"WORK WORTH DOING."

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 182, 3 August 1929, Page 12

"WORK WORTH DOING."

TERRITORIAL OFFICERS. GOVERNOR'S WARM PRAISE. VALUE OF TRADITION. A warm tribute to the work of the Territorial officers of New Zealand w*s pa.id by the Governor-General, gi r Charles Fergusson, when opening the new premises of the United Services. Club in Wellington. The. president of the club, Colonel C. G. Powles, presided and had associated with - him MajorGeneral R. Young, General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Military Forces and Commodore G. T. C. P. Swabey, Officer Commanding the New Zealand Naval Station. There were, said his Excellency, two things he would like to say. An offi. cers' club in a country like this, or in any other country, really took the place of that good old institution known at Home as the officers' mess. The regimental mess of the British Army, which had been going for hundreds ""of years in some cases, had been the place where the traditions of the British Amy 'had been built up. In these messes for centuries past officers had gathered day by day and night by night on terms of equality with each other, and there had . been created the traditions of -the regiment, many officers spending as much as 20 and 30 yearn of their lives there. There they treasured special trophies, furniture, pictures, and the regimental plate, whioh were of special interest to' the regiment, many things going back for hundreds of years, and eo they got atmosphere and tradition which did so much in helping to establish the character of the regiment. The traditions, shortly, were those things whioh went to build up character, by;.which they learned what they should: do for honour, and what i they should not do that dishonoured. Upon < those characteristics which -were founded and nurtured in the officers' mess the whole regiment took its tone, and it was to that that many heroic deeds in ' later days could be traced.' Place of the Officers' Club. In Territorial units they did not have the regimental mess except for a short time each year; therefore the officers' club took:, the place of the regimental mess and should be the placed/where traditions were preserved and built up. The same applied equally to tlio Navy, where instead of the'regimental mess they had the ship's mess. - There, he repeated, officers met oh terms of equality. Disci, pline was also respect for rank, but only unconsciously.- Still it was there all the same. As these grew in the club so'they'grew'in, the ship or regiment, and •so traditions and atmosphere were built up. He did want them, all of thetaj to recognise the value of associating together in a club like this, and to create and preserve .a spirit which in time to cofne would, help to f)ind them together when they got into a tight place. '[' • v A Word of Encouragement. . Another thing he wanted. t6'cay—-and he ielt qualified to sajF >60 . without being in any way. patronising and still lesg impertinent—was a word of encouragement to the TeiTitorial 'officers'. Twenty years ago he 'hack been an inspector of infantry at Home for four years, and; part of his duties during that period had been to. visit the Territorial Forces and learn their difficulties; —difficulties which were very . real and which no one appreciated and sympathised with more than he did, because, they were dealing with excellent material, and'they felt that if they could only get hold -of the men for a short 4 time for permanent .work they could make them into anything, but they were so bound by restrictions that they were compelled to work very hard to get results that pleased them, "It is Splendid Work/' i "And "X want," said his Excellency, "to congratulate- -you very heartily on the results you do get. I 'have not seen your work without being profoundly impressed with the results you get, with the very short time at your disposal, to mould your men into soldiers. I recognise that your work is hard, that it is very difficult, but you are getting equally good results, and lam sure .that if ever the pinch comes we shall see those results.. I know the difficulties, I know that 'sometimes' it must be very 'hard Work, but I ask you. to recognise that it is splendid work,' that it is woyk that is' well worth doing-—splendid work for the country and the Empire. Because it is sometimes, discouraging do not be put off. Some day you will see the •results, and, if not you, someone else. , His Excellency added that after spending close on five years in this country he felt that His Majesty's uniform was being worn in New Zealand by men who had the highest ideals and who were keeping up the highest - possible traditions of the Services that could be una* gined, and he congratulated and hon« oured them for doing so.