ADVICE TO SOLDIERS

Nelson Evening Mail, 2 October 1916, Page 6

ADVICE TO SOLDIERS

4ddressing the seventeenth, remforceronts at Featherston, „ Colonel C- M- " Gibbon, chief of ike general staff, emphasised the great importance of discipline""Why" he asked, "have we,made a fetisb/of it ever since you came.into camp 7 Beoause-our, general at the Sront.,. Sir Wa Bird wood, and our officers there tell os thatVithout it we are of no -useWhen, the trooos were leaving Egypt bn? Witt Birdwood, in addressing; thetttt, said that, to beat the enemy, troops required ' three attributes—courage,. training, and discipline—and of these three the most inrportaut was discipline. Courage and training were no use -without.it. They were going overseas for one purpose only to beat the enemv. and fEey must have the one essential if they were to succeed. The men -were trained here, and the country spent mcney on them in order that they anight go forward to fill vacan- ' cies in the firing line. There was a gap for each man) and he must fill it. "W« "have done, our best to'train you; there is no reason; to suppose you have less courage that, the men who went before, and who, .on Gallipoli and in France, have already made a name for themselves. But all the training and courage are of no avail unless you get to the firing line. The man who absents •himself from the firing line is regard'ed as a traitor, hut what should be said about the.tman who is absent without leave e» thß way?". When saying good■bve to their friends/and at ports of call, chey should ibe careful not to ;be absent ■without leave. At ports of call, Colonel Gibbon continued, the temjitation was particularly- great on a dry ship and od a, monotonous voyage. No one knew ibetter thari-he Jiow monotonous a voyage could become.' He had been 45 days at sea on a voyage with troops to Bombay. For New Zealand's sake, as well as their own, they should be careful at ports of calL What would .they think if troops from another country calling at Now Zealapd and coming ashore on leave were half of them drunk when the time cairne to regain their ships and when the men bad to be collected' in i;.wos and threes to ■wait dn the local camps for the next diraft? Colonel Gibbon; urged the officers and men to pull together—the officers to take care of the men and the men to back up. the officers. Outsiders said that whatever New Zealand had done had been idone "well —ibetter than by anyone else. Everv man should exert every effort to make the name of New Zealand; rich'.' in tradition. There was no reason why N»v Zealiand. ,»fcroops ahouldj not b* dossed' a? th> best troops that had fought for the Empire in this war. The importance- of saluting was also exnpiasised. "In.such a democratic country as France they were stricter about this than we were, tand General Joffre attached great importance to it for purjposea of discipline. Concluding, Colonel Gibbon wished; the troops the best of luck, and expressed the nope that they ■would keep up the reputation that New Zealand had of making, each reinferce- : Wess s&i% better thai* <t*be previous one.