“100 PER CENT”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20129, 26 December 1939, Page 4

“100 PER CENT”

FIRST ECHELON MEN FINE CORPS SPIRIT SMARTNESS AND AMBITION LEAD FOR SUCCESSORS “Outside the military camps there seems to be an impression that the dispatch of a New Zealand Expeditionary Force is to be merely a gesture. It would do a great deal of good if those who look upon the Dominion’s military effort in this light could see the men in training, and learn something of their corps spirit,” said a Gisborne officer, now on final leave, discussing to-day the prospects of active service. “There are few, if any, men in the First Echelon who do not believe that the passage of a few months will bring them into contact with the enemy in an important theatre of war. They have the example of the old New Zealand Division before them, and they are determined to make their own record of military prowess. They are taking their training very seriously, realising that only by a properly disciplined and thoroughly prepared effort will they approach the old standards of New Zealand soldiers,” he added.

The officer referred to the remarkable growth of the corps spirit among the men of the First Echelon. When they entered camp they were individuals. each with his own idea of what he had enlisted for and most of them taking the prospect of service with a good share of cynicism. The characteristic spirit was that of a young Gisborne man who admitted he looked forward to a voyage overseas, with the attendant experiences of seeing the world, and did not care whether he saw the enemy or not.

Deep Pride in Units

The pure flame of patriotism was hidden carefully under a bushel of personal reasons for taking up the call of country. To-day the position was not much different in the camps, for the men were as chary as ever of expressing patriotic sentiment. Their actions spoke louder than their words, however, for almost without exception they had settled down to the job of becoming soldiers in spirit as well as in name, and they had developed a deep pride in their units and in their echelon.

! "It must be said that many men had | experiences that might have dampened j their enthusiasm, when they came in contact with civilians. There were instances in which open insult was offered to soldiers in the streets oi the cities by civilians who resented the appearance of military uniforms among them,” the officer continued. “Those experiences only served to harden their resolution, and to help them to realise how important a corps spirit could be. Men who had had cold receptions from acquaintances outside the camps came back more determined to do themselves credit while they wore the King’s uniform. “We’ll Show Them!” “The knowledge that there were civilian elements opposed to the dispatch of an expeditionary force abroad pulled the men together better perhaps thajn undiluted enthusiasm would have done. After all, there is nothing like a grievance shared in common to make men realise their mutual interests. ‘We’ll show ’em!’ seems to have become the watchword of the First Echelon, so far as the disaffected portion of the civilian population is concerned.”

This community of spirit and aim, he continued, was evident in everything the I irst Echelon, men tackled. They were sober, painstaking, and well-disciplined in their work in and about the camps. Nothing in the training scheme was too hard for them to do well; in fact, the harder the conditions became, as the training approached its peak, the more the men took pride in meeting their exactions.

The care with which the initial echelon had been selected had left no room for the admission of physical weaklings, and it was indeed a splendid corps from the point of view of physique. There were men under the average in height, certainly, but the heaviest work had shown them to be as tough as the six-footers, in the main, and thoroughly satisfactory in the performance of their duties. The First Echelon was fortunate in having no passengers. Every man was able to pull his weight, and in this respect the echelon must rival the standard of the Main Body of the old N.Z.E.F. Transfers to Combatant Units “We all feel that it is going to be something for which we will be thankful all our lives, that we were able to get in early. Later echelons may be as good, but we feel that none will be better than ours. The prevailing opinion is that we must establish the standard for the new division, and the demand among men of the non-combatant units for transfer to combatant units is a good indication of how the men look forward to doing their bit,” he continued. “Quite a lot of men accepted calls for service with units which will do their principal work well in the rear of the fighting. They regarded their posts as stepping-stones to the combatant units, and already there have been numbers of transfers. There is not a man. I should say, who does not believe that the New Zealand Division will be given an important fighting position, and every one,■> wants to prove himself as good as the next, if not a bit better. All the trials of training are taken with humorous grousing, just as they were in the old New Zealand Division; but no man wants to miss his opportunity of going abroad with the first transports. This makes for excellent diseipline, and an avoidance of trouble in the ranks.

“The pfficers of the echelon are imbued with the conviction that they have to live up to what the men expect of them. The line between the commissioned ranks and others is clearly drawn, certainly, but the goal is the same for officers as for the other ranks. It is felt that in dealing with men of the types found in the First Echelon, an officer who knows his job should not fail in any respect. The spirit of the corps envelops us all.”