WAR AND "STARKIE."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 181, 1 August 1936, Page 2 (Supplement)

WAR AND "STARKIE."

A NEW ZEALANDER'S EXPLOITS OUTLAW AND HERO. , In "Passport to Hell" (Hurst and Biackett) Robin Hyde has recorded, with some embellishment, the story of a man who, of all the millions of men who fought in the Great War, must have been one of the wildest, most desperate and bravest. John Douglas Stark (he is living in Auckland ' to-day), after a childhood which affords some explanation of his character, enlisted when barely 10 years of age. 1-Ie returned —- still under 21—with, to quote his biographer, "a record of nine courtsmartial, a total of 35 years' penal servitude in military sentences —all cancelled for gallantry in action —and a conviction that the world could not be too martial fpr his liking." He was a born fighter and scout, and a sworn and remorseless foe of discipline in any form. His only loyalty—and it was a fine one—was to his mates; he disliked military police, n.c.o/s and most officers as heartily as they disliked him. When, on various occasions, he had the opportunity of a peaceful period in his stormy career,. restlessness overwhelmed him, and he was soon in trouble again.

Bravery at Armentieres. The author remarks in a note that this is "not a work of fiction," Neither, it seems, is it a full account of Stark's war carcer. It describes fully—too fully—his lawless adventures, but of some of his achievements as a fighter the reader is left to guess. The Hon. W. Downie Stewart, who has read the book, has testified to "the signal bravery displayed by Stark iii carrying in the wounded under heavy fire on the occasion of a disastrous raid'" at Armentieres, and of this there is a thrilling and horrifying account in the book. It was"a feat of personal bravery which makes it possible to understand why "Starkie's" less creditable exploits were condoned. Some of his experiences in "No Man's Land" were as horrible as any recorded in any- war book ever written. Some returned soldiers will not like this book. I'or them it will bring back memories of events better forgotten. Others will indignantly— and rightly— point out that the "hard cases" in Robin Hyde's pages were by no means typical of the New Zealand soldier. All will be able to point to many inaccuracies and exaggerations. For the general reader these errors do not affect the narrative, but they will lead ex-soldiers—except those personally acquainted with "Starkie" or his exploits —to express sceptical amusement.

Author's Achievement. It remains to be said that Robin Hyde —to use the words of Mr. Downie Stewart —"has been singularly successful in interpreting the atmosphere of the Kgyptian, French and English scenes almost as if she herself had been one of tho soldiers on service." That is a remarkable achievement. In addition, her imaginative insight has enabled her to explain, sympathetically and 011 the whole to the satisfaction of the reader, the exceedingly strange character of the central figure of tiie book.