MAIN BODY REUNION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 21, 18 October 1937, Page 4

MAIN BODY REUNION

Ptega. Assnotanon »

500 N.Z*E.F. Men Foregather at Wellington

Sir A. Russell^ Views

tR? Tetejjriiph

WELLINGTON, Last Night, Five hundred men pf tfie Main Bodv nf the New Zealand Expeditiopary Force met in Wellington yesterday in the second tviennial reunion of the men who sailed from Wellington 23, yeara previously to the day and, who were the first from the Dominion to. euter the. t'ray. ' Honpuring their fallen eomrades^ 4,0 d men, grouped according to the, stpaiucrs in \vhicb they saiied from Nevy Zeulapd, mavebed to tne; \Var Memoriai. At their. head uiur-ched MU^Qr-Generat Sir Aufirew UusseU apd Colonel ti, E, Avery who \vas Ut vbai'gP thi'ad.e, ' At a smoke coupert in "thq eyening, Mr T. U'Duvvd, of HaatingsA proposcq tho toast. qf ' ' Thq Ne.w Zealand Expqditionary Force." He. said. N.ew Zqaland \\as indeed proud of tbe. troops it. feent pverseqs to tbe theatres of wa? to assist. the Empire in ita houf- of greate&t nced, The, unsuccessful cqncfusion of the Gallipoli campaign did uot detract from their- record. He was glad the toast was coupled with that of Major-Generai Sir- Andrew Russell, of wliose honours bis men were pr'oud. Sir Andrew Russell was gteeted with tbe greatest enthusiasm wben be was called on to reply, and the 500 spoiitaneously sang ' ' For He 's a Jolly Good Fellow." "Though I am replying to the toast, of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force," he said, "L am speaking to you Who formed the spearhead, who set'the pace and who taught them how to figbt, They fought in your steps rigbt nobly, but I cannot forget. that you set the example.. - ■ ' Here we are 23 years. afterward, growing shorter iri wind* considcrably scantier abqut. on? facts, and some ot us not bq steady on onr pinst but j am saying this^ of all the Expeditionary

Force there are fewer 'burut out.' men m tbe old Maiu Body than. in the regt of that very distiuguijhed force that left these shores. i had only to see you there at your tahles, and. to UstOU tq the noise you inau.e te realjse. that tfieie ia not, mucn wrong with you, atid i am conlident that three years houce you wifl be in the same fit state," Many of the mcu jyu tbe JM.aln Bqdy were pnes who had antieipated the daRger tq whicb their country would be OXposed aud had Utted thoinselvert for the inoment wben therr coubti'y wouid need them. When the time came they did not wuit for others to give tbe lead, but gave it themselves. New Zealand ought to have a compulsory system of training so that if truuble cteeurred every eitixen would know exactly where to go and what to do, just as Ihe men in the troopships knew, as the result of boat drili, exactly vyhat to do in a moment of danger. Otherwise disajster might overtake Now Zealand. Sir Andrew Russell suggested that Ihe gathering send grqetings to Sir lan Hamilton, Sir Alexander Godley, aud Sir William Birdwood. The toast of "The Army, Navy, and Air Force ' 1 was proposed by the Hon. F. Waite, M.L.C., who said that the first duty of a nation was defence, for a higb standard of living was useless without ability to protect it. ' It was aa true to-day as whpn Tennysoa had written it that in England 's fleet was her t'ate. The defence" of New Zealand was uot a local matter, but was wrapped up in Empire defence. In a reference to the importance of the morcantile marine's services to the fofces Mr Waiae recalled Captain L. C. H.' Worrall, of the Maunganui, who was present, and Captain Evaus, of the' Ta* hiti, the only suviving commanders of the ships in which the Main Body sailed. Mr E. E. Corncr responded on behalf of the navy and Mr G. B. Menzies, Napier, on behalf of tbe army.