BANDS IN CAMP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24420, 4 October 1940, Page 6

BANDS IN CAMP

There is a convincing eloquence in the protests which have been made in our correspondence columns against the decision of military authority that bands shall not be included on the strength of the territorial regiments now in training in various parts of the Dominion. The military band, it is pleaded, is a source of inspiration to the troops on the march, a comforter when, foot-sore, they plod wearily into camp after a grinding day on manoeuvres, and a pleasant companion on their occasions of relaxation. And when the regiment is on formal parade, a tuneful accompaniment to its smart display will lend to each click of the heels an added precision, and cause every chin to

rise a little higher. These are arguments which it is difficult to resist. Added to them is the considered opinion of a chaplain of long experience that the morale of the troops will suffer if band music is lacking from the camps. It should not be difficult even now, when thousands of men are already under canvas, for the authorities to reverse a decision which virtually deprives the regiments of their bands. Many of the bandsmen are already in camp, it appears, training for their timehonoured part as stretcher-bearers to the regiments they serve. And in the hope that a solemn edict may yet be recalled they have taken their instruments with them. Neither great expense nor much further disruption of the civil life of the community would be involved in bringing the bands to full strength and sending the bandmasters to join their players. With a gesture the Minister of Defence might do much to reconcile the members of the forces to a sojourn in camp that has much of • irksomeness as well as good companionship and healthy exercise as its features. Since the day of the Crusaders martial music has been a recognised stimulus to the English soldiery, and even in New Zealand there is a tradition which associates the exhilarating music of the bands with the marching of the men on service.