NEW ZEALAND WAR MEDALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 181, 30 January 1914, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND WAR MEDALS.

501 H REGIMKXT v, TARANAKI i VOLUNTEERS. I Mr. J. C. Davics writes: —Sonic reference was recently made to the issue of New Zealand War Medals and the services of the 50th Regiment in New Zealand. It may be interesting to old Taranaki volunteers and others to slate that when the 50th were in Taranaki.-about the year 1867, a challenge was .published to the effect that eight men of the 50th were willing to lire a rille match with a similar number of the local forces. The challenge was at once accepted by the volunteers, and resulted in a win in their favor. Colonel Haniby, one of the 50th team, was so disappointed at the result of the match that he published a letter ! in a local newspaper stating timt the j 50th were a crack shooting regiment, and had never before been beaten, and S | the reason was that the "pull" of the * volunteers' trigger was lighter than their opponents',which gave them an advantage. As a matter of fact, the volunteers Ifnew little or nothing about the weight of triggers, and used the rifles just as they were issued. Consequently a return match was arranged on th.: same conditions as before as to mei, rifles, ranges, etc, but all the triggj s were weighed on the ground, when it was found that the volunteers' rill-a pulled heavier than those "of the 50t'i. The result of the match was a lugger win for the volunteers than the first one. The Taranaki boys were rather cock", about their second win, and had' 'VVr ' photographs taken, a copy of wlii.i'i I hand you herewith. The names are: Ensign T. Humphries, Comet ,1. C. Davies, W. Xoddcr, 11. Turner, .fosias Iloskin, James Purncll, Win. Humphries, L. St. George. I would like to have republished the correspondence and scores, but cannot find them just now. I may do so later on.