A WOODLAND PARADE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2935, 22 November 1916, Page 8

A WOODLAND PARADE

"TWENTY-THIRDS'" FIRST MUSTER

ADDRESS BY THE CAMP

COMMANDANT

It is the custom of the Camp Commandant at Trentham, Lieut.-Coloiiel H. It. Potter, to address the new drafts of men and the officers and N.0.0.'5-Tvho enter camp at the same time to be trained to take command of troops three months hence. But until the Twenty-third Reinforcements and the officers and N.C.O.'s of the Twentysixth came along, these addresses have been given on tho prosaic parade ground, with all the bustle and business of camp going on around tbe paraded recruits. The Twenty-thirds listened to tho words' of advice of a seasoned soldier and commandant amid bushland surroundings, with the sunlight shining on bush and sward and the wind blowing'in the grass and singing through tire tree-tops. Tho place was the new summer drill-grounds for the troops at Trentham, and it is situated across tho flats from Trentham Camp, near the river, where bathing parades are held. By the courtesy of the owner, Mr. Barton, the land lias been lent to the soldiers. On a level grassy space, with bush on three sides of it, and the river and steep hillside' beyond, on the fourth, the Twenty-thirds wore paraded in a hollow square, awaiting the Commandant's arrival. Suddenly hoofbeats sounded through the dense bush, and the Camp Adjutant rode out into the sunshine, bending low as his horse cantered beneath an overhanging branch. He spoke to the 0.C., who had called the parade to attention, and then rode tack to tell the Colonel ithat the parade was ready. By the same woodland road the Commandant came to tho open sunny space, where tho tree-tops swayed m the wind and the river sang and the blue smoke from tho cooks' fires rose towards tho skies. Colonel Potter's Address. The men were ordered to seat themselves on their coats. The effect of nearly 1800 of them sitting down simultaneously was quaint, and when they were seated it was strange to see the rows upon rows of healtliy faces reaching from left to right in a huge semi-circle. There wero khaki denims and blue ones there, and the red puggarees of ihe hats was another strong note. The Commandant rodo into tho centre of the hollow square, and tiio red and gold on his cap and uniform were in keeping with tne "whole vivid colouring of tho scene. "You have now separated yourselves from the civilian portion of the communiljy ;•'tou have given yourselves' to King and country. I know you want to bo soldiers, or you. would uot be That was his brief summing up of tho position, and there was not a movement or a sound in that gathering of men as they listened to words that were delivered in the best auditorium of all—the open air, near colonnades .of trees. Fitness for war, Colonel Potter said, was the only thing that counted. That was what they came to the training camps for. Some of them might wonder why they should bo sent to camp; why they were not put into uniforms and sent straight to the front. If they went like that they would be only a rabble., '■We have you here to train you in mind and body, so as to be eqiial, if not superior, to any enemy you may meet," said the Commandant. "The first- thing you must learn to know is the htiio word discipline. It is not such a. terrible word, or thing, this discipline, when it is understood properly. It is purely and simply a living force which turns men into an army. It is absclutqly essential for the efficiency, safety, and comfort of a force. To attain to good discipline you must have the soldierly spirit. That is the first essential, because it gives jou <onfidenco in yourselves, in your office! s, and in your non-commissionsd olficeis. Not only that; it helps you to bear privations that are inseparable from war, and to meet the dangers of war. This discipline and soldierly spirit that I speak of are the same that have been in • the British Army from time immemorial. They are foreign to the German idea of discipline, which i s a discipline of force. Your officers and non-commissioned officers will never ask you to go where they would not go themselves. We teach you to. follow, not to be driven. "We train you here according to the latest methods of training, details of which reach us by every mail, and are handed to your officers. You will have nothing to fear, when you meet the enemy, as long as you take the trouble to learn." ' The horses stamped in the sunshine, the birds called' from hidden branches, andthe recruits listened intently to the advice that was being given them, that would help them in the camps ana overseas. , Personal cleanliness and observance of the camp sanitary laws were points emphasised. They must look after themselves. Summer was coming on, and pollution of the ground in camp meant /disease. They must report at sick parades if they felt in any way off colour. They might be suffering from a malady that would spread to their comrades; and they must not try to doctor themselves. The medical officers would do that—it was their job. There, were only a certain number or men in each Reinforcement, and if men fell sick through neglecting to take care of themselves, it meant that the draft must go away short, and be of less assistance to their comrades in tho trenches. "Traditions of Anzac." "You must not think only of yourselves,"! said Colonel Potter, "you have a tradition to live up ,to—the tradition, of Anzac and of our men in France. Unless you are properly trained and keep fit yon will not be able to stand up to it as they old you will be a mob and you will clear out." Of the "grouser," the grumbler who would grumble in Heaven, the men were told, and of how to have their legitimate grievances redressed. The matter of leave Is an interesting one to recruits, who are not given leave until they arc fitted with full uniforms. Starting from Thursday, the Twentythirds are to have 15 por cent, leave every night, with 30 per cent, on Fridays and Saturdays, the leave to bo increased or reduced according to behaviour. Regarding their extended leave of ten days, in which to visit their homes before sailing, they were told that tho concessions in fares that are given would bo forfeited if they overstayed their leave. "I ask you to respect tho police, civil, red caps, and camp police," said Colonel Potter. "The camp police have to see that the regulations are carried out, and you should give them every assistance. You will have to fight side by side in the trenches later on,' and you might be detailed as police yourselves, on the other side. "Don't drink, to excess. Whatever you do here, where the liquor laws are strict —if you go to excess here, you will go to greater extremes in France, where the laws aro not so strict. You young men who havo not touched liquor, it's a had time to start now!"

Colonel Potter made special reference to tlio Soldiers' Club, which ladies in Wellington devoted so much of their tiino to for the, benefit of soldiers on leave. Nothing was worse than to see

a man under the influence of drink go up there and insult women. "After your preliminary training here, you will go to Fcatherston for advanced 'training, and afterwards come back to Trentham for final training, including trench warfare. I want to see the same- discipline and soldierly spirit go right through your work in the camps until the day you embark—and continue when you are on the other side.. Fitness for war is the only thing that counts; fitness to' meet any enemy I" • • Truly it was the last place in the world where one would dream of enemies—in that peaceful bush clearing— yet, perhaps, the very contrast would make the picture which the words conjured up sink more deeply into the memories of the men who, in a few months' time, will bo fighting for their country. Perhaps they will remember, then, tlie little hush clearing and that peaceful, sunny day. j A PECULIAR CASE « AN OLD LADY AND HER WILL. By Telegraph—Press Association. Nelson, November 21. At the Magistrate's Court, before Mr. Wyvcrn Wilson, S.M., an old woivian named Maria M'Goniglc, a widow, sued Henry Cooper, veterinary surgeon, and Margaret Cooper, his wife, for £55, money which had been received by defendants froni plaintiff, and for the return of a will. It appeared from the evidence that plaintiff, who was unwell at the time, boarded at defendants' house. She had an account in the Savings Bank, and while at Coopers' she signed withdrawal slips. Mrs. Cooper drew money (£55 in all) and gave it to plaintiff. Some of the money was spent in liquor, groceries, and fruit for plaintiff. A will in favour of Mrs.- Cooper was drawn up by her husband at the request of plaintiff, and signed and witnessed. The .Magistrate said the evidence showed v that plaintiff was neglected while at defendants' house. The will was strikingly corroborative of plaintltt's story. Ho could only think that plaintiff was kept supplied with liquor until the will was signed, and then kept supplied with liquor becauso it was to defendants' advantago to do so. Judgment was given for plaintiff for £35, with costs, an allowance of £20 being made for money spent for her benefit. The will having been given tip there was no need to make an order as to it.