THE TROOPS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 48, 25 August 1914, Page 4

THE TROOPS

SIR A. GODLEY'S VISIT A FINE BODY OF MEN UPHOLDING PAST TRADITIONS SOME POINTS IN DISCIPLINE.

A brilliant sun with a cloudless sky and a fresh invigorating atmosphere prevailed for the inspection of the troops at the Awapuni concentration camp, near Palmerston North, by Major-General Sir Alexander Godley, Officer Commanding the New Zealand Defence Forces, yesterday. At 11 o'clock the various units in camp with a total strength, of 81 officers and 2680 other ranks, were drawn up in the neighbourhood of the grandstand, the Wellington Infantry Regiment, 1196 strong, occupying the lawn immediately in front, while at the rear, all mounted upon their chargers, rode 664 men comprising the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment, who were formed up on the race track in one solid phalanx. General Godley and hie staff, who had just come up from Wellington, arrived shortly before 12 o'clock and immediately proceeded to inspect each, unit which occupied some little time. AN IMPOSING SPECTACLE. The infantry were then massed together in close formation and the rest of the troops with the exception of the j mounted rifles, who remained in their original position were closed up, the , Field Artillery Battery and Divisional, Brigade and Horse Artillery, Small Arms Ammunition Columns, with a total strength of 442 men, being placed on the one flank an.d the Divisional Signal Company, Mounted Signalling Troop, Field Engineers, Field Ambulance and Army Service' Corps, making up the balance of the establishment ia camp, upon the other. The scene was an imposing one and was heightened not a kttJe when General Godley, who had inspected the infantry on loot, mounted a handsome black racehorse and standing in the stirrups proceeded to address the men before him. In the foreground behind the mounted men the camp with its 500 tents and marquees was spread out to vitvf, while at its rear in order of succession appeared an avenue of trees, the shingly Manawatu riverbed, a short stretch of level country, and then the foothills which stretched out to the north and v south in the snow-clad Ruahines and Tajaruas. There was only one regrettable feature about the ceremony, and that was that there were not more people present to witness it — the grandstand was only half-filled with spectators. Though few in . numbers those who were in attendance were nevertheless appreciative and were not backward in paying the highest tributes to the splendid physique of the men and their fine soldierly appearance. - It would, indeed>> be difficult to find finer bodies of men than of the units who are at present to be found in the Awapuni camp — a fact which General Godley himself remarked upon. As for .the speech, of the General it was that of a leader to his men, a leader who has spent four years in fashioning Out tke^present New Zealand Army, and who is now about to test the result of his work by leading New Zealand tl'oops^on the field of battle in Europe. It was also worth remembering at the time that ths speaker was the same Colonel Goilley,who commanded the Western Defences during the siege of Mafeking in 1899-00, '-'CREDIT TO THEIR COUNTRY.," In expressing his satisfaction with the inspection he had made, General Godley said he did not think that anybody could have wanted to see a finer looking body of men or men more likely to do credit to their country. (ArSpJause.) He hoped they would all remember\tnafc they represented tha regiments of the Wellington military district, many of which had been formed in older times as volunteer regiments, and which possessed tradi-" 1 tion* of the Maori Wars. The squadrons and companies were formed from their own regiments in the Territorial Force, which had been done in order that I every regiment in the Territorial Force might be represented in the Expeditionary Force. He hoped that they would all remember that in their hands lay the honour of those New Zealand Tern torial Regiments. "The Mounted Rifles Regiment," he said, "is formed from the 2bd (Wellington West Coast) Mounted Rifles, which was formed from the old Wanganui Light Cavalry of tne Maori War, known as Queen Alexandra's Own ; a regiment to which Queen Alexandra gave her name; the 6th (Manawatu} Mounted Rifles to uphold the honour ot this district; and the 9fch (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles from Hawkes Bay down to the Wairarapa, ,and in their bands is tho«honour of that district and their regiment. 'The artillery has been selected 'from all over the Dominion, and I have no hesitation in saying that it ia the finest body of men I have seen in my life in any part of the worldT The engineers come from aU over the Dominion, and the same with the medical and army service corps, and. all of them worthily represent their respective arms of the service. The infantry are drawn from each of the regiments of the Wellington Infantry Brigade— the 7th (Wellington West Coast) Regiment, from Palmerston to Wangaoui, a town celebrated for its military traditions; the 11th Regiment (Taranaki Rifles), which is known as a rifles regiment and allowed that name because it preserves the old Taranaki Rifles of the Maori wars, and the com pany representing it has to uphold its traditions; the 9th (Hawkes Bay) Regiment, which has volunteer traditions; and then the lately formed 17th (Ruahine) Regiment, which, though last in the Army List, will,. I trust, not be found last when you go to the front." (Applause.) NECESSITY OP "I wish to say to all of you men," •proceeded General Godley, "that you are going now to represent your country and ■your particular regiments in the way that it should be every soldier's 1 , ambition to do — you are going on active ser vice. Remember that whatever your act or will may be, however anxious you may be td see active service, and however hard you are working, or however hard you may, it is of no use unless you ■ lealiee , • that it must be done with discipline and by discipline I mean the very best kind of discipline, not the discipline which makes a man act through fear of punishment, or the discipline of the martinet of the German army, but something very much higher than that—the discipline that comes from the consciousness of the necessity of it. (Applause.) Remember, every one of you squadrons, every one of you companies, that you are not only soldiers, but also comrades. Some have been fellow, members in a cricket or football team, exactly the same as you are now, and you know perfectly well that unless you work together and realise the value of leadership you will be of no good. Exactly the same thing applies to a soldier. Ido not think I have much moie to say. By your performances on board the troopship and by the way in which you will arrive in England will New Zealand not only be judging you, but also, your rejsimeut t You wjtf find your. ,

selves alongside regiments of the British Regular Army with great traditions, and which have reached ii. pitch of excellence that has not been reached in a-ny other army in tHe world. (Applause.) There is no reason why the men of the New Zealand citizen army should- not be able and competent to take their places alongside the- mon of the British Army. (Applause,) When they do they will require a. high standard to do so — in personal appearance and esprit-de»corps, cleanliness, sobriety, and temperance id every way, and on these points I trust and believe you will not be found wanting. You may find the Army discipline irksome. Well, you don't go on active" service expecting anything but hardship, and I am perfectly certain that the men of the Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa,. Taranaki, and Manawatu will bear their fair share of the hardships' that-" come along. We are all grateful— the military authorities and the Government, too — for the patriotic spirit' shown, not only by the volunteers, bub by* citizens also, particularly those who have lent us this racecourse, and the motorists- and hundreds of people who have' come forward and assisted. I shall see some of you in. Wellington, and others I maynot.' I wieh you bon voyage and- God. speed, and remember' that, the whole of New Zealand will be watching you, this district in particular, and' they will expect to see, as I have said before, something more than ordinary from the men who are here to-day. If' I am any judge— and I ougjit to be after thirty years' soldiering— l think, the men whom r now ace before me, if' they have the will, as I know they have,, will be well able to take their place' in the ranks of the British Army when, they reach Home." (Loud and prolonged.' applause-.) The General concluded his speech, shortly after 1 o'clock,, and, after dining with the officers, left with his' staff, officers for Wellington. TRAINING RESUMED. The troops returned to their quarters, where they had' luncheon, and were engaged in routine worlc and' sectional drill for the rest of thd day.