THE "BEST" WAR

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 160, 8 July 1937, Page 8

THE "BEST" WAR

EXPERIENCES OF V.C. CORONATION CELEBRATIONS. WITH THE N.Z. CONTINGENT. "It was the best war I've ever been at." .So Captain Jim Crichton, V.C, described his experience as a member of the Xew Zealand contingent which went to England for the Coronation. Hp was not wearing the uniform of his rank this morning, nor the sergeant's stripes that he carried with the contingent, nor even the colours of his war honour. Instead he carried bravely the dungarees of a linesman in the Post and TelegrajsJ Department, and was identifiable only by his short, compact figure, the wide smile, and the Scottish burr of Jimmy Crichton.

"Xo complaints," he answered, when he was asked regarding his own experiences, and lie had an explanation to offer concerning some complaints that had been made by others of "the boys." It had to do with the. liver. "I saw some of the boys the night before they went to Wellington Barracks, and they thought the. food was rotten. I don't think I would have liked any sort of food, either, under the circumstances," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Those Uniforms. Regarding those uniforms, too. They could have been better, and could have fitted more enugly, but "when they were tucked in they looked as good as any of them." The '"boys" might have been able to improve them themselves had they the time. But he had a story to tell in the same connection. One of the South African sections was attired in khaki drill tunics and shorts, and they were opposite the New Zealanders during the -march through London. Later one of the South African? approached the New Zealanders and told them that

they had looked smart and that they would not have minded changing. The New Zenlaiulcru had laughed and *aid that they had been thinking exactly the same thin-,' about the South Africans. "It is always that way." said Captain Crichton. "You always think that the other man looks smarter than you do. But it «1I depends on how the uniforms are carried." Too Many Invitations. Captain Crichton said that Uieir main trouble had been to fulfil all the engagements that had been offered. Thev*were only a small party, and could not split up in t<he same way as the Australian* could. He himself had had to attend three engagements in the one afternoon. If ho had liked he could have staye 1 for six months in England accepting all the invitations that he bad been offered. It had Ih?cii one round of entertainment. None of them at any time had to do other than a minimum of work they had not had to wash up a dish at any time—ami there had been no restriction as far a»5 leave was concerned. Thev could come and go out of barracks as they pleased. The New Zealanders had been stationed mostly at Pirbright Camp. Surrey, which was the Guards' trainincamp. There they had been associated with the Scottish and Welsh Guards and had been treated very well. Captain Crichton told of trips "to Oxford, to Nottingham, to Portsmouth and various other places, where they had been entertained in some of the stateliest homes in England. On one occasion they had been the guests of Lord Trent, on a visit to his huge chemical works at Nottingham. They understood, though they were not told, that he paid for the whole trip, and they were able to order anything they liked on the road and pay for nothing. Courtesy and Hospitality. That was the way all through their stay in Kngland. They were guests at theatres and of various other places of amusement; and everywhere they were treated with the greatest courtesy and hospitality. In the same way the American soldiers they met at Panama did everything they 'possibly could to make them welcome. <