THE CAMP "CUP"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 247, 6 July 1918, Page 8

THE CAMP "CUP"

[; .'■ HOW IT IS WON. i. ■■ ..' j: (By "Wagger.") ['•■':• One of -the minor excitements of j camp life is tho weekly competition for I- the best-kept huts and lines, There is u !.. cup presented by the Cam)) CommandI ant at Featherston that becomes the temI porary property of the winning company; r- but the chief spur to.effort is the goodi . natured rivalry • that soon generates bei tween keen soldiers. It is a poor comI pany that does not think itself thfltbest f: that was cvor seen in camp, and its ofj ficers the finest fellows in the Forces! j If yon are an ' assiduous newspaper • reader, you will Have seen a reference to f the Camp Commandant's Cup in tho | "Camp Notes" each week. But you will i probably not realise what lies behind the ' victory—the hard work and • careful atI v tention to details on the part of hundreds I ' of men. At all times the camp huts i and lines are cleaner and tidier- than j- average homes and streets. The con- ! tents of the huts—the bunks and bedding, i' bowls, and eating utensils—must bo lined • up every morning in straight, orderly l • rows, liko ranks of perfectly-trained snlAiers. ■ But in order to /win the 'cup this i .must be done "par excellence." -- Step into a hut one morning between 7 and B—a hut where keen men dwell! i You will see tho bunks being set in line I' with tho aid of a long piece of twine. ; "Push that number four hunk back halfj an-inch; the seventh should come up a j trifle. .. ." In the same way the pal- ; liases are put straight; then the rows of ; folded blankets; then the kit-bags, the i bowls and towels. AH theso things are '• arranged in perfect order upon tho | bunks.Note the bowls. They are old tin ablu- ', tion bowls, yet how they shine! Somo '' are made to look like silver, faultlessly I brilliant, with mirror surfaces. How is ! it done? Simply patient work, rubbing : with sandpaper, sandsoap, metal polishes i of all kinds, ono thing after another. j Tho tin pannikins and plates receive ; ths some treatment. . These articles, j with the three pieces of cutlery, are set ! upon shelves; also hi perfect order. Each must be placed in a certain position; i the knife here, the fork there, the spoon ; placed exactly so. "Trifles make perfection." Certainly it is trifles that win \ the Camp Cup. There is nothing too trifling to be unimportant, ! The floor must bo scrubbed and swept, i the walls must he clear, with nothing ; hung up or stowed away. "Who put I that Gignrclte-Divl im the rafter? Do ' you want us to lose the cup?" complains ! the hard-working hut-orderly. ! Outside tho hut the same careful meth- : ods prevail. Every particle of rubbish, from dead matches upwards, must be i cleared away. Wonderful designs in | stones of various sizes are built by the I men in their spare time. Brilliant cf- ! fects are obtained by first dipping tho \ stones in whitewash or coloured paints. -. Coal-dust and brick-dust are also used i generously. Some of the patterns contain thousands of pebbles, placed in posi- !'■ tion one-at a time. In this way a company can make a representation of its \ name, badge, or other emblem, in a form '■■ that will endure for weeks or months. j Work of this kind helps towards artisI tic "lines," and also towards victory in i the weekly competition. A company that lias established the j best recent record in this direction is tho I Forty-fourth (late Fortieth) Specialists. | Six times they ilave boon awarded tho ! cup during their'stay at Featherston, ; and since returning from final leave they | have won first plate for four weeks in i succession. ; Soldiering is called a man's game; but in some ways it demands a lot of good housewifely qualities!