NEW ZEALAND IN BRITAIN

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 68, 14 December 1918, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND IN BRITAIN

UNUSUAL ADMIRATION FOR OUR MEN

SOLDIERS AND GENTLEMEN

(By a Member of the New Zealand Press Delegation which recently loured the • . War Zone.) Tho New Zealand Press dolegates, during their visit to Britain, saw much to strengthen their pride of country and their respect for their countrymen. They found Now Zealand represented in Britain by an efficient iind capable military organisation,'and they found, what was even more gratifying, that the New Zealand soldier has' mado for himself an exceptionally high reputation. From the very beginning of the tour the delegates'noted the enthusiasm with which residents of tho British Isles spoke of the New Zealander. The enthusiasm continued' to the end, and the testimony camo from all' sorts and conditions of people. , Tho New Zealander has won fame as. a fighting man,' but that in Britain is but an echo from Franc?. What onei , finds emphasised is his character as a man, his appearance, his manner—all.' the personal qualities of .which tho Britisher can speak from intimate contact. In London the .New Zealand hat is as well known and as much honoured as in any part of New Zealand. . For miles around the New Zealand camps people-speak'of tho manly' tearing and good conduct of the New Zealand boys, and of their own pleasant associations with them. - The same story is repeated in tho vicinity of every New Zealand hospital;, nnd throughout tho kingdom, for N ew Zealanders on leave have travelled far and have made more than a passing impression wherever they '.have-gone. Among Jhejr ' comrades-, in the Allied, armies, among"-their ■ own officers -and nurses,'- among 'the great band of war-workers; who meet and help soldiers, they are equally well esteemed. One hears, for instance, in Scotland, and. 'from New Zealanders ■ themselves, of ix mutual and reciprocal ; boud of admirationbatweeri Scottish nnd New Zealand troops, in Canada, of .many firm • friendships formed between New Zealanders and Canadians. When' inquiry is made from New Zealand officers and, nurses, or in soldiers' rest homes..'the warmest corro t boration is, given of al' that is said in praise of the New Zealand men.. No doubt there are exceptions, but .wherever a New Zealand civilian moves in Britain, wherever, he'hears his .countrymen discussed,7- the .■ story 0f... the >. lost, sheep is wholly, overshadowed by the .record of the •ninety .and nine... -. ; .- -''..' : The delegates naturally took.much.interest in the New Zealand "military organisation ■' in England. For "administrative purposes the.. New : Zealand. Expeditionary Force is a complete army unit. Jt has its own camps, its own hospitals, its own .headquarters staff. ..Tho Press delegates took an early ■• opportunity, of visiting the training camps at Codford and Sling. They are close together,.near the ancient city of Salisbury, and surrounded by camps used by soldiers from all : parts of the British Empire. Codford is a hardcniiie; school.; Sling, the -final training ground. The majority of the men sent. to.Codford. had seen servke and. were drawn, from convalescent

. hospitals.' .A smaller number tv'exe men • considered of doubtful physique on their ' arrival from New Zealand. .. All were classified and set to.the.grr.de of training . approved by the medical officers, this ranging from gentle physical exercises to stiff military' training; those in. the latter . category beins. close to .the point .'of . transfer. f to Sling. "On account of the number 'of men necessarily .discharged from the ranks of Codford much attention was paid here to the education of " the soldier; in fact, the denot would be "better described as h, school of- physical and mental development than as a mili.tary .camp':. The '..delegates werecordially .received by. 'Lieiitenant-Colonel Griffiths, the commanding officer. They were given'every opportunity to converse with the men, and they left convinced that tne camp was well organised and ■ capably conducted. SHng is 'essentially'a military camp. Jt has been the New Zealand base in England. At the time of the visit ther» ■. -were 250'-officer.?''an"d.'l"oo men in camp, 100 of the officers and over 700 men being " ready.to move to France, whiln another ' 700 were within a. week of completing ' their training. The delegatfs saw the Auckland, Wellington,' Canterbury; and Otago regiments at various stages' of training, under specialist instructors, and ' at .the close of the day they witnessed

the four thousand odd meir inarch past. This was an impressive demonstration' of the finish put on the soldier by the strenuous'.course at Sling. ' Of the hospitals nothing too good can be said. They are abreast of every advance in medicine and surgery, they are staffed with' highly skilled nurses, ' they, are cleanly nnd homely and overflowing with, kindness. At Walton-on-Thames and. the associated, hospital at Oatlands Park there are .1850 beds.; at Brockenhiirst arid the, auxiliary hospitals attached to it there are 1500. This gave ah ample margiu for emergency. The-Horn- ' church Convalescent Hospital has acco.mmodation for 2500. At all of them, extensive gardening is carried on to reduce, the food bills, and as in every hospital in England, greafcare is taken to prevent waste. Technical training is given to patients fit for work, and there is abundant aimiseniont, the Walton-on-Thames and Oatlnnds ' Park Hospitalsbeing specially well situated in this respect as they stand near the baiiks of a ,nne stretch of the Thames, admirably fiuited for boating. Relatives of New Zealand soldiers can rest 'assured that nothing better,is being done for wounded senders anywhere , than is being done day by day in the New Zealand military hospitals. ■

ftew Zealand Headquarters/ ; The work of the.headquarters staff includes everything connected with ihe care of 20,000 men, for there is constantly about that-number in England, in training,. in hospital, and on leave, I Jernaps all of it is not■ ■uniformly well I none, but it can be said unhesitatingly i Mat it is as free from blemishes as am- ) army administration-in" England. Apart .from thei essential and .largely routine ! services.there are. some fentiires of the ■ jiilniinistrntioii which deserve to be widcii' I\ Tho erlticntionel scheme hits Jl'een. dealt with, separately. A kindred jwork is going on at headquarters, in " !,. ll *, c, £ <!ctlo ''" of -'i<»fprial for a Now Zea.i.intl War Museum or museums, and in | the preservation and indexing of war dieries written by officer, "at ?the front with a view to assisting in the compilation of .a !*e«'. Zealand historv 'of whf a , ,ho v Sl(l «M> Ym, Hospital, nf « Ih P,. N(, "- Zealand members Kenn f l." , ""' 8 ' a 11)11seum of pkster casts, drawings, and tt S 7 hs 'll»6tra(i,,g their work in fi M H ? g i"'? Wollnds - In » n «>th« field, that of food mid other necessaries -Now Zealand has established quite an exceptional organisation. It supplies all ite own camps and hospitals, and in addition is conducting a retail business in meat and groceries, and issues its .. own .food .card. New Zealand soldiers on leave in London and their relatives resident in London can thus have better food, and at » cheaper rate, than the average Londoner.- All- purchases are made by n Contracts Board, coiisisliir w- three prominent New Zealanders--Lieuteiiant-Coloncl G. T. Hall, Major J 1. Watson, arid Mr, Gilbert Anderson, Hntl no expenditure exceeding is authorised until sealed tenders have been called _f Ol . IUU ( ilC( . C p tc( i |, y the h(mnl Another department has begun the compilation of information to facilitate demobilisation. Each nJan in the force is being catalogued, with, particulars of his rank, his civilian calling, his outlook in i Teapeet to occupation, his place of re.si- . dence, his.age and family responsibilities, and a reference to'his last employer, tnrds containing all these and olher'detoils are being filed with a view to being ■■sent, to New Zealand for the information of any organisation that may interest itself in the future settlement and employment of soldiers. Those activities of the headquarters staff indicate that its outlook is not narrow. It irf a working organisation in complete sympathy with ■the soldier, for if is composed entirely of men who have seen service, and ail of theni are now classed unfit for service with the_ exception of a few" who are .the only surviving sons' of famili&s irrji.ch. ba7e.6ufferedeeTerelyinthe.wav.

In many ways New Zealanders on war service 'nro demonstrating exceptional ability and resource. At Siilcjip, tho greatest hospital in England Tor Ihc remedial treatment of facial wounds, there is a New '/,e;\l",«\ doctor in charge, and

New Zealand •.•■■•'•■"•■' and dentists are operating n !::!««■ .•...■•imi of tho hospital, and are donii: i...... velloius work in repairing the most n.ithelie ■ ■'' all lh« damage caused by the war. to one of the New Zealand iio-spitnls British Army doctors come in great numbers to sco and profit by the skilled work of a New Zca-Jaud-born surgeon. The American Y.M.C.A. has sent a commission to gather informittion respecting the New Zealand educational scheme, ami lias decided to copy it. The.se are instances ot the marked success and appreciation attending the efforts of New Zoalanders. But appreciation of New Zealand s share in the war is not confined to individuals Our men everywhere havo made a good name for themselves and for their country. Incidentally they are teaching the Britisher where New Zealand is and what it' is. They are spreading a knowledge of it and creating everywhere the. most friendly feeling for the country and ■for its people.