CHRIST'S COLLEGE.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16205, 7 May 1918, Page 3

CHRIST'S COLLEGE.

SPLENDID DISPLAY BY CADETS. That the true military spirit—the spirit of self-relisiKv. obedient. and discipline—has bean thoroughly installed into tfie Christ's College Cadets a> the result o;' tile week's ••Barracks, was proved yesterday afternoon by tiie excellent d'splav that given by the school, before a Inri'-" and at'.miring crowd of pitrcnts and relatives. Ihe Cadet- Corps, which is practically the school now. lias had n lic-eitlediv grv.eiiing time during tho past few day?, and the Imperial Army drill and discipline 'carried out by iht« Commandant. I.ieu-tenant-Colonel Slceniaii and ing officers, Major Conv.'ay, Captain Brorrk, Captain Farthing, and the stafr-sergeant-nmjors. has smartened up the boy.-; in a. way that very many isolated parados would fail to accompli, the nnit no\v being one to be prone! of in everv way. For thi-i, however.' the

ground work prepared by Captain Farthing in his training o) the corps is in a largo measure re-pousiole. Yesterday morning. instructional exercises on the lines of the work done recently wore tarried out. but in ine afternoon a special field day was given in the Cullege grounds for the benefit of those most interested, and a firstrate turn-out ifc prove:! to lv. A\itn the exception ,u" a few of the younger beys, the whole College was in khaki, and the appearance of the corps caused many deservedly appreciative remarks to be made. The first portion c; the afternoon's work consisted or platoon and conpanv drill. skirmishing drill, ana extended order work, under the, direction r>i" the. scafc-sergoaTit-majors. who put ih» C.'.dot; through their pares in good stylo. All the movements witnoul exception were carried out veiy smartly ;mu accurately, the Cadet Band, which p'ayo:; almost continuously during the afternoon, giving appreciable assistance so far as rhytiim of the inarching was concerned, A special feature of the display which drew j'crr.h delighteti applause irom the public was rise physical exercises performed by an exceptionally well-trained squad under command of Captain Broek, who is an expert in all kinds of gymnastic work. Many ni tile exercises carried out were obviously new io tile spectators. «nd the -,vho!e system of - physical exorcises was of the lowest ■ •{laracter, such as has been found to be tho best calculated to induce smartness and quickness of notion and genorul There war- little, if anything. to remind one of the old hidebound styles of drill, and, in fact, some of the exorcises were almost in ihe nature of a and as such, are much more likely to intorest recruits than the dreary old grind of past years. It is clear that modern methods of attack require, not only a fit man, but an er.eentionall..- active- man. The. infanuy soldier has not only to plod forward under lire, but he has to negotiate the trickiest kind of obstacles at a high speed sometimes, jump in and out of trenches, or ar.ross them, and, in line, ho has to ho an all-round afjileto. The exercises which Captain Brock put his wpiad through, which included .jumping over a stick, over a weighted rope swinging in a circle, ctc., were interesting to watch, and interestiiirr to those performing them. The whole corps -were -then paraded in line, presenting a very fine sight, and Colonel Sleeman -taking up his position at the saluting base, the "general salute'' was sounded, the corps presenting arm?. Tlie?i (.-amo the march past, performed in splendid slvle, and tbo palace wjs concluded with, a tactical excrcise, i.e., the attack on the "farm of Hougomont." Half a company or so were the defenders of the fort, which waa tbo high b.-iclc wall at the west end of the grounds, part of the men being entrenched before tbo vails and protected by hurdles, which could be tnkeii to represent wire. The attack, -which included a frontal/and flanking attacks, was carried ' out by the balance of the corps in the approved style, with sectional rushes covered by rifle firo; Casuulties'—light, it is true — lent verisimilitude to tho scene, and the band, acting as stretcher-hearers, performed many gallant rescues under the defend-ors' ricrco fire. An artillery preparation was represented by the discharge of fearsome home-macie bombs and crackers, and the grand finale was, of course, the bayonet charge, the trenches being carried in good stvle. The force then reformed, and mareliod to the quad, where it was dismissed. Speaking to a "Press" representative after the end of the proceedings, Colonel Sleeman expressed himself as thoroughly well satisfied with the way the work had been done, remarking that it would hare been impossible to carry it out unless the corps liad been in a high stato of efficiency and discipline. . ' - :

I>i.ir : ng tho evening the boys were exercised at night outpost and patrol work, und to-day the "barracks" will close down. The work for the morning will be a march out to some spot, not vet iipecifiod, where a position will bo chosen and attacked.