NEW ZEALAND ARMY AT HOME

Taranaki Daily News, 19 November 1918, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND ARMY AT HOME

PREPARING FOR FRANCE. TIIE TRAINING AT SLING-SOME-THING ABOUT THE CAMP. J ■ "...if* By H. T. B. Drew, 2nd Lieutenant. •sling, cJhief of the New Zealand train-iug-cainps in England, is situated in the heart of the great Salisbury Plains, in the south of England. Twelve miles to the south clusters around its famous old cathedral the ancient Town of Salisbury; and London, with, its perpetual call to the exile in training, is 3evcnty-four miles away. The plain was the manoeuvre-ground of the British Army long before the war, and Sling had its name many years before New Zealanders camped there- 14 was originally intended as the destination of the Main Body in England, and was occupied by the British section of th New Zealand Expeditionary Force; who, in September, 1914, were busy getting it in order for their Main Body. They commenced 'building No. 1 Camp, and lived there- Then they went to Egypt, and Canada took over; but when New Zealand made it a base, huts, about equal in size to those of Featherston or Trentham, and perhaps more numerous, were erected.

Ths camp lies astride the main road from Amesbury to Tidworth. Amesbury, one o£ the most ancient- towns of England, is an easy four-miles walk towards tlie south. Many years ago it possessed a magnificent abbey, or priory and was of outstanding ecclesiastic im; portance- Amesbury can be approached over agricultured down or through the' little intervening hamlet of Bulford, which is also a pretty, typical south-of-England tillage, with a few thatched houses, a hotel, a manor, and many overspreading trees. But so many British ("Tommy"), and Australian ("Aussio''),.and British .and American Flying Corps camps lie nereabouts, and so much "khaki" finds Ameshury and Bulford its chief and only source of attraction during hours that are not devoted to drill, that, being one of.ihe many, you toon tire of their vicinity, and long for attractions elsewhere. Out back of Sling to the north jlies Tidworth, an old military town, with riding-school, and modern, .regular, redbrick buildings. Near by Tidworth is a Park House, an Australian camp, established in some rich man's park lands since the war began; and the, way to both Tidworth and Park lands, across undulating, uninteresting 'ground, flanked by clay-banked rifle ranges, is knowii every inch to all Sling-trained soldiers, because of the very frequent route marches along it. This, then, is the setting of' Sling—this and high, bare hills at the back of the camp, scratched everywhere white — all the Salisbury Plainiaeralk land—with | practice trenches, bombing pits, and model dugq»ts; and here and there Ttse the low fval mounds, or tumuli, that mark the burial-plaes of Britain's earliest inhabitant*, possibly iDruidical worshippers, possibly "fairy beings older than they; and these tumuli are things you must not touch, nor must you seekto find the bones fceneath them. And round about and joining us are many "Tommy" camps.

The place of arrival or departure for all Sling troops is tfhe railhead at Bulford village, whicli is a good two-mile walk from Sling. In after-years, wlion ways are weary and footsteps iag, soldieri 'Will remember this tidy step to camp late at night, when the leave trains arrived from Salisbury or London, and the threaded camps were dark and silent. Along this way reinforcements arriving are played in <by the Sling Band, and played out when departing for Trance or on draft "leave. Soma day there will he a very joyou3 march out —the day when war is over, when Sling will know us no more, and "Maoriland, dear Maoriland," will foe our Objective! How the hand will play and the welkin ring! And yet in the days to come Sling, in spite of drab memories, will 6e interwoven with the names and recollections of many fine comrades who fcent across the waters to die the death of -heroes. TTTTC CAMP. ■""" The camp of Sling is different; from that of Trentham and of Featherston. Ib the case of the New Zealand camps there is head office administering or controlling directly the four or live thousand soldiers in camp, as the case may be, and all companies come directly into touch with headquarters, and have their C.O. orderly-rooms dealt with there. In Sling the troops are divided Into four battalions—Auckland (No 4), Wellington (No. 3), Canterbury (No. 1), and Olago (No. ?•); each has its separate camp, each its headquarters and Commanding Officers and training staffs; and over the whole is a Group Headquarters with a Brigadier-General in command, and a General Staff Officer, Lftnd a Staff Captain, who are usually KMajors- The Brigadier is usually in eamp for a few months' respite from France, and as a rule he does not remam long there before proceeding again to mere active scenes. Yet it must not he imagined that there is not plenty of work for him to do. At one time the instruction of tlie men and non-commissioned officers was under group control, tut nine months ago, under General Fulton's regime, the battalion system was substituted. Training is in the hands of instructional officers and non-commi6sioned officers from France, who have undergone special courses at the best military schools iu England. The iton-commissioned officers handle the men, and the officers hover about and watch. Over them are the Battalion Commander and the Adjutant, who do their daily rounds of the "Inill-ring." With the exception of the Imperial physical drill instructors, who are sergeant-majors of the old regular British Army, who have been with us almost since the camp was started, t'»* instructional staff is entirely of New Zealandere, who understand our men better and get the best results. No fence encloses the "bull-ring." which in reality is the whole training ground in the camp, an area which is worn bare of turf bv the feet of nearly a hundred thousand New Zealanders. .

; THE TRAINING. ' For the first few days, soft ffom his long sea voyage the newly iirrive'l soldier is treated very much like the recruit at Treittham; he is housed and given time to shake down; then his spare gear—Reinforcement badges, seanhoes, extra tunics, and evejythTng he may encumber his hut with and will not want —is taken from him. Badges, by the way, are allowed to be worn in England only by New Zealand soldiers who have been on active service, and are the [ diitingufching mark tetrreen them and ■Htm *rz & teM

bad; Horn France for some reason or oilier. js-iiics oi things jc-tjuijt'U in tiiu new training, anil wnieh the late arrival does nol jio-sess, come next, and the -iirst lew are occupied in tiny way. .Strictest discipline is enforced the moment feet are piaeed in camp, especially in little matters such as saluting officers, cleanliness, neatness, standing at attention- when addressing olhcers, perfect stillness on parade, and men are never given two cautions. For a while it comes as a shock, but ttio habit if- soon acquired. A non-commis-sioned officer is, and has to be, a noncommissioned officer in very truth in camps at Home, which i; something the men soon learn. The training is proceeded with gradually. First comes march precision—smart finished turnings upon the proper foot, halts—all, to commence with, in slow time—rillc exercises, and so on—until every branch of training, including, the new things there are to .be learned—boinb-tiirowing, use of the Lewis gun, gas and the use of the mask, trench "stunts' on the latest methods (which change practically every two or three months), moek attacks, musketry—are in full swing. The course extends over thirty days, by which time the men are fully trained and fit for France—hard, tlean-visagcd, highly disciplined New Zealand "do or dies.'' They know how to stand without blinking an eyelash on battalion parade twice a day, while the regimental sergeant-major \hurls anathema at them and tells them frequently they are a "dopie' lot, and they can srnile after it when the "stand easy'' comesEach day's work is prefaced with morning prayers. Twice a week—on Mondays and Thursdays—they line up in battalions after morning parade; then the band strikes up, ail past the General and his Staff swings the whole, camp strength. This is termed the "Piccadilly." and woo betide the company which is not up to the general standard in turn-out or in marching! On these occasions the model platoon, which is composed of hardened soldiers from France, and is specially trained to show the new men how things should be done, heads the march. A hard and solid training, certainly; but there is another side to the soldiers'' life, more marked perhaps in our camps than in any others. Once the day's work is done he finds pleasure and mental recreation easily. His canteens are comfortable, and lie can take his beer there in an easy chair or lounge, or while playing billiards; he has a good library from which to draw books; and at the Y.M.C.A.. whidlil is run very praiseworthily by an tiffiecr and a number of enthusiastic and ' devoted ladies of social i position, he finds all these comfoTts 1 duplicated. In an annex of the Y.MC.A. —a very large "hall—he can attend on three nights a week the camp's very ex- , cellent cinematograph show, or on most other nights' listen to entertainments from T»ndon or elsewhere; he has wri-ting-rooms in several establishments: and for music or sing-songs he can drop in at. the English Church hut- And now, in addition to all this, educational classes are being ararnged for him under the new headquarters scheme, tut more of that will be told later in a separata article.

CARE AND COMFORT. * No soldier in the world is better supplied in regard to food than the New Zealander The Sling cookhouses and 'lining-halls are all on the same pattern. In the centre of the group is the cookhouse, and covered passages lead out on either side to two large dining-halls. Off thesa passages are built the pantry and kitchen, so that all cookhouse fatigue work is done under cover. In the cookhouses the brightly polished stoves stand side by side in a row down the centre; the walls are whitewashed, and the whole placo is spotlessly clean. It is so of necessity, since imperative tasks are laid upon each .day's orderly officers whose inspections are therefore by no means perfunctory. The menus our men receive are famous in the British Army for variety, quality, and particularly quantity. Of one thing New Zealand may be well assured, and the fact cannot be too strongly emphasised —that it, that her sons in Sling, and equally so in all New Zealand camps in England, for the matter of that, do not go hungry. , , CAMP CHARACTERISTICS. r " Sling also has its adornments. Each battalion vies with the other in the utilisation of spare ground round about. Every inch of soil that is not parade ground, roadway, or path is now turned into vegetable or flower garden, chiefly the former. This work is done by permanently or temporarily unfit men, some of whom are expert gardeners, so that for the last two years Sling has supplied a large proportion of its vegetable consumption, which is a big help in these times of shortage, besides being a healthy employment for tho men. Untidiness is quite foreign to the camp. Road gangs of Germans work daily—one supposes it must be called work—at improvements. Flower gardens are replenished with shrubs and seeds, and when spring comes the effect is very pretty. Pride in their own surroundings and institutions is taken 'by the officers, who have libraries in each of their battalion messes, comfortable anterooms, billiard-rooms, and canteens. Thus Sling, though isolated, and with a reputation for rigorous training, has a life entirely wholesome. All ranks are wall looked after—the high control keeps a strict eye upon their welfare; medical and dental attention are available at any time; there is good blanketing at night-time, ample clothing by day as fits the season' of the year; and the soldier comes out of his training with a bright eye and in the glow of perfect health. :• -