5th. BATTERY

Observation Post, Volume 1, Issue 1, 22 May 1942, Page 3

sth. BATTERY

CAPT. I. DIXON, B.C. With the inauguration. of our Regimental Newspaper comes an ideal opportunity for me to say something to my fellow gunners on a subject which although not entirely overlooked, does somehow these days become relegated to the background in the course of our many and - varied daily and sometimes unpleasant and non-understandable tasks. .' After 19 years of continuous service in the finest section of . the British Army I find that I have done all sorts of jobs and met all sorts of people, and from this one gains a very firm appreciation of the principles which must guide a gunner along his path of duty. . Although warfare to-day demands very practical training and thinking, there still exists that pride of Regiment which has been such an important feature in the life of every British soldier. The pride and respect that is paid to such on occasion as the trooping of a Battalion’s colours, must mean something more than merely a colourful ceremonyit does, it stands for the moral outlook to duty of every individual soldier in the unit concerned, and his willingness to stand or fall by his word and actions to his comrades and to the cause which demands his being a soldier. The “Regiment of Artillery” carries no colours on which to emblazon its honours but nevertheless still respects and reveres that age-old pride of place, “the right of the line.” How badly we all felt when Army orders recently- demanded the removal of our hat badge which is in itself a battle honour and which places in every gunner a jporal obligation to duty. How many of you know the true meaning of our motto “Quo fas et Gloria Ducunt” — “Whither honour and glory 'lead.” “Übique’’—Anywhere or. Everywhere. Every engagement fought necessitates the use and support of Artillery and we therefore have a duty to every soldier in the various branches of the Service — Inust understand and appreciate his problem as well as our own. That by no means implies a spirit of super-importance or supremacy over other arms—it ' stands for a natural realisation of our ability to help and co-operate with othersa natural inclination to think of the other chap first and to apply ourselves and our knowledge to the very best advantage.Y True, a gunner is selected as such for a certain amount of technical ability—a battery organisation is built up from many varying phases of civilian life—our problems are probably more technical than in any other branch of the service, but all,that only. more naturally adapts us ter uii ability to ’ irolp the 'other fellow and'think of arid lor him—it places in our hands a very sacred duty. In addition to all this we must never lose sight of the non-combatant arms which enable us to fulfil our duty to : the fighting arms. - In the 2nd Field Regiment it is possible to trace the history of each Battery back to some volunteer Battery oi military unit of past years and it is there that the pride of a unit has its inception. Many of you no doubt have 'no idea of the , first history of these units and I hope it will be possible througlt our Regimental newspaper tc give you a brief resume of the histoiy of these units. 1 always think of a formation of Artillery in terms of e ' brotherhood as much as a military organisation and you can find verj good analysis for such a condition it you stop and think things over a little Taking a battery as a basis there ii firstly no one person in this formatioi without a job of comparative and equa importance and one individual’s train ing is locked up in a separate compart ment — all stages of the operation whether it be camp routine, training or active opertions, can one individua or section function without the othei and this in itself creates the groum floor on which a true spirit of comrade ship is built. .Secondly every soldie - who becomes an Artilleryman must b well balanced. Perforce he even con menees his training and invariably w find that he has been posted to a Bal tery , with some particular qualificatio which immediately imposes on him a automatic and I am afraid sometime unrealised duty, and lastly, the realist tion of an inter-dependence produces i us what is probably the greatest facte in our ability to combine as a tcamfrom Commanding Officer down, we a enjoy the one common rank “Gunner inrrespective of appointment. Even without a detailed knowledf of our Regiment’s history it fllwaj surprises and pleases me to' talk to new recruit and find that he has e pressed some desire to be posted to a Artillery unit and a few questions us ally produce the fact thot he has son particular civilian occupation or hobl which fits in our organisation and fr quently some relative or friend hi seen service in an Artillery unit, or pe haps the same battery and that perso possibly a lad father, knowing tl true requirements of a Gunner recor mends his joining a Battery or Reg ment and thereby starts the flame < enthusiasm which creates the elemei : necessary to produce a good gunne ‘ There is nothing more contagious ths enthusiasm and it is the bounden dul of every Gunner, Officer and man alii to see that a good keen recruit is e couraged in every way and when co ditions are bad, then, that is when t find the true Gunner —there -is nothii

better to produce the right stull than bough going and we like it. ■in ow. do not at any time confuse grumbling in bad conditions with moaning, gruiuoiing is a vital part ox any svioier.s me—alter all ne is rainy well lucKeu up in me many and various puusvs ox discipline and ne has just got iv give , way io His feelings in some way or otner, so ue grumoles about nothing in particular anu everytmug in general —um ne still gets oil with me jou, in race as car as grumbling is concviiicu x am pretty good at it myselt anu get a Tot ox relaxation out ox it. xi meaner is very , mucli differentlie persists m complaining about petty tilings anu tries oy devious back-door methods to stir up dissent amongst ms renow nut mates and generally under-. ■ mines the snow-how ne came to be here is a mystery and he will not stand tne test anyway — does not attempt a decent joo of work,' he is tar too busy moaning, ft is this odd sort of chap ' wno has to be the subject of very definite treatment from every right and true minded gunner. You will find that the hardest part or your job. as a true gunner is to keep the real issues which 1 have tried to depict constantly before you in such a way that they influence you in the right direction when things don’t seem so good. It’s easy to go oft' with a flare of trumpets and then decide that you nave done your share towards this ideal and then nit back because Gnr. Misfit docs not appear to be putting his weight — two wrongs never made a right — such a • happening provides the right-thinking -gunner with a great opportunity and he can adopt one of two courses (1) talk the other fellow back to his old form or (fl) make his conscience worry him by showing particular attention to training and duties whatever they may be. You must remember at all times that in just the same way that enthusiasm catches on, a rot can set in and the time to think of the Battery and what it means is now —“What a great show it is” not ‘‘What a' great show it was.’’ Why deal with a major problem when it can be handled easily as a -minor one. _ 1 know that you cannot put an old head on young shoulders, but clearly understand that you became eligible for mobilized service in the N.Z. Army at the age of lb, but as a soldier and a gunner you are doing the. job of a man which demands that you commence thinking and-acting like one. We are now receiving older men into the Regiment and in addition to all the qualifications that go to make a gunner, these people by their maturity in years, closer understanding of the national problem and broader outlook on life, have an immediate i task in keeping a, steady balance on their younger comrades and thus keep tlxo unit «x. right track. In* your every-day duties, constantly think of the other chap and if you can do anything to help him—it—you can help the efficiency of the unit by jumping into your fatigue duties and perhaps cutting down the numbers required, which will release more men for training— think your work out before you start, if it is well planned it will mean quicker and better , results. 1 Just at present with so much Artillery expansion afoot, opportunities for ’ advancement are coming thick and fast 1 which demands of you all an immediate ' appreciation of your principles as a gunner— recruit to-day is possibly ' an N.C.O. to-morrow and ho must start J off with the right objective firmly fixed ’ in 'his mind. Those of you who will of necessity be transferred to other Artillery units either as Officers or N.C.O. ’s ' have a great opportunity to create the * right spirit in your new units, always J remembering the old Regiment whirl put you on the rails and we of the Regiment will look on you and yow new homes with a complete confidence > that you. know what is wantedaf ’ all the type of equipment you happei to be handling does not alter the prin ’ ciples for which you stand— the I badge and motto together with th rank of “Gunner” that matters. I d< r not suggest that you have given m e thought to this side of soldier life, fa l " from it —there is very strong evidcnc e in conduct on leave. I can hardly re ‘ call an instance of really bad conduc II and believe me it is very pleasing to a 11 old gunner to see you chaps, not loung s ing about streets or improperly dresse l " at dances. Your conduct whe<i on leav n during the recent manoeuvres prove r that you knew your drill and after a ~ it should be part of your make-up t , , conduct yourself at all times—gunner should. In conclusion I do hope that thee , e few remarks will be of some materi: ” help to us all, particularly with the ui a certain days that lie ahead. If we coi K . stantly remind ourselves of our fir: n duty to our Regiment then I feel ths 1 . there is no difficulty which will beat u ” So lets tee things up the right way. >y ’