CIVILIANS ENJOYED WEEK END IN ARMY

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29017, 5 October 1959, Page 12

CIVILIANS ENJOYED WEEK END IN ARMY

One hundred and seventy-seven civilians from Christchurch had a free taste of jungle warfare at the week-end in Little Malaya, a bush training area behind Oxford. The week-end was provided by the First Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, a Territorial Infantry Unit under the command of Lieu-tenant-Colonel S. M. Pritchard. Invitations to join in the jungle warfare week-end were issued some time ago, and the regiment was very pleased with the re* sponse. The aim of the week-end exercise was to give those who took part an idea of the type of work done in the regiment, and to encourage those who are interested to join. Of the 22 civilians who exercised with-the Regiment in August, 17 later enlisted and two promised to join at the end of the year. On Friday evening the civilians marched into Burnham, and from then on were treated as any group of enlisted volunteers. The visitors were issued with their equipment for the week-end, denims, boots, anklets and forage caps, a bedding roll and pack and weapons. Because of the large number of “cobbers,” as they were called, the programme had to be altered slightly, and the “sneaker course" which was to have been held at Little Malaya was cancelled. On Saturday morning the. troops were taken to the 25-yard range at Burnham and given a chance to fire an ordinary Lee Enfield rifle, a Sten gun and a Bren. Regular members of the regiment gave a demonstration of the Sterling machine carbine, and the new F.N. rifle. The demonstration of the latter was very interesting as it was fired at the same time as the ordinary rifle, to demonstrate the rapid firing capabilities of the F.N. There was also a static demonstration of heavy weapons and wireless. Departure

About 11 a.m. came the moment the “cobbers” were waiting for—the departure for Little Malaya. The troops were split up into sections of about nine under the command of a regular regimental instructor, and left Burnham looking forward to seeing the real thing in jungle warfare. They were not disappointed. They were served a meal on arriving at the disembarking point, and after a short rest, marched off complete with pack and a rifle into Little Malaya. The march into the training area was about 2k miles through fairly rugged country, and no doubt many after climbing up steep slopes and fording several small rivers felt that it only needed a few brown-skinned figures to appear on the scene to make the atmosphere complete.

Packs and weapons were dropped on arrival at the spot where base camp was to be set up, and the troops pushed on through the “jungle” to the area where the air drop was to be made. An on-the-spot lecture was given to the troops about the drop by one of the regular instructors. The drop was one of the spectacular events of the week-end, and went off perfectly. The dropping zone had been cleared of trees and bush and a large “Z” had been marked out in white boards. All eyes turned expectantly skywards as the drone of the low-flying Bristol Freighter was heard. The plane made three dummy runs, and, as the troops stood clear on the edge of the clearing, the first of the rations for the remainder of the exercise came parachuting down into the clearing. In dropping supplies, many things have to be taken into account, wind direction and so on. This was shown when one of the packages came hurtling down, causing the troops directly underneath to scatter. The explanation was simple—the parachute had not opened. The drop finished with a “free drop,” a coil of rope being used to demonstrate this. Bivouacked for Night The troops then moved back into the jungle to make preparations for bivouacking for the night. Each man had a ground sheet and two blankets and carried a halftent shelter, two of which when put together made a small tent big enough for two. The various methods used to erect these showed that, for civilians, many of the troops had a good idea of how to make themselves comfortable for the night. Each section built a fire to cook rations, in the creek bed. Soon every man was feeding well on meat and vegetables and tinned fruit, with a strong cup of tea to follow It is to the credit of the self-appointed cooks of each unit that no-one complained. During the afternoon also regular members of the regiment gave a demonstration of combat in the jungle. They split up into two parties, one taking the part of the enemy. The party staged an ambush using blank ammunition to make things more realistic, and went through the procedure of what a section does when a situation occurs in which immediate action is required. About 8 p.m. everyone was fed, and nearly all the ‘‘cobbers’’ were quite pleased to crawl in and get some well-earned sleep. A fairly high wind sprang up during the night, with a little

rain, but this did not appear to trouble many, and the methods of tent-erecting stood up to the test. A brew of tea after reveille at 6 a.m. on Sunday put everyone in good spirits for the last day of the jungle exercise, and after breakfast the troops went through the routine of breaking camp, folding up tent shelters and ground sheets, and cleaning up the bivouac area. Compass March

At this stage, several casualties were discovered, the usua.l cases of blisters, sore feet, and fatigue. Whether this was due to the thought of the coming compass march over the rough and hilly country to the point where transport was waiting, one could not say. However it was a sorry looking party of about 10 “cobbers” that made its way out of the jungle area back to civilisation. Meanwhile the rest of the troops set off in single file, looking like real jungle fighters, across a scrub-covered hill and through the jungle to a point where transport was waiting to take everyone back to Burnham. There were no casualties on this march and all compasses worked well to bring everyone back to the right place. After a brew of tea and a briet rest, the commanding officer ol the Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel S. M. Pritchard) read prayers as it was the custom to do every Sunday in the Army. The troops then climbed on to the trucks and the convoy moved off to Burnham. Back at Burnham the equipment used on the exercise was handed back, and the “cobbers” were given a final lecture on the customs of the service. After a final brew of tea, the “cobbers” went back to civilisation. x No-one Disappointed From the various comments heard during and after the week-end no-one was disappointed. Lieutenant-Colonel Pritchard thought that they were all “a fine bunch of blokes,” and the civilians thought the same about the regiment. There could be no doubt that almost everyone enjoyed the week-end, and that the scheme had fulfillled its primary aim—to give civilians an idea of the work of such a regiment.

Brigadier T. B. Morten, commanding officer of the Third Infantry Brigade, visited the training area on Saturday. In a short talk to the troops he said that he was pleased that they had come on the exercise and hoped that they were having ar. enjoyable week-end. He was very impressed with the way the whole thing had been planned, and hoped that some of the troops would consider joining the Regiment. “It is a very worth-while thing, and a very good way of having an interesting recreation,'’ said Colonel Pritchard. “Anyone who joins from the boys who were here with us, will be very welcome, and we will be very pleased to have them.”