The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 21, 1915. NEW ZEALAND'S HEROES.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 June 1915, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 21, 1915. NEW ZEALAND'S HEROES.

Much has been written and spoken on the subject of the gallant deeds of the New Zealanders at the Dardanelles, but so far only the fringe of the glorious mantle of heroism has been touched. We knew from the records of their deeds in South Africa that the dominion's sons could be relied upon to do their duty on the field of battle nobly and well, but how our comparatively raw recruits would fare under such totally dill'ercnt circumstances and conditions in Turkey was only a matter of conjecture. That they would prove worthy of fheir country was certain, yet the task they had to perforin was such as might make the bravest quail. How great, therefore, should be the pride and gratitude of every man, woman, and child in New Zealand that our boys have performed epoch-making feats of valor that arc right worthy of being emblazoned on the Empire's roll of fame and placed in the forefront of th", most glorious achievements of the British Army, while at the same time creating for the dominion fame that will jive in the Empire's history for all time, They have shown again and agar) that Ihey are made of the sterling metal in which the winners of the Victoria Cross arc cast. To the members of the English football teams who have met our boys in strenuous contests on the fo.dball fi'ld the wae,(lt will not be so great, for they had a foretaste of the skill, d.idi. and itowoss or the AH Blacks ( .f Wv,- Zealand. Ready to face the 1110-! formidable combination, tin representative players of the dominion demonstrated i" ihe full on cvciy occasion thai Hoy knew not what fear was. Tle-y were eol to win, but whether they won or lo.s! they played the game as if the fate of ihe Empire hung on the recall. ('--' h <-l !\e|y and individually they oef foala all their powers, their skill, their ing> unity, and every faculty

of mind and body, while their discipline and esprit do corps were only equalled by their determination to uphold the mana of their country. The same spirit is in evidence in all grades of spoit in New Zealand, and it is that which has helped to win for the New Zealanders the proud position they hold to-day in the military annals of the Empire. One reason why our boys have attained such distinction for their bravery on tbe field of'battle is thai they have learnt the best of all lessons on the athletic ground, and brought t» bear on their military work the same, spirit of dogged determination that was evinced by our pioneer settlers. They have carved their way to the front rank of heroism by the exercise of those qualities that have raised the dominion to the proud position among the nations that she occupies to-day—virile manhood controlled by high intelligence and tenacity of purpose. Take, for instance, an extract from a letter written by Private McC'onchie, of Nelson, who, when describing the landing at the Dardanelles, says:—

The hill is almost straight up and down, covered with scrub about sft Oh. high, and the Turks were entrenched in this. The odds were against. us, but nothing held us. No word of command from officers —all on our own is how the Australasians did their part. If they had hesitated we should have never done our job. As soon as one of the boys saw a Turk you would have laughed. They were after the poor devils like a mad horse, and I tell you in most cases our boys reached the top, and the Turk laid down for one long rest.

No hesitation, no word of command here, but the end was achieved all the same, and this is what the.men on thei<Jue«i Elizabeth —the largest battleship afloat —said of the performance:

The Australasians have succeeded in the impossible, and one officer said they ail deserve the V.C. They have won the heart of the British Navy, and this is a big thing for, the Australasians.

Here is another stirring incident that no one can read without a thrill of pride:—

A little New Zealand boy from tin South Island was near us. Australians and all were mixed up, and a machinegun was annoying us all day. We could not locate it, so this lad calls out, "Watch, boys; I'll get it." He out of his dug-out, and ran like a deer to where we thought it was. He only went about 30 yards and dropped. It cost him. his life, but we got the gun and, pumped some lead into it, and put. it out of action. Then two lads went out and brought the boy in. He had seven bullet wounds on bis left side". Ho lived a quarter of an hour after they got him. If he had not gone out no doubt a dozen or so other lads would have had the same end as himself.

A Marton boy, Jack Potter, says:—

I think that the charge will go down as one of the finest and bravest in history. The three battalions that undertook it were practically wiped out, but others came on. We took three hills, but had to retreat from one. . . . We hurried round to reinforce the Australians, and only got there in time, the Turks being nearly through. The first thing 1 remember was going for all I was worth through the scrub with my bayonet fixed. I think I was swerving some, but anyhow we beat them oil'. We put in three charges before we held them. We hung there all day. If a man moved he got a warm time. We started to entrench, one man firing and one trenching. At the finish I found mvsclf with a party of Australians, so I "moved to get back to the boys. More shrapnel scattered round, from which we kept well under cover. An officer crept along and told us the boys were getting it pretty hot further "along the liner so we moved along. I only got one in when it seemed as if I was in a butcher's shop. I got a bullet in inv left arm and a dose of shrapnel in the forearm and hand. That was the end of me I crawled till I was out of fire, got tied up a bit, did a faint, and at last managed to get to the dressing station, Here is another account by ■Frivnte Shannon, of Papanui:—

I know wrhnt hell is like now as we we went through it during the last few weeks T had four days and nights fight in" myself; then I met with mv little lot. I didn't mind the scrap myself so much, but the ghastly part, of' it was seeing the other chaps falling in all directions around me. I.seemed to bear a charmed life, and had some very narrow escapes. One bullet stung me on the lip. .Wo started off with a'bayonet charge, but it didn't last long, a's the enemy fled at the sight of the cold steel. After that, the real business started. I was with a crowd that /ought for twelve hours outside the trenches. We advanced too far, and suffered severely for it, but managed to get back to our trendies late in the evening. Anyone to look at the country would say it. was absolutely impossible to do what we did, and now that it is done I don't know how we ever accomplished it. Lord Kitchener's message told us before we started that we were about to perform a feat unprecedented in modern , warfare, and I am glad to say that we have justified his faith in us. I never came across one of our men who shirked it. Then there was the. heroic'act of the Opunalve lad, Private Looney, who faced death to carry Private Nicholls, of Inglewood, who was wounded, to safety, only to be shot dead when he had sue. cessfully awjomplished his mission. That brave lad deserved the V.C. if anyone did. These are. but samples of hundreds of incidents testifying to the intrepidity and soldierlike qualities of New Zealanders. When the history of the war comes to be written, its pages will teem with evidence of the conspicuous gallantry of the troops at the Dardanelles, in which the sons of the dominion will have their full share of honor. The price was heavy, but no one counts the costs of deeds nobly done.

We can now take a new view of our rising manhood, and do all that is in our power to make aiid keep them fit for all emergencies. It is thus that empires are made and maintained.