SECOND ECHELON

Evening Star, Issue 23689, 24 September 1940, Page 8

SECOND ECHELON

BAND DISTINGUISHES ITSELF PROGRAMME IK TRAFALGAR SQUARE (From the Official War attached to the New Zealand Forces inf Great Britain.) ALDERSHOT, August 26. The Band of the Fifth Infantry Brigade will add further to its laurels pu Thursday evening next, when,. by] request of the War Office, it will play, for two hours in Trafalgar Square,; London. Military music in Trafalgar: Square has been one of the war-tima attractions of London this summer j but hitherto the privilege of. playing there has been reserved exclusively for bands of the Guards regiments. Therefore the invitation to New Zealand! players can be regarded as a signal honour. Our band’s recent programme in the 8.8.C.’s home service won it many newl admirers and friends, a typical comment being the hope expressed by one of the musical journals that the New; Zealanders may have an opportunity of competing in a contest before their return home. The 8.8. C. programme was recorded, and later broadcast ta Canada on short wave.

A number of patients have been admitted to the First New Zealand General Hospital, our base hospital 'in. England. Roughly three-quarters of them have been discharged; and thia week convalescents' among those remaining are being transferred to the newly-established convalescent depot,' which occupies a . fine Elizabethan manor house.

Ten or a dozen United Kingdom soldiers have been through the hospital, which is as much a favourite with them as the New Zealand hospitals were with their fathers last war.

The New Zealand peaked hat above a suit of hospital blue has familiar on the roads and in the villages near the hospital, and is occasionally; seen further afield. The Y.M.C.A. Friday bus trips, for instance, always include at least one bus from the hospital.

As there has been no rush of patients two of the nine wards of the hospital are used still as storerooms, pending the completion of corrugated iron and brick stores huts, which will be ready, shortly. Advantage continues to be taken,also, of the opportunity to send medical officers away for special instructional and refresher courses. In addition, all ranks—doctors, nurses, and orderlies—are being given their seven, days’ leave as early as possible, so that if there should be a call presently for full hospital service the staff may ba at strength and in full vigour.

Rugby footballers in the Aldershot Command and further afield are already, . inquiring the probable match strength! of the New Zealanders. The small anti-tank unit which trained here last winter, preparatory to joining tho First Echelon in Egypt, gave an exceptionally good account of itself ati Rugby; this year, with a much larger New Zealand force in training, tho critics are looking for something correspondingly better. ; There are at least four 'All Blacks in the echelon, and one -New Zealand League representative, as well as enough provincial players to run a competition of their own. As all are fighting fit there ought to be the makings of a fairly strong side; but it .will have to be good to come up to that of the First Echelon. ,

As yet the ground is far too hard for practice; but evening punt-abouts have been mote or less a regular. thing all the time we have > been here, so as soon as the autumn rains come we may; expect to see first-of-the-season games.