ANZAC DAY BRITISH CHAPLAIN RECALLS VERSA MATRUH DAWN PARADE

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31662, 24 April 1968, Page 16

ANZAC DAY BRITISH CHAPLAIN RECALLS VERSA MATRUH DAWN PARADE

IT# B article bas been specially contributed for Anzac Day bu the Rev Richard r inud a*. 1940, was Senior Chaplain to the Forces, Western Desert. Mr Lloyd lives at Roche,lir, Kent" On Thursday, April 25,1940, the dawn splintered the darkness over the white sands of Mersa Matruh and the lagoon, on the shore of which stood a group of men before a trestle-table covered with the Union Jack The shafts of the young sun flashed on the instruments of the band • and save for the breaking of the surf over the entrance to the lagoon in the direction of Cleopatra’s Bath, all was silence. The sails of the sponge-hunting schooner drew nearer the perilous reefs, but few observed it. Indeed, there were not many dry eyes at that divine service; and none present is likely to forget it. It was unrehearsed and it was magnificent. It lent a touch of grandeur to the dust, and maiestv to the grim preparations for what was to come.

It was on the previous day that I, who then held the | appointment of Senior ChapI lain to the Forces, Western Desert, was approached by an officer of No. 1 Section, 6th Field Company, New Zealand Engineers, with the request that I should hold Anzac Day service for his men on the following morning. Welcome Addition Now, these excellent troops had arrived as a most welcome addition to the veteran sun-scorched, fly-blown and sand-blasted Matruh garrison. They came as a breath of fresh air when the news from France was indigo, and at a time when we were sick of hearing our troops, over there, singing, “Over the rain-

■ bow,” with maudlin fervour, i and “We’ll hang our wash- - ing on the Siegfried line” i with equal inanity. The arrival of the New , Zealanders, who had again • come to the rescue of the • Mother Country in her ex--1 tremity, gave us a new heart i and electrified our morale. ■ We were, after all, not alone as Mussolini was soon to discover! Practically all of us were regular soldiers, and ’ most had not seen Britain for a long, long time. The New Zealanders’ constant reference to it as “Home” bound, still closer, the ties that united us in one family. Having, moreover, heard in my youth, from relatives and friends in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, of the valour of the Anzacs, with whom they had served in Sinai and Gallipoli, I gladly replied that I was only too delighted, and proud, to avail myself of the privilege offered to me. A N.A.A.F.I. Hut Realising, however, that the protean nature of the Western Desert climate had to be taken into account, I suggested that it might be as well for us to ask Lieuten-ant-Colonel Ford, commanding the First Battalion, The Welch Regiment, whether, in the event of there being a sand-storm on the following day, we might make use of the N.A.A.F.I. canteen hut. He not only agreed but, with his usual charm, also declared that the regimental band would be at our disposal, and that as many of his officers and men as wished to do so might attend, as indeed be himself would. “For,” he added with a grim smile, “I was also in that sanguinary show!”

At the service, I was accompanied by my colleague, the Rev. Henry Savage, M.A., C.F., whose stentorian voice opened the proceedings by announcing the first hymn, Kipling’s “Recessional.” To the accompaniment of the Welch Regiment’s band, this was sung as I have never heard it sung previously or since. There were many present, tough men, both New Zealanders and Welshmen, who had passed through the hell of the Dardanelles: and; there was not one of them] who was not obviously and: deeply moved.

A Glorious Service I have held church parade services all over the Middle East, and further afield: but this, to me, was the most impressive and glorious service of them all. For the first I realised what the spirit of the old British Empire meant, and perceived that blood was still thicker than water—or oil' And 1 knew, that it would be an evil day if ever we lost sight of that truth.

Later, the New Zealanders defeated the Welsh, by only a narrow margin, in the cleanest and most inspiring rugger match that could possibly be played, even though it raised a small dust storm. That evening, they were entertained by the Regimental Welsh choir, whom none could defeat at their own game. Furthermore, several New Zealander officers’ silhouettes were painted, as was the usual custom with honoured guests, on the walls of the hut that served as the Welch Regiment’s Officers’ Mess.

The deep comradeship that grew out of those davs survived of myriad hardships and the relentless sun “that flashes through the head and paints the shadows green and red.” And among my most treasured possessions is the service sheet, for that Anzac Day Dawn Parade. For at the close of the service, several New Zealanders autographed my copy. N.Z.ers’ Attitude What particularly endeared the New Zealanders to us was their complete lack of ostentation, and their aversion to “shooting a line.” They shot better than that. Their attitude is well exemplified in the reply given to an unblooded English subaltern by a New Zealand officer, who had been asked why he was called a Kiwi. “Well,” came the soft reply, “we cannot fly, we cannot march, we cannot shoot, we cannot fight—and we’re damn nearly extinct.”

In view of New Zealand's unsurpassed achievements on land, sea and in the air, this reply was the epitome of modesty. None could more justifiably echo Flecker’s. ' "And our dead to the desert we gave. And the glory to God in our song!”

Some of the names signed on the Rev. R. Lloyd's service sheet are indecipherable, but others are:

J. E. PARRIS Auckland E SMART Auckland V. G RIVETT Auckland N. D SADLER Auckland L. H. WAKEFIELD Auckland C. F. RAYNER Auckland J. B. FRYER Auckland W. FORMAN Auckland J. J. TULLETT Auckland E. H EAYRS Auckland H. MacGREGOR Auckland E. J. JEFFRIES Auckland G. GILCHRIST Auckland M. K. BAKER Auckland R. E. CHAPMAN Auckland L. C. DAW Auckland A. G. WEBSTER Tauranga J. L. FARNHAM Whangarei I. ELLIOTT Auckland

E H THOMPSON Auckland E HARVEY Auckland E T GLOVER Auckland L. S. WITHEY Auckland A. M LOWTHER Auckland D. McLAIRD Auckland C. BATTRIM Auckland J. W. STEWART Wellington W. H ARCHER Wellington M. GOLDSWORTHY Wellington F. BALLOCH Rotorua M. L. TROTMAN Greytown V. FRANCIS Rangiora A. G. BIRD Wharepuhunga B. HENDERSON Dunedin W. R. ARTHUR Waikato S J. SINCLAIR Scotland