THIRD EDITION AN ANZAC LEADER

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 133, 3 December 1919, Page 8

THIRD EDITION AN ANZAC LEADER

MAJOR-GENERAL CHAYTOR

WELCOME BY NEW ZEALAND

CLUB,

Members of the New Zealand Club welcomed Major-General Sir Edward Chaytor, K.C.M.G., C.8.. the gallant commander of the Anzac Mounted Division, at luncheon to-day. Mr. Spencer presided.

The President spoke of the fact that Sir Edward Chaytor had started his military life in that bed of many great soldiers, the K.ew Zealand Mounted Eifles. Sir Edward must be ranked as the greatest of these. (Applause.) Not only was he a leader of Anzacs, but he was an Anzac himself. In Palestine their guest had done a wonderful work in command of that great body of cavalry known as the Australian and New Zealand Mounted' Division. On behalf of the New Zealand Club Mr. Spencer congratulated the guest upon the success of his leadership, and upon the honours which he had so deservedly won. (Loud and continued applause.) .

Sir Edward Chaytor thanked the club for its welcome as a mark of appreciation for what he had done. In regard to his success, he wished to say that whatever had been done had been easy on account of the men he had had under him. He thought the Anzac Division was the best in the whole British Army—and he did not think he was prejudiced. (Applause.) He might have been hard upon his old brigade— the New Zealand Mounted Brigade a,t times, for he had always wanted them to be better than the Australian brigades forming part of the division, and that was no easy job. (Applause.) Continuing, he referred to the great hardships the men had endured on account of the shortage of water and the excess of heat.

One supply of water they had located, for instance, seemed all right, but although it had been proved suitable for drinking cold, it had been a failure for cooking purposes, with the result that a whole day's ration was spoilt. Speaking of ,the heat, Sir Edward mentioned that during one period of fighting the heat in the shade was 123 degrees. An endeavour had been made to register the heat in the sun but no thermometer could stand the.strain. AH water available was more or less bitter, and the drinking of the mineral water of the fighting area had incapacitated, numbers of men. He referred to the different campaigns briefly, and through all his remarks he laid emphasis upon the water problem ; at one period the horses, he 6aid, had to go 72 hours without water and, to his mind, it spoke volumes for the care the men had for their horses when it was remembered that they lost very few horses. That disproved the old story that Australians and New Zealandere were good riders, but no horse masters. Incidentally Sir Edward mentioned that "the taking of Jaffa was not on the programme, but when the New Zealand Mounted Rifles presented it to the Commander-in-Chief he could not find it in his heart to give it up."

The greatest strain upon the New Zealander6, he said, had been in the Jordan Valley, for everyone, including the Turks, had said they would not last out the hot season. The Medical Corps, not only the New Zealand part of it, but the whole Medical Corps, had treated the area successfully, and had held the malaria to a great extent. Despite that, however,, hundreds had.to be. evacuated owing to malaria, and the manner, in which the Medical Corps had coped with the sick was a credit to them.

In conclusion, Sir Edward Chaytor asked the people of New Zealand to help the men to settle' down; they deserved every help that could he given them. Not only had they been good fighters, but wherever they had been they had -lived as men should. Never had he received a complaint as to theii" behaviour The world, even now that the "war was over, did not seem settled, and he thought we should make certain that we did not drop again into the horrors of the past five years. (Applause.) Whatever was done we must be prepared todefend our rights and liberties, and to do that, efficiency was essential. The efficiency of the people in New Zealand had kept.the New Zealand units up to strength, and that was as it should be. (Applause.) Without touching on politics he wished to say that he did.hope that, in the Empire there would soon be one supreme council that would manage all the fighting forces of the Empire, whether on the sea or the land. That was one of the lessons of the war that should not be forgotten. Hearty cheers were given for the guest as he finished.