MARCH OUT The heart of patriotic Wellington was stirred to the depths (in Saturday after- ' noon, when the lilevcnth Reinforcements from'frentham Camp paraded through the streets of the City. They wero sturdy, well-set-up men, hard, and' healthy, and looking, as one returned officer remarked, "fit to fight for a kingdom!"' The' Elevenths are a uniform lot of men. There are no giants among them, and if there are "bantams," then the writer did not see them. \ Promptly at 3.30 p.m. the long brown column swung out of Bunny Street on to Lambton Quay, there to pass under ' Ministerial and • Headquarters review. A slight departure was made in the order of procession by placing the Highland Pips Band in the van, .which gave the head of the column a gay dash of colour to remind people oft the time when military parade was coloured to suit all tastes. Since the dull drab of khaki has supplanted the-scarlet and gold, a review of troops has been shorrj of much of its splendour. All that- ii" left of the splendour is the man him self, and when he is trained under coa ditions such as now exist in our camp! he is something to" compel admiration, The Pipe Band was only a forerunnei of many bands. Indeed the column wa» so bedizened with bands that the effect at times was lost in tho clash of music that came from two combinations play- '- "iiig different tunes at the same time too close to one another. There were six Salvation Army Bands (assembled in Wellington for the annual congress), and in addition there, were the bands of the Natives' 'Association, the Patriotio Society, and the Trcntham Camp and the sth Regiment Bauds. This agglomeration of brass band music .made the parade the brightest Wellington has yet seen, and certainly had tho effect of . 'stirring tho big crowds that lined the'streets to a greater show of enthusiasm, than has been v noted for'many months'» past. Thero were immonse crowds along V the line of march,_ and all along the line '.T r - the orash of martial music mingled with some very hearty cheering. Major G. M'Kenzie, who commands the "Elevenths," led his men on foot, and the flattering reception accorded them ■ must have made him a proud man. And the men justified the spirited acclamation they gained as Jilong. They looked well and marched splendidly, and, as Mr. Frederic Coleman, the war correspondent, said of them, they were the right. ag6j tlie right size, and were'as good material for active warfare as he has seen—just the -sort of, ! - men to sustain the record put up by the "Anzacs."

The usual route was followed, and right along its full length tho column had to march between solid bodies of. tho public, who wcro not slow in showering flowers, sweets, and other gifts upon them. To enable the public to buy these lollies to some purpose, tho Red Cross people established little sweet stalls at parts of the City, and did quite a lively trade, the result of which will help the fund that is going to help the boys in the strenuous days to be. The Territorials (sth Regiment), tho Senior Cadets, and Boy Scouts assisted materially in preserving a passage for the troops at strategical points. .