CASHIERED!

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 284, 15 June 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

CASHIERED!

SOLDIERS WHO HAVE MADE GOOD.

The life stories of men who, for some indiscretion, error of judgment or actual crime, have been punished or publicly disgraced, and have set themselves to recover their reputation and redeem their good name, form one of the most romantic chapters in real life. .More especially is this so of the soldier to whom honour is, alike by instinct and fradition, as dear as life itself. The loss of his good name is unendurable, and must be retrieved at all costs. The stories of gallant fighting men, who after a single lapse have vindicated their claim to the twin titles of soldier and gentleman are some the most inspiring of the annals of war. THE RETREAT FROM MOXS. In this respect the story that stands out most prominently in the minds of the present generation is that of Lieutenant-Colonel Elkington of the Royal Warwicks, the romanticinterest of whose career can hardly l:o excelled by that of any character ill fiction. Joining the Army over thirty years ago, he gained the Queen's medal with four clasps in the South African War as captain in the Warwicks, and was sent to France in I'jH as lieutenant-colonel of a battalion of the same regiment.

In the historic retreat from Mons (as we reported at the time) Colonel Elkington was guilty of what wssf considered a great error of judgement. A court-martial found that ho had not held on to a position so long nor fought so strenuously as he should. He was cashiered and removed from his command. His friends and fellow-officers were grieved and surprised at (he finding of the Court, .and facts have since shown that his conduct in trying circumstances was really due to an error of judgement, and not to any personal fear.

Immediately after the sentence of the Court of Inquiry was promulgated, and the name of Colonel Elkington was removed from the British Army List, he joined the French Army as a private. lie enlisted in the famous Foreign Legion, and fought gallantly in some of the fiercest batles of the war. His bravery in the field in Champagne caused him to be mentioned in despatches. He war awarded the Medaille Milif.tire and the Croix de Guerre with Palm —the latter being the highest award in the French Army. He was wcunded, and lay for nearly a year in a French hospital with his right knee shattered, but fortunately amputation was not necessary. Then came the announcement in the "London Gazette" of his reinstatement, which recalls Ouida's romantic story of "Under Two Flags." The King had been graciously pleased to approve of the reinstatement of John Ford Elkington in the rank of lieutenant-colonel, with his previous seniority, in consequence of his gallant conduct while serving in the ranks cf the Foreign Legion of the French Army. Colonel Elkington's happy return to England and his joyous reunion with his devoted wife and children forms .a fitting conclusion to a romance of real life, the story of a soldier and a gentleman who placed honour before all else. And finally he was accorded the privilege of being received by the Kng at Buckingham Palace, and had conferred upon him the well-merited distinction of the Distinguished Service Order.

A CANADIAN'S HONOUR. The grim annals of war are illumined from time to time by flashes of valour and gallantry, of deathless deeds of during that stems often more than human. Some are described in the vivid phrases of a war correspondent, others are baldly outlined in an official communique, many are never told .at all.

One of the most extraordinary stories of the war is that of Lieut. Jones, a handsome Canadian in the early thirties. Some time ago he was dismissed by older of a court-martial for an offence which it was not necessary to specify. Jones instantly resolved to blot out the past, if need be with his own blood. "T must," he wrote to his sweetheart in London, "win back my honour, even at the price of my life. The result of this court-martial has stabbed me to the heart." He sank his identity, enlisted into another Canadian regiment, and was duly sent to France. There he seized every possible chance of distinguishing himself and retrieving his past. He soon won his corporal's stripes, and before long was made a rergeant.

"I must make good." lie said to himself a hundred times a day, and lie did. He made up his mind to do the best for his country, and to kill as many Germans as possible. With daredevil recklessness he advanced close to the enemy trenches, and when he encountered enemy patrols shot them one after another. On one such occasion lie bagged a score ct the enemy. His dash and daring were a marvel and an inspiration to his fellows. "Jcnes of Montreal," as be (ailed hiniscK, "kept on doing thlnss which no follow could understand.' - lie was elected V.C. on the battlefield. The War Orico while not conferring the higher distinction on the hero, have awarded him with the Distinguished Conduct .Mcd,r.l with

i'.v this time, however, poor Jones had lost both lot;s in the fsal'!o r,r tho So inme. lie was removed to Kiiffl.md. and in an interview he sr,id. "I the uld like el] i,;v friends to know that I have made r;ood. . . . Fhe oilier atleri!o:;n i'■ y brigadier ca'"tie round to s< e r:e. 'Jones-, mv icy." he said, 'I am • !;:■ I to he .able in I: II you Hi a I you've ent bad; yo'.if '■onunirsion.' Von <;■ m imagine how ! r I'. \'o words ej'ti describe mv I'il I'Jiine;;; . I r-illed nurse. r. 1 s!i" " ni .a cable to mv f ; .ln Canada.' 'I'll" war has r i s.h'-d many traffic 'Mel romantic o;eso<v>; in the live;; of 'k" Mien who are !i • i 5„-r car bailies Has!, and West. Wb.at hut the b ff.ie.;; pi nis • and i .no • r e;ia lie I e-toweil iipon !]"• in,.n v. ho. bavin'-: diverted from !»>o ranks in the time or ijo'ir-e, ret urns !■< |i".M and die for I's Kipff a.nd roiai ry atr.iin-' the relsju It I - ;: Hie storv r,f sue). •I hern that Cap' K. \\\ folds '?! I:is ae.'cu '> 1 of a Sroutin,-; <"ip;u!ii ion by nieh; at. Anzae. A WAYAI. I/.::I'TI-:i;. 'Hie hero's i.n' ; |!;, r (. ] [,. e.ad derm-ted from i : ; e Ai. .< ralian ''■ l .v. but oil the oui break- of war ' - enli'-J in the lir• • t overseas eon-