THE ENGINEERS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3034, 22 March 1917, Page 6

THE ENGINEERS

HANDY MEN OF THE ARMY

IN TRAINING AT TRENTHAM

With every draft of troops which leaves these shores for the front, there goes a handful of men whose dark bius hat pugarees give theni a sombre look. They are the Engineers, the handy* men of tho New Zealand Army, whoss work in the trenches has been the sub-j ject of the highest praise by generalofficers of the British Army.

"These trenches are the best I have* seen. I consider thoy have saved the> lives of many soldiers," one officer said,; referring to the work of the New Zealand Engineers. j Trentham is the training ground p&. this efficient unit of our forces. Visitor?; to the camp always make a point of: seeing the trenches. But it is doubtful', whether they realise fully what infr Engineers accomplish in their training", for active sen'ice where the greatest call that can be made . upon the resourcefulness of man will be mad» upon them. _ The Engineers' instructor at Trentham is Major Waite, D.5.0., who was at Gallipoli. The stables of the Engineers, which were built of manukaand birch, narrowly escape*} destruction by fire recently, and it was decided to build a new ono in a clear space. ~ The question was what to bulla: it of. The Engineers declared that thoy* would build their own stables without! making any call upon the camp stores.. And they have done it, tho touches are being put to the roof a\nd . the stalls are all occupied. \ First of all, stout birch trunks wer«f, set firmly in the ground, to be the-': pillars of the building. Then lighter.} 'manuka and birch poles were usfcef. to.' form the framework of roof and sides. No nails were used. -The timbers w*rre keyed and interlocked with cunning joints, and when the framo wa9| finished it stood four-square and firm -. For walls, hurdles of pliant manuka-; were madte, in 'the same_ maimer aw they are made to form firing steps iin trenches, but very much, larger. Thesaj': were fixed in position oil ends ana back and roof of the building, which : was thus made ready for the plasterers. The Engineers' plaster consists of clay and straw, etc. • The" lattice hurdles of manuka, were thickly coated, inside and) out, and where the inside had dried it was finished off with superior specially-refined clay plaster, lb-day it is smooth Jra<3' shiny, and of a creamy tint. roof of the stable is plastered, too.- 1 making the building cool in summer. The sun-baked clay on tho roof wilshed any ordinary shower, hut heavy rain would make it sodden. The' question of a waterproof preparation 1 , for their roof has worried the . Engineers a little, but very little. They aro making a secret compound of Jauef. clay and fat and other raw materials} 1 ' and are ■ confident that it will do it* work satisfactorily. Tho large stable*;, has cost nothing for material, as 'birch, and manuka grow, in profusion on tbi» ; hills near at hand, and there is clay, in plenty. Labour was tlie chicf item,, yet there were not many men employ-, ed. .Elbow gredio was another ins--portant item of construction. Thtf: Engineers have plenty of that. ■ * The trenches are a little way across the paddock from the stable. first there is No Man's Land to bet crossed, and the barb-wire entangle- 1 ments to negotiate. The Trenthao trenches are a replica of a section if the trenches on the Western front, and many forms of wire aro shown. Most of these are attached to stout wooden pegs, or poles 7 driven firmly into the ground. But actual warfare, as the Engineers knonT> this is an old-fashioned way.of fixing wire entanglements. To go out in N<» Man's Land until a heavy maul, and. hammor in pegs would bring every; Hun rifle and machine-gun along to? pour in a hail of bullets, and, in th» words of Patrick Magill, tho navrv poet, the wcilders of the mauls would: have their names spelt wrongly in thes papers in the morning. Quieter means than these are employed at tho front, where mon creep out in darkness un do tho work, lying low wlien tho star shells blaze, then tho wires are carried along, and tho entanglements, made. It is wonderful 'how it is done > under such .difficult conditions. , ' It is in the trenches that the skill; of the Engineers is shown at its best., and where the gabions, hurdles, fascines of manuka are so cleverly ■used. Front line, sccond lino,' a-'io, third lino trenches are all.JSere, wit.i dug-outs and rear trenches, and.dressing stations and listening posts, anQ other places whero poriscopes may bof used. T'liero is a mine tunnel, tno,. int-o which visitors are forbidden togo. Since tho usual notices did Evt • make sufficient appeal to tho obooiouce.of people, a picture by Brucsr Bairnsfatber is displayed. It shows thof awkward effects of a mine explosion, and is called after the popular song, "Don't go down the mine, father.'.' ■ These are only some of the works of the New Zealand Engineers. Thenactivities aro endlesp, their tasks witjyi out number. Handy men they are, whff 1 nia-ka marvellous creations'out of pr«otiwlly nothing at all.