HOW THE ANZACS CAME TO FRANCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 June 1916, Page 7

HOW THE ANZACS CAME TO FRANCE.

STIRRING SCENES AT SEA. THE SUBMARINE PERIL. {From. Malcolm Ross, Official Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces). By the grace of God, the might of the British and the Allied fleets, and the splendid energy and courage of our mercantile marine, our Antipodean Army once again has beep transported across the seas. This is its third great move by water. It has pome from ,the land of perpetual sunshine to a country of grey, humid skies—from the arid sands of Egypt to the canals, the budding forests, and the well-tilled fields of Northern France. The gloom of a late sea-' son is' illumined by ocpasiona' days of sunshine, and the promise of a glorious spring is in the clear, crisp air. New scenes and new interests 'await us at every turn. In these days of diabolic warfare it is a. tremendous undertaking to transport an" army across a few thousand miles of sea, infested by the submarines of the inhuman Hun. Yet here we are, safe and sound, within seventy-five yards of the German front line, and the German enemy does not know it. Engli'h, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Canadians, South Africans, Australians, Neiv Zeahnders, Indians, Maoris, Niu'e Islanders, Ceylon planters, men from the Straits Settlements—all these, and qtfoexSj sye, in France, fighting, or ready to figbt, in our just cause. The mere thought of its stirs the imagination—the actual achievement makes the pulse thrill. As I write, thousands of Russians, amidst, scenes of almost unparalleled enthusiasm, are landing at Marseilles, Lopkjng ba.ck on it now it all seems very' wonderful that we should have thus beep safely transported from the ends'bf our far-flung Empire. With all his vaunted system of spying and his menace of underwater warfare, the Gerirfan has been again outwitted, just as he was at the landing on Gallipoli, the second landing there in August, and it the evacuation. How all this has bean accomplished must not be told in detail until the war is over. v

It was my good fortune on March 30 to sail from Egypt in a big lines, that carried the Anzac Genera! and his Staff and three thousand troops. During the voyage the submarine peril was ever in our minds. We lived with our lifebelts. We took them with us even to our meals. At night we laid them bv our beds. Whim alarums were sounded, the whole three thousand men went orderly and qu\etly to their allotted stations. I was in charge of a i.'ollapsible boat, inboard of one tint w&3 already swung out on the davits. Our duty, if our boat was ever launched—of which possibility some legitimate doubt occasionally crossed our mindswas to stand clear of the ship until she sank and then pull in and pick as many as we could out of the Water. When the Southland was torpedoed, with Aus: tralian and New Zealand troops on board, off Mudros, one such boat to carry 30, actually saved 57, though it was floating bottom upwards. But the chances were that if a totpedo hit th* ship fair and square o» boat would never he launched, and that we should all soon, be floundering in the water. In that case 'we should have to trust to Providence and the other boats. But three thousand men from a. torpedoed ?hip in mid-ocean would take a lot of saving. The one soldier that everyone was fully determined should be saved was the little man with the three rows of ribbons on his breast, pacing the deck with a cheery word for everyone—whom Hamilton in a historic dispatch had referred to as "The Soul of Anzac." On board that ship there was scarcely a man that would not willingly have given hia own life to save his.

We had pleasant days and calm sea* throughout our voyage. Submarine, guards were posted. Men with loaded rifles were detailed at the word of command to fire upon any hostile periscope emerging from the depths. On tht bridge and on the upper decks a sharp look-out was kept. One fine day, after Ive had finished boat stations, and were just sitting down'to tea, the alarum went again—five short blasts on the ship's siren. "It may be the real thing this time," said a General, as we rose from the table, fastening our lifebelts as we went, there was no fuss, no undue hurry. Each one went quietly to his station, as is the way with the British in time of peril. Arrived on deck we found the ship with way suddenly checked, swinging round in a great circle. It really seemed as if wo had sighted and were trying to dodge a submarine. But soon the word Weilt round that a man had jumped overboard He had been in prison for some ofl'ence. In a moment of '.'mental derangement he thought to suddenly end it all. Still wearing his lifebelt, he could be seen floating alive in the sea. fh a few moments he was a met* speck in the ocean, then quickly lost to sight. A fast, gre/ mines.veeper. with long, thin, wireless masts, that had been convoying us, dashed up,

the foam rising from her bows, but looked in vain, Th c big liner was still swinging round in a great sweep. About half an hour elapsed. Suddenly the red-painted lifebuoys thrown overhoard when the iiiau jumped were seen floating in the sea. "And," presently, the man, also floating, with head thrown pack, and an arm tossed by the waves, as if ho were still alive. There was a disposition to cheer, but it was quickly checked, for many recognised that by his rasli act this one man had endangered" the'lives'of 3000. Perhaps in war-time the ship should have*'gone straight on, leaving kirn to his fate, but British seamen arc not built that way. As the man passed astern those with Keen sight noted his wan face. He made no attempt to turn toward the passing ship. He was already dead. There was left only the chance of resuscitation. So, with her backing screws churning the sea to foam, the ship came almost to a dead stop, and a boat was lowered. By this time the man was again far astern and lost to sight. The boat's crew rowed—a long pull—into the eye of the setting sun. Directed from the ship they reached the floating body and hauled it into the boat. In suspense we watched the boat rowed slgwly back with two oars. As it nearcd the ship we noted a naked form across athwart, and two men endeavoring to restore a life already gone beyond recall. In silence, the thousands of soldiers watching curiously, the boat wa9 hoisted on board, and the ship proceeded on its way, zigzagging across a leaden sea. That night there was a splash in the dark waterthere was one out of 30Q0 tb,a.t would never see the battlefields of Northern Franco

, Divine service at sea is at any time an impressive ceremonial. In time of war it is doubly so,' and the, hymn "For Those in Peril on the Sea" has a special significance, while "Onwardi Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War,'' sung by two or three thousand soldiers, thrills the nerves and sets the pulses beating a little faster. There is not a woman's voice in a.H. that great chorus. Leaning on the railing above the well-deck where (lie nien, all wearing their lifebelts, are closely packed, are five Generals, various members of the staff, and some soldiers. The ypung parson stands beside the commander of the corps. He is a Cambridge man, a native of Tasmania, who has taken holy orders. Enlisting in the ranks as a common soldier, he ha* risen to the grade of lieutenant. He is a, thin-faced man of rather poor physique, but with the heart of a lion. Whatever may be said as to the policy of a soldier of the church becoming a soldier, in the army, there- is no doubt whatever that the men respect ami look up "to the fighting parson. The stirring sermon that this young lieutenant preached to them that Sunday, as our vessel churned her way towards the Western battlefields, with the white iiouses of Fantalaria looming through the grey mists, made a deep impression upon all who heard it. The fighting parson was en rapport with the fighting Anzacs,

Next day the troops assembled once more, ciowding tlte after-deck, and even climbing the rigging, to hear an jiddtess from their beloved Qenera.l. Speaking eitempore, in his quick, clear way, lie recapitulated briefly the deeds of the past on Oallipoli, and told the new trofips that, he knew they would play the game jpst the same as the old hands. Tie told stories, with humor, that made them laugh heartily, and spoke of the splendid spirit of the men in the attacks rai Lone Pine, the Nek, and Chunnk l*air. He spoke also of the entreaties of men to be allowed to serve in the rear-guard duTing the evacuating. In tfriting to the Private Secretary of the King lie had mentioned this latter fact, and the Private Secretary, in reply, had said, "the part of your letter that gave the King by far the greatest pleasure was that in which you describe the men as fighting to get into the positions of the greatest danger"; and he had add-' ert, "with a spirit like that running through your force you may Well be proud of your army corps." Finally, the General urged his men to keep three tilings ever before their minds—training, fighting and discipline. And, he added, the greatest of these is discipline. In this connection he said he felt sure that in the new land to which they were going there would not be a single so''!i.'T from Australia or New Zealand wl:u would not rather cut off his right hind than sec the women and children of the soldiers of France who were at tlic frjnt not as safe in their keeping a3 would he their .own wives and daughters and listers at home. "Three cheers for the General!" cried .■ionieoiic at the conclusion of the address. There was a ringing response, followed by a buzz of conversation. "Thank you, boys," said the General simply; and then the bugle sounded the "Dismiss."

With dueh stirring incidents, along our devious route, we steamed across these seas, and one grey morning awoke tn find the rocky hills of Southern France and the tower of Xbtre Biime :!c la Garde looming' through the mists '■'cliind Marseilles. And in that city* with centuries of stirring history ■ behind it, and with a glo'rioili? promise of spring in the avenues of budding plane I trees, our good ship poured out her troops. Other ships had come in before us. Still others were following in our wake. The long-expected had come at last—we had reached the promised land.