PREMIER IN FRANCE

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 32, 8 February 1927, Page 14

PREMIER IN FRANCE

(From Our Own CorrMptntfwit.)

PARIS, 21st December.

■On the . fourth. day :of our tour of the battlefields we traversed those localities associated with the first and last battles fought by the New Zealand Division. Caterpillar Valley, the Bazentins, Longueval, and Delville "Wood are names which recall the preparation for the Flers Battle, begun on 15th September, 1916. On that occasion the New Zealanders were attacking directly north, and had gone into battle for the first time in France. By the end of the day we were passing through Solesmes, Romeries, and into Le Quesnoy—names which recall the very last stages of the war for the New Zealand Division, when they were driving the Germans eastward.-

A kilometre out ".from Aubert along the Bapaume road, there is a branch road leading to Contalmaison and Longueval. These towns were only piles of stones .when the New Zealanders knew them, but the road will be well remembered. On the right-hand side of the road not far from Contalmaifson is Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, where 5500 British soldiers are buried. One enters through a stone archway into the rectangular plot. At the centre of the western wall is the Cross of Sacrifice, opposite the gateway on the southern boundary is a chapel with Grecian pillars, and along the eastern boundary is an ornamental screen wall built of brown stone, with" polished white stone panels. On the central panel are the words: "Here are recorded the names of officers and men of New Zealand who fell in the battles of the- Somme, September and October, 1916, and whose names.are known: only to God." On the ten other panels along the wall are inscribed alphabetically under regiments the names of the 1200 New Zealand "missing.*' It was here that the Prime Minister laid another wreath of laurel leaves and red carnations on behalf of the Government and people of the Dominion. ,

We passed on towards Longueval. A thousand yards to the left of the town could be seen the. New Zealand Memorial.which was unveiled on Bth October, 1922. It marks the place of the old Switch Trench occupied by the men of the 2nd Brigade on; 15th September, 1916. From there they were able to look down on the villages of Flers and Guedecourt, where, in the days/that followed, they,,wrote their names in history. There was not the. time. to walk from the village along .the mud road to the monument, so the Prime Minister contented himself with a visit to Delville Wood Cemetery, where he found headstones bearing the names of a number of New Zealanders. On one side of the road is the Icemetery with the Cross at the gateway. On the other side of the road aife the few'acres of grass lawn with the' South African memorial as a background. As for the wood, once an imposing forest, it is merely a few acres of scrub and seedlings.

THE LAST BATTLEFIELDS,

The rest of the journey, that daywas to Bapaume, Cambraij and thence to lie Quesnoy, taking in the cemeteries where New Zealanders who fell in the Jasf"great advance are buried. Just' down below the famous Butte de Warlencourt, before entering Bapaume, there is a small cemetery constructed, wherein there are a few headstones inscribed with , New Zealand names. During August, 1918, the New Zealanders attacked. Loiipart Wood and Grevillers, just outside Bapaume, and the toll of this' action is seen in the little cemetery in the outskirts of the village of Grevillers.;; But there are evidences here also of another stage of the war. In 1917 the Germans retreated beyond Bapaume and the British occupied Grevillers. Thus not only are the men killed in the final advance buried here, but those who paid the supreme sacrifice in 1917. Beside the 142 graves of ,known New Zealanders, there are to be recorded .-here 400 names of the "missing" on tablets in the screen wall atthe^head of:, the cemetery. The tablets have'already been prepared and were on the site, but they had not yet been put into position. Again the trail of the Now Zoalandors is picked up at "Vaulx-Vraucourt, six kilometres to the north-east of Bapaume. On 29th and 30th August, 1918, the New Zealanders were attacking in this vicinity and several of their number who were killed found burial in the Vaulx Hill Cemetery, a small plot some distance from the village. On the south side of the Bapaume-Cambrai road is the village of Bancourt. It was this that the Ist Bifle Brigade was set the task of taking on 30th August, 1918. In the large cemetery outside the village^ are 2436 British graves, among which are those of a number of New Zealanders killed in the attack on 30th and 31st August, and on- Ist September. It is a rectangular plot enclosed by a low brick wall. When the New Zealanders were originally buried thero a large wooden memorial cross was erected for each of the battalions. On these were the nineteen or twenty names of those of the battalion who were killed. One of these memorial crosses was still standing in-the unfinished cemetery, and the other three were stored in the gardener fS| shed.

TOWARDS LB QUESNOY.

Passing towardß Cambrai in the afternoon a few headstones of New Zealanders were seen in the small cemetery at Anneux, a village five kilor metres from Cambrau. On the route towards Xc Quesnoy.the Prime Minister renewed his acquaintance with the village of" Beauvois, which the New Zealanders occupied on 19th October 1918, previous to their attack towards bolcsmes. Here, too, we sought for JMow Zealauders' graves in the French communal cemetery. Tho wooden crosses of Private J; Hobbs, who died on 13th October, 1918, and of Bomb D M'Cathie (New Zealand Trench Mortar Battery), who died on 9th October, 1918, were discovered, and an inscription over another plot stated that the bodies of- several other New Zealanders had been removed to a British cemetery. An interesting relic of an earlier stage of the war was tho inscription over another British grave: "Here lies a British.doctor. August, 1914." So here in juxtaposition were the indications of the sacrifices made by British men in the very first retreat, and in the last stages of victory. One other cometery we were to visit before completing the New Zealanders' trail of war. It marks the last stage of the advance, for the Division was again in the line on 23rd October, and' drove the enemy back from the outskirts of Komeries to Le Quesnoy, On the hillside outside the town is the French: Communal cemetery, and beside it is the beautiful little British plot with the Great Cross on the higher ground and tho Stone of Komembrance at the lower end. There has obviously been a great deal of concentration to this plot, for the dates indicated on which the 112 New Zeslanders were killed are from 11th October to 4th November. The inhabitants of. the town have prepared a handsome

BATTLEFIELDS REVISITED

ALBERT TO IE QUESNOY

marble tablet which is displayed in the cemetery. On one plaque in French is written: "The .Commune of RemeroeVa.s e hvadedt)y the. Germans on it 5 «Usl Stl 1914) and "captured on 23rd October, 1918, by the Gordon Highlanders and Royal Scots." On the other plaqne are the words: "Remenes retains for the brave soldiers killed in battle and for. their compatriots who lie in this cemetery its eternal remembrance."

On entering the square of Le Qucsnoy, Mr. Coates was met by Colonel Victor Rat, arid Mons. Henri Weibel. deputies to the Mayor. They apologised for the absence of the Mayor, who was detained in Paris on' Parliamentary duties, and they expressed their appreciation of what they considered the great honour of being visited by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, whose people played such a prominent part in roleasing the city from the haiids of the invaders. . '

Mr. Coates assured them of his appreciation of the reception they had given him. ,It was not the first time he had been in Le Quesnoy. He stayed here in 1918 for a week, and the people had always been most kind to the New Zealanders. The Prime Minister spoke of the ties that bound the two nations, wrought through, their; itruggle to retain freedom and . justice among the nations. New Zealand, he said, would be greatly touched by its. generosity and ■ goodwill" expressed by the representatives of the citizens of Be Quesnoy. . ' '■ ..

THE GARDEN OF MEMORIES.

An informal procession, .of a.number of the -citizens' waif 'formed,: and they made, their way from -the square through the Archway leading to the Avenue d'Honneur des-Neo Zealandais, past the old chateau, once the. home of Queen MaVguerite of Bourgone, to the salient in the wall; ~he*e is the exit archway to '*Le Jardin- dcs Souvenir New Zealand.", When the, late. Lord Milner unveiled.this memorial in 1923 it was summer time, and the garden was looking its loveliest The flowers were blooming, and. the sunlight played on the ancient walls of the town and brought out the lines of the sculptured figures on the marble plaque. On this occasion the pilgrimage to ■• the memorial was made in the twilight of a -winter ovening, when the fine memorial could not be so impressive. It was pleasing, however, to see that the New Zealand plants are thriving. Here in this sheltered spot—in spite of the winter frosts —the veronicas, the redmanukas, the olearias, the toi-tois, and the New Zealand flax plants are all doing well. They have taken on a more permanent aspect since three years ago, and when spring comes again the Garden of Memories should indeed be the fairest spot for miles around. : , ... „.: .

Koturning to the town, Mr. Coates and his party visited' the Town Hall, and were entertained for half an'hour by the Mayor's deputies. Last night was spent in Cambrai, and an early journey was made to St. Quentin, a visit being paid to Masnieres Cemetery on the way. Hare are the graves of-.:a few New Zealanders \^»q were killed in the first-days 'of October, during, the great- advance.. ; i From St. Quentin the party took train.for Paris, arriving shortly after'mid-day. . . ■ Before leaving Paris on. 23rd Deceinr ber, Mr. Coates paid: his respects, as New Zealand's representative, to the nation's dead. Accompanied by Mrs. Coates and his staff, he drove to the Arc de Triomphe, where he was met by General Potier, representing the: Minister of* 1 War, and by Major. Sherbrpoke, British Assistant Military Attachew The party proceeded ;to the grave of the Unknown.Warrior, where the Prime Minister laid a wreath on which was the inscription in French: "From the Government and the Dominion of New Zealand-' To the soldiers of France who fell gloriously in the war, \ 1914-1918: ?» ■ /' \ The wreath was of holly, red: berries,; and roses. Afterwards Mr. anil Mrs. Coates lunched at the British Embassy, with iord and Lady Crewe.