EVENTS OF THE WEEK.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 40, 17 December 1920, Page 8

EVENTS OF THE WEEK.

One of the most outstanding facts about the N.Z.E.F. was its democratic spix-it which while it made officers and men really brothers off parade, at the same time was never fuhy understood by onr British cousins trained in the more exacting autocratic style of the army. Seldom did one find a N.Z. or Australian officer even remembering his official dignity when meeting an old comrade from "down South." The latest example of soldier democracy comes from Wellington, where Inspector A. B. Charters, late Colonel A. B. Charters, C.M.G., D.S.O., C.O., 1st Battalion Otago Regiment), has resigixed from the Education Department) to go on the land in partnership with his late groom of army days. This groom, George Sexton, wellknown in Southland as an old Southland Rugby footballer of pre-war days, saw considerafcle service in France, where his qualities for endurance and reliability were sufficiently pronounced to induce the gallant Colonel to mark old George down for service "afies la guerre." The scene of future bperations of Charters and Co. is some where north of Auckland, near Whangarei, where Geo. Sexton and the Colonel will soon be well "dug in." All the old members.of the Colonel's Battalion and all who knew both of these "Diggers" will wish them the best of luck in their new venture. The Color.el's knowledge of "strong points" and communication ti'enches, to say nothing of his expert understanding of what should be produced by the cooks, coupled with Sexton's army knowledge of transport duties, will all be very valuable in this new venture. Good luck to them and may this new democratic undertaldng be as productive of good reeults as the other similar partherships wex-e in the War.

Last' Sunday- s proceedings when the King's Colour of the 2nd Battalion Otago Regiment was ccnsecrated and deposited in St. John's Church, reflected great credit hn all concerned with the arrangements. Particularly did it reflect credit on the returned soldiers who. turned out in such fine numbers to do honour to the memory of their ' old mates. This last was the sentiment that produced the parade and those who know what a difficult task was undertaken cheerfully by the men of the Guard, on Sunday, fully realised when they saw the fine eteady march of these hundred men, that much more than ostentation ^>aased the steady swing, the firm step and the lifted head. It was the memory of some old comrade perhaps on Gallipoli's rugged beaches, of one perchance now: resting in Palestine, perhaps it may have been the thought of a brave old mate now lying "in Flanders fields" ; at anyrate it was a proud yet reverent essembly that .mov,ed through our streeta on Sunday. The mounted escort led by Major Millard, and composed of men some of whom had ridden twenty or thirty miles to be present, lent a unique touch to the parade and added much to its imposing nature. Th© Guard of Honour of one section, sixty strong, composed of returned soldiers fx-om every arm of the old Division made a particularly fine show and came in for a good deal of well-deserved praise. The left section of the Guard, 60 Territox-ials, voluntarily on parade, acquitted themselves very creditably and did not in any way let down their elder brothers. It was inspiring to see the Returned Soldiers and the Territorials wo^king so keenly together, and it speaks volumes foi* the fin© spirit of the local Regiment when we consider that so many volunteers were enthusiastically enrolled at one parade, to assist the Returned Soldiers if necessary to make the Colour party a suecess, A most interesting part of the cerexnony was witnessed in front of the Post Office, -where at 3 p.m. the Coloxirs wex-e marched on. The parade then moved by way of Tay, Kelvin and E sk, street s to St. John's Church, whei-e the Colour was con-secx-ated and deposited in the safe keeping of that institution. The whole ceremony from beginning to end was highly impressive ; and those citizens who witnessed tho parade and saw the ceremony at the Church will not soon forget the solemnity of this fine ceremony. i It is no easy rnatter these days to txrm out large military parades; for many obstacles, the chief of which is the returned man's natural modesty, which prompts him to shun the publicity of the post-war parade ground, combine to render it well nigh impossible to get a big muster; but Sunday's effort gave very great satisfaction to all who took part, and in the opinion of many officers well qualified to judge, the bearing and discipline of the Guard of Honour was finer than anything of its land yet seen in New Zealand. The section of th© Guard composed of Terri-

torials are specially to he congratulated, in the first place for turning out voluntarily and in the second place for their good discipline which did much to make the whole parade a success. Tlie ^ beautifully embroidered Colour— embroidered very generously by the Sis. ters of Mercy at Bluff— now repose in St. John's Church, a silent tribute to the imperishable glory won by those young New Zalanders, who, from the immortal 25th of April, 1915, until 11th November, 1918, died on service, that we might live with honour as a nation. This King's Colour which represents the thanks of the nation expressed graciously by His Majesty the King, means a great deal to every soldier of Southland and Otago, nay of New Zealand, but will it not mean even more to the kith and ltin of our old mates who did not return. A silent tcstimony to the sacrifices made by our young men, this Colour must always remind us of our duty to the memory of those departed heroes, and we should ever keep before us the ideal for which they died, an ideal wliich is well sumrned up in the cheering and unselfish words of a young and promising Otago officer who after gaining his commission on the field for consistent and fine work ; right from the landing was killed leading his men at Messines. Writing to his j mother before that last battle he said, ■ Mother, in Gallipoli days, I used to fear j tl>at we shoula somehow never beat the I Hui} , there seemed so much bungling, ^ but now th j.gs are different-, we have guns, anmiuj ition, and men in millions, ar;d wo wiil win. For myself I carc not, j for rny hume and my ideals are safe."

On Monday night of this week, some ] forty officers representing almost every j branch of the old N.Z. Division, met at ] the Federal Tea Rooms to fight again their j old battles and pass a few interesting ho-ux-s ' with son-g and story. , The Chair was oc- 1 cupied by Colonel Hargest, who showed ' that he can direct the convivial barrage as skiifully as he can lead his men in j battle. "Digger" Duerden's orchestra was rc- ; sponsible for the musical part of the pro- j ceedings ; and left nothing to be desired, " several fine ite-ms being particularly well i rendered. During the evening songs were j rendered by Captain Webber, Rae and Mojor Rice, while considerable talent and ' experience were displayed hy several offi- : cers present iii the realm of after-dinner i stories. One young staff-officer and a popular local medico was a particular fav. | ourite in this direction ; and some of their , stories bore evidence of years of close 1 study of nature. The toast list was a brief, but wellchosen one and besides the usual loyal toasts, paid compliments to the N.Z. Div- j ision, comrades of other wars, absent : comrades, army, navy and territorials, ; and last but not least, ihe ladies. Amongst the officers present were two New Zealanders (Major Gilkison, M.C., and Lieut. Macalister), ^ who were during the war attached to British artillery units. These two gentlemen were able to speak of the New Zealanders from the point of view of the English officer, and their remarks were pleasing to those men who already were proud of a division which, it is claimed, was classed at the end of the war as a first-class division. The function altogether was a very great success and it was the opinion of all present that the dinner would in future be an annual event. Southland Summer Show attracted visitors from all parts of New Zealand, and since glorious weather was experienced on both days, people from other centres are loud in their praises of our southern province. Despite ths forec-ast by local Scotchmen, that the 100 per cent rise in entrance fee would be fatal to the attend. ance the grounds were packed and Weanesday was one of the first occasions on which the new grandstand was comforiab. ly filled. The opinion was expressed widely on Wednesday amongst those well qualified to judge, that Southland this year has had the finest show of the year in the Dominion. One was struck on entering the grounds by the extent of the space occupied by the parked cars of all makes and values. 1 his was a good inctication to visitors of the prosperity of Southland farmers. Mr R. B. Caws is at present visitmg Timaru to confer with the Timaru Aviatxon Company with regard to proposed commercial fiying operations locally. Mr Caws is a "live wire," and possessed oi ability in his particular line that renders hira well fitted to organise such an undertaking as the above proposition. Certainly ^ 9 "Digger" firm does not hesitate to at tack" schemes wliich in their opinion ne ^ only "push and go." Good luck to them. Captain Dickson, the popular a^m^' who visited Invercargill during the wra er. is coming here next week to under

leriea of passenger fiights. Local people havo now had tlieir appetites v.hetied for terrestrial gyrations, and Captain Dickson will cerfcainly not lack for passengers to aeconipany him on his spins. The recent fine weather has had a line effiect on sporting activities locally ; and bowling greens, tennis courts, rowing sfeds, now present an animated appearan.ce each evening. Tennis enthusiasts are very keenly engaged just now practising for the forthcoming hjurnament to be lield here at Christma-s time. It is hoped that in tliis contest, the Southland players will be able to givo a good account of themselves ; for there is no doubt that, since the war, the standard of play locally has considei-ably advanced. The experience gained during the tournament will be valuable to our clubs, many of which contain new memjbers whose keenness and sporting instincts are fast improving their play. Volleying and ovei'head play from the middle and back line are seldom seen hara; and those who aim at a finished "repertoire" of strokes, should carefully study the visiting players' ability in this direction. An importani step was taken at a public meeting held in the Theatre 011 December 9th; when it was decided to appoint a committee of Invercargill citizens to undertake the work of organising a scheme to collect the requisite funds to provide for Invercargill a monument to the memory oi' our fallen soldiers. At this meet. ing Mr F. G. Hall-Jones' represented the R.S.A., and assured the meeting that any. thing in the power of the R.S.A. that could assist the citizens in their worthy scheme, would be cheerfully undertaken. A representative from the R.S.A. was elected to form one of the committee )i seventecn whose duty it now is to "getbusy."