LIFE AT TRENTHAM.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15500, 29 January 1916, Page 10

LIFE AT TRENTHAM.

A RECRUIT'S IMPRESSIONS. Chatting to~n "Press" reporter yesterday, an old member of the Christchurch Press Company's mechanical staff, who rcccntJy joined the Reinforcements at Trentham, gave a fbw impressions of camp life. From his descriptive-remarks and from many other recruits recently, life at Trentham may bo summed up in one of his torso sentences —namely, "It's just bosker! fair dinkum, it is." If the war has effected no other good, it has knit together in the closest tics of friendship men who would otherwise never have met. and true friendship brings to the surface all the latent good impulses in a man. TJie fact of parting from the old home, the old faces, and the old ties, brings many men together in a sort of sub-conscious sympathy right from the (start. The night journey from Christchnrch to "Wellington, right at the outset, even, sows the seeds of many a lasting friendship. In spite, however, of the somewhat sombre note struck at parting, all is jollity on board, and a "good night" in many senses is in stor e for the new recruit : Arrived at Wellington, the men arc always met by a crowd of civilians who. raise a heartier cheer than Christchurch seems to be able to give. Little groups and knots of people give them "a splendid hearing" as they march to the railwav station to. entrain for Trentham. Even at the camp the "new chums" are met by their future comrades, lined up in correct reception style, and the chcer given by the '"'old hands" makes the rccruit feel that after all life is worth living,fand the old Empire worth fighting for. The first day in camp is confusingly novel. The new men are told off to their respective hutments. Friends and "cobbers" can always arrange to be together, and this of course helps to minimise the first strange feeling that a sensitive man gets on coming into with what he has perhaps always considered the awesomeness of military training and preparation. Dungarees are served ont —for these are always worn in camp,- uniforms only being worn at Sunday parades and when on leave —and mui*s. knives and forks and the necessary impedimenta for eating and keeping clean.

Two or three days sees the recruit getting into camp routine. Rising early in the morning—a good thing for any man—half an hour's Swedish drill ami an invigorating wash, gives him a healthy appetite for a good breakfast of beef, stew and . onions and tea, which, in spite of the allegations of outsiders to the contrary, is excellent, says our recruit. The breakfast, which is entirely devoid of formality—everyone being in the highest of spirits— having come to an end, further ablutions are performed, and any other necessary little odds and ends which come to hand. Then from 9 till 12 o'clock squad and other drills are gone through, with two intervals of a quarter of an hour each for a rest and smoke. Then come.s tho well-earned lunch of cold meat, bread', butter, jam, and cheese—and the quantities are not stinted. With tea or coffee to wash it down, and a short rest, the new man feels as fit as the proverbial fiddle for more drill at a quarter past one. This goes on till about a quarter to five, when a- man ha s time to get ready for an appetising ten, consisting of hot roast joint, potatoes, and often other vegetables. • The day's work is now finished, and where possible leave is granted to go into Wellington. In a great number of cases, is not asked for, there being so ninny .attractions, in the camp itself. The camp resembles nothing 6o much as a town, with laid out streets, and even shops, comprising barbers, jewellefs, outfitters, stationefs, and booksellers, etc., and that necessary adjunct to a camp, the canteen, which like a departmental store, sells everything "from a needle to an anchor," and even caters for "pie and coffee" or •'tea and cake" suppers. Several the week excellent concert parties give entertainments in the various camp halls, , which arc owned by the different churches, and- when there is no advertised concert, the men themselves organise a u smoke-oh,' ! -at which some surprisingly good talent generally manifests itself. There is also an excellent bil-liard-room belonging" to the camp, ! where budding "Grays" and "Inmaiyr" j eagerly compete for mythical championships. At these halls and "public" buildings, as one might term them, writing material is always to handj and the recruit can spend a quiet quarter of an hour communing in spirit and on paper with his "best' girl." One of the great outstanding features, so our reporter was informed, is the fact that after three or four day's in camp, a man begins to "wake up" and take a greater interest in things. He is well looked after, and as his physical condition improves so does his mental outlook. The greatest loafers and bar-frequenters in town make some of the smartest men in an incredibly short space of time. . Everything is kept scrupulously clean, and in many cases men are looked after better than in their owji homes. A splendid relationship and' spirit of camaraderie exist between officers and men. "They are dashed good sorts., our officers," said our recruit, "and there were never whiter men than some of the English instruct toi's. I have never yet heard of a. man who was dissatisfied, or who wished he had not enlisted. The benefit of camp life is .so obvious. "I can't understand men not wanting to join the Infantry," he continued, "it' s the easiest game of the lot. The chaps in town think thereby a lot of hard walking and marching to be done But it's not hard. The training is so graduated that nobody ever seems to notice it, and instead of marching being irksome, it's jolly fine. .Nobody ever seems to get tired, and anyway the fit condition and high spirits in which a man find s himself prevent any feeling of 'fed-uppishness.' If only the chaps in town knew what a picnic camp life really is, there wouldn't be all this trouble about not getting them to enlist." Another old employee of the Christchurch Press Company, writing to a, member, of our staff . from Trentliam camp, says: — "We have been having . plenty of drill since we arrived, but I am 'quite satisfied (and it's not easy for me) that 'thi s i* the life. 1 One can hardly realise what this camp is like, and the day we arrived it was as busy as a town. Everything is in grand order. The food 'is plain but good, and plenty .of it, so in that line there need be no complaint. In fact, the arrangements are 'first class,' and if a chap comes here with the idea of being a 'Tommy' and looks after himself, he will get on fine. Everybody here looks the picture of health, and I have not heard a growler yet. The heat is very trying, but that is a thing we have to get used to, and we are all brown as berries. Sunday is a great day for visitors, but it makes ont > wild to see the yourg chaps who have the cheek to come and visit the camp.walking about as if they were a cut abovo'us chaps. I can assure you they get a rally."