NEW ZEALANDERS AT THE FRONT.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 February 1917, Page 6

NEW ZEALANDERS AT THE FRONT.

HONORS AND AWARDS. GALLIPOLI AND FRANC'K. (From Captain Malcolm Ross, War Correspondent with the New Zealand Forces). Kortliern France, Nov. 2G. The other day, not far behind the firing line, members of tlio New Zealand Forces in the field were drawn nj on parade to receive at the hands of the Corps Commander the ribbons o! honors and awards granted by the Kill,-; lor services on Gallipoli and in France The divisional Commander, brigadiers, and other ollieers were also present. The ceremony was exactly the same as on Hie occasion when similar ribbons were pinned on the breasts of oflicers, and men by the Army Commander in the piesence of Mr. Masscy and Sir Joseph Ward. On that occasion 89 ribbons were presented. This time there were 125. They were the ribbons of Military Medals, Distinguished Conduct Medals, and Military Crosses. One listened to a brief recital of recent incidents 011 tli'e Sommo, and t* .pthc-rs datjng away into the dim pais of Gallipoli. Since the occurrence of the latter much water has run under the wheel —much blood has been spilled. But the force to-day is as strong and efficient as it was then, and the deeds of the men fighting in France are as bold as were the deeds of the Anzacs of past da vs.

There is some discussion and much letter-writing as to the term Anzacs, but that term is not now applied here to the force as it is constituted in France. We are no longer Anzaes. We are Australians and New Zealanders again. The word Anzac is) sacred to the memory of the men who fought on Gallipoli. There are not a 'great many of them left, but for many a year after the war is over they will meet in New Zealand, and in England, and in probably other parts of the Empire to celebrate the old times and the old deeds in Turkey. The question at issue lias been so well put in Punch that I cunno! rifiain from quoting the lines:

THE REAL' ANZACS. There arc plenty of slouch-hatted soldiers in town, Be-uglily and debonair, stalwart and brown; Seme are from Weymouth or Salisbury Plain, Cithers have "pushed" in the Western campaign; Call them ''oversea soldiers" or "downunder" men, Declare that each one is as daring as ten; Call tlicm "Cornstalks" or "Kern-leaves" —all out for a fightBut don't call them Anzaes, for that isn't right. The Anzaes—their ranks are but- scanty all told— ■ Have a separate record illumined in gold. Their blood on Gallipoli's ridges they poured, Their souls with the sears of titan struggle are scored: Not maiiv arc left, and not many are sound, And thousands lie buried in Turkish ground. These are the Anzaes; the others may claim Their zeal and their spirit, but never their name. It was strange to hear at this late hour of the day such records as th': following called out in a field in Franco; For splendid gallantry in demolishing wire entanglements' in Gallipoli In August, 1915.. For conspicuous gallantry at Quinn's Post, Gallipoli, in September, 1913. For bringing in four wounded men after other attempts had failed on Gallipoli in May, 1915. For great gallantry in carrying nine men under heavy fire on Gallipoli in August, 1915. For exceptionally good work during the evacuation of Gallipoli in December. 1915. AVhat memories the recital of such deeds recall! They carry one's mind back to a strenuous campaign, in which practically everyone was every day of his life under artillery, and' in most cases also under machine-gun and rifle fire. The man who carried in the nine mer. was a Maori, Then there were such incidents as these: For magnificent gallantry in rallying tired men and personally leading several attacks, whereby heavy losses were inflicted on the enemy, and almost important point was held against a number of fierce counter-attacks by the Germans on the Somme in September, 191 G. For brave and capable leadership of his men holding'an important position '•"ninst all attacks until reinforced during the advance on the Somme in ,Sc 'itcniber, 1016. For courage and energy in organising bombing partiep, though himself suffering from shell shock, and leading f'.em against the enemy on the Somme in September. 1910. For fine courage and determination in carrying out a successful retirement of a raiding party near Armentieres in July, 1910. For bravery in succouring wounded and in cheering on the men during the advance on Flers on the Somnie in September, 1010. And so the tale goes on. Yon will get the whole story of the '.214 medals gained, in due course, from the official despatches, and of many others as well. There is a rule that these tales of gallantry and devotion of duty should come from official sources, and for various reasons it is a necessary and a very excellent rule. There need he i|o dlsnf' pointment in delay in making them public. for which also there is good and sufficient, reason, for they are records tliat will remain enshrined in the liis'•irv of ';he Dominion for all time. As; one after another of the recipients came up to have his ribbon pinned on his tunic breast, one could not but be with the men and with the scene. They were of different types and very different stations in life. Sonv? Mere big, strong fellows; others were rather weal; in physique. Some wore smartly turned out; others were somewhat lacking in the matter of neatness and dress. Gallantry does not always very successfully select its exteriors. But Ihe awards are given without fear and favor. One minute it is a rich young sheep farmer who stops forward out of the ranks; another time it may be a barber or a bootmaker. In this great game the one is as good as the other, fir from

wealthy one his medal I have heard bootmaker and the barber emphatically declaring that the rich sheep farmer to their way of thinking should have had ihe V.C. But a V.C. nowadays takes some getting. In the Somnie battle deeds are done every day, almost every hour of the day, one might say, that in the little wars of times past would have earned the greatest distinction a soldier can gain, but which, in these times, wiU earn but a humbler distinction. The General Commanding the Corps told the men how very proud he himself was to be there before the representatives of the whole division to present the awards so graciously given by llis Majesty the King. They had heard t'i honors and awards that they all knew to have been thoroughly well earnca. One, he said, only wished that a very much larger proportion of the men who iiad so gallantly fought on Gallipoli and on the Somnie could have received similar decorations, but there was, of course, a limit to the number that could be given. There were many who were killed 011 Gallipoli and on the Somme who had equally earned such honors and awards, and the awards were but representative of the splendid work done by the men of the division. Tliev were representative of the gallantry and magnificent services that had been performed by the New Zealand Division ever since it had been engaged in war. For himself lie would only say that it gave him the greatest pleasure to present the symbols of these services to the officers and men of the division that sailed with him from New Zealand in. October, 1915. He was afraid that there were not many of the original lot left here now, but others who had taken their places would, he felt sure, carry on the fine traditions that their comrades had established. He felt confident that they would do in the future as well as they had doi;e in the past, and would maintain to the full the credit and honor of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. THE COMING WINTER. SOME RECREATIONS. Northern France, Doc. 10. We left the Somme with the swallows, but our flight was not so far. As we trekked back to a part of the line further north we noted that autumn had already tinged the woods with gorgeous color, and that the ploughmen were busy in the fields. Later we came to the sodden trenches. But from all account' they are much more habitable than they were this time last year. Then one morning we listened to the Ilonk! Honk! Honk! of migrating geese, and saw them going south like a flight of our planes returning from a bombing expedition to the German lines. That was an omen 'of a cold snap. And it came in due course—frost and snow. Since then there has been little sun, much fog, and some drizzling rain. When the sun does struggle through it is a very different sun from the one the Australians ami New Zealanders arc used to, even in winter. It makes but a feeble effort at warming the earth, so that .we all long for another summer. At .present we. envy our comrades in the Egyptian desert. IHE CINEMA AND THE CUXCEIn. Meantime everything that can be done for the comfort and entertainment of the troops is being done. No sooner had we arrived here than we set about buildinn' a concert and cinema hall. The general seemed to be as keen about it as he was about wiring the lines. And quite rightly so. For when men are in war it is a great thing to get their minds off war. That may sound somewhat paradoxical, but it is the truth. One day we had Lord Derby's Band. Tt ; i eludes so'ne of the famous Jiesses-o'-the-Barn, which many New Zealanders will remember. They liked our hall said it whs the fiiwsl 'they had played in at the front, and added that the audience was the most appreciative they had played to. The hall, I should mention, was quickly erected by the Pioneer Battalion. A few bush carpenters and the Maoris had the principal hand in its building. It cost about ;C3sf), and will hold about five or six hundred men. At a franc per head for officers, and half a franco for men, it will prohnlnv pay for its cost in three months. After It-hat it will be paying dividends, wh ch will go to the canteen funds. In' most, places behind the British lines you may find in France the playing field} of England. For the wint.fr months, in parts of the line where the figMimr is not strenuous, football is an excellent thing not only for taking the men's mind off war, but. in keeping them fit for war. Therefore football is encouraged. The New Zealanders, needless to say, have not been slow in entering the lists. For the past two or there weeks wo have had teima in practice. There is —« .ismlUiU «HI« (b* .

al school —a team that in the language of the day promises to ticcome "hot stuff." I have just returned from its first match. The school lmd received a challenge from a team from the Signal Company of an English Division near us —a team that had been winning all the matches it had played so far. There were good men 011 both sides, but the New Zealanders were a heavier ami mere powerful lot, the forwards fast and dashing, and the backs a fairly even lot. Pretty well every man in the team was at least an inter-island representative. On the English side there was » famous Huddersfield player and 0110 well-known Irish player. They were a plucky, sporting lot, but generally, in weight, and speed, they were a long way inferior to the New Zealanders. After play' had been going for about twciif y minutes it was amusing to listen to ths re|narks of the English supporters along tlic touch-line, "My word they are a fine lot of forwards," said one man. "They seem to put the bleedin' ball wherever they like," remarked another. "No wonder they went right through to Tiers," added a third. It was not long before the score began to mount up. The end of it was that New Zealand won by 74 points to H. The try for the English team was obtained by tho man from Huildersficld. OTHER DIVERSIONS. A very few miles behind the linos we have tho Y.M.C.A. rooms, which include an excellent concert hall. It is always well patronised. The entertainments are often above the average. There the men can read and write in quietude. The young manager, who is very popular, works dttv and night for the welfare of the soldiers out of the line. Recently we had a visit from some of the New Zealand representatives of the Y.M.C.A., and they are going to build a similar hall at our base in France. This will be a great boon to the Reinforcements arriving from England. The Y.M.C.A. are keen on doing all they can for the men In these Y.M.C.A. halls tho men can sit and lead in quietude of an evening, and write letters to their relatives and friends. They include a small canteen, where the liien can purchase various small necessities and get a cup of tca or coffee, and cake and biscuits. The YM.C.A. also run a cinema, which is well patronised Our General has, amongst other things, arranged to send a number of our noncommissioned officers to the Guards with a view to the whole force benefiting bv the experience of training and discipline that they will get there. On,; cannot but be struck by the methods of the Guards, and, as everyone knows, their niana in the British Army is great; and tlicv have years of history and sj.lendid tradition to look back upon. It will be interesting to watch for the result of this plan. . Another idea that is being carried out i= to send a number of our officers ana men each week to Paris. Permission oi the authorities was obtained to do tin*. The idea is an educative one, and in view of that a careful selection is made The little parties arc met by a tourist "nide, and are shown the city and the historic sights as far as is possible during the two days they are there. As the winter goes 0:1 we hope to ailil to our diversions in Northern Franco lectures bv men well qualified to deal with them. Already we have had one sv.ch lecture. . >i < A divisional school lms boon established at which (raining goes steadily 011. and even one of the battalions, has been keen enough to establish a similar school on its own account.