MILITARY PROWESS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 36, 11 August 1939, Page 4

MILITARY PROWESS

WELLINGTON REGIMENT

TROPHIES PRESENTED

SPEECH BY COLONEL

PUTTICK

r The Town Hall was the scene of a brilliant military and social gathering last night when the Ist Battalion of the Wellington Regiment (City of Wel--5 lington's Own) paraded for the annual - presentation of trophies won during the - past year. The main body of the hall f was filled by the khaki-clad figures of i the soldiers and their officers, relieved * on one side by the red-coated and white-helmeted members of the Regi- [ mental Band in dress uniform, and on ; the other by the pipers and drummers 3 in their kilts and dark blue tunics and t caps. The seats immediately below the > organ were occupied by men and ? women in evening dress comprising . guests present by invitation. Amongst j them" was a sprinkling of officers in the : new blue full dress kit. i The trophies were presented by the ' Mayor of Wellington (Mr. T. C. A. " Hislop), and those present included the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones), Colonel E. Puttick, officer commanding the Central Military District, members of the Naval and Air Force '. staffs, city councillors, and a num--11 ber of representative citizens, includ--5 ing members of the regimental and 3 platoon associations, t The battalion was formed up in the , hall at 8 o'clock for inspection by ■ Colonel Puttick, who was accorded a • general salute when he arrived fifteen - minutes later. 3 Addressing the battalion after the » inspection, Colonel Puttick congratulated the men on their achievements during the past year, especially with regard to recruiting. 3 "A year ago'you were 100 strong. > the band included," said the Colonel. i "Today, your strength is 798, with the - band and a special reserve detachment ! added. That is a very notable achieve-! ' ment, and says much for the ehthu- \ siasm of those who have supported you \ I and for yourselves." j > Colonel Puttick reminded his hearers 1 that they belonged to a regiment that ! had figured with distinction in various [ fields during the Great War. They had ; only to look at the regiment's battle honours to see the great tradition that had been handed down to them. SAFETY OF WELLINGTON. L "You today have, together with the 15th Heavy Battery, a very important ■ X'ole," he added. "In your hands lies, sto a very great extent, the safety of the city of Wellington in the event of war if it involved attack on this ! part by an enemy. "You would be responsible immediately. There would be no question of ' waiting a week. It might be a question of hours. Perhaps realisation of that role may assist you to make yourselves as efficient as possible and to form a resolution, should things become monotonous, to carry on so that you will be able to play your important part should the necessity arise." Referring to the part play d by infantry in warfare;-Colonel Puttick-said their work was important and difficult and required first-class men to carry it out efficiently. He stressed the need for efficiency and discipline, which in turn depended on having the right kind of officers and n.c.o.s and on the men profiting by their instruction. The unit that ./as not efficient and well disciplined would suffer for it in casualties on the field, he said. "You are a volunteer force, but I would like to suggest that you have given an honourable undertaking to perform three years' service in this unit," said Colonel Puttick. "You have given a promise, and I believe that that promise will be honoured by every one of you. Unless you attend the parades, and also the camps, the training suffers very severely." Colonel Puttick said he would like to publicly acknowledge the assistance given by the Mayor, city councillors, and citizens of Wellington to the unit. It was due to that assistance that the battalion was in the happy position it was in today. The colonel also thanked employers who had given their employees leave to attend the annual camp, also the donors of trophies and the regimental and platoon associations. CITY AND REGIMENT. The trophies were presented by the Mayor, who then addressed the gathering. He said that from the beginnings of military training in Wellington the city had naturally been associated with different regiments, but it was only for a little more than a year that there had been an ofiipial tie between the city and the Wellington Regiment, which was now known as the City of* Wellington's Own. There was more in f1 that than the mere name. There was ■ a tie between those serving in the regi- '• ment and the citizens who ha*d the '• honour of having amongst their fellow- '■ citizens those who had volunteered for ( national service. : The Mayor said he hoped that when '■ the celebrations connected with the Exhibition commenced there would be ■ an opportunity of bringing together the people of Wellington and the Wellington Regiment to make people realise a little more than they did now what a snlendid unit they had in the Cilv of Wellington's Own. The remainder of the evening was occupied with an interesting demonstration of various phases of military training and operations. This portion of the programme opened with a slow and quick march by the pipes and drums, a demonsti'ation. of signalling (by field telephone, flags, and lamps), rifle exercises and squad drill, the posting of guards and sentries, and machine-gun training. There was also an amusing but effective demonstration of the right and the wrong way of carrying out the duties of a working party. A model \ aeroplane passed overhead during both sections of this demonstration and i dropped realistic gas bombs, and the , men showed how casualties would be ; suffered when the operation was carried out inefficiently and without pro- , per discipline, and how the dangers of the situation would be more adequately met by a well-trained and discip- | lined party. Considerable interest was i also taken in a demonstration of the ( physical drill course through which j new recruits are put during the first i six months of their training. Lieutenant-Colonel E. M. Stace ex- 1 pressed thanks on behalf of the regi- < ment for assistance given by the vari- ; ous associations to the recruiting of- ] fleers, the publicity officer (Major i Whitint?). and Captain Barrington. for what they had done for the various 1 units. < THE TROPHY-WINNERS. j The trophy-winners were as fol- j lows: — ! 1 Battalion Rifle Cup for highest rifle j. score in battalion: W. 0.11 N. F. Cowan.' Intercompany Rifle Shield for com- j pany with highest average rifle score: B Company. ■ i Intercompany Sports Cup (Witcombe I and Caldwell Cup): A Company. i Company Rifle Shots: H.Q. Company, t

Pte. C. F. Rogers; A Company, Pte. K. A. Harvey; B Company, Cpl. S. M. Hope; C Company, C.S.M. N. F. Cowan; D Company, Pte. D. Williams.

Best Medium Machine-gun Shot in Battalion: Pte. B. C. Moss.

I* Best Light Machine-gun Shot -in | Battalion: Pte. R. H. Blanshard.

Most Outstanding Recruit: Pte. J. V, Hollis.

Military Band: Wilson Shield, Musician J. Findlay; Charles Begg Cup, Musician D. Mara; award of merit, Band Sergeant W. A. Baker.

Pipes and Drums: Lomond Shield, Sgt. J. T. Macdonald; Hardwick and Robertson Cup, Piper P. Gow; Gow Cup, Piper G. Pescini; award of merit, Piper J. McNeil; drummer trophy, Drummer F. C. Brace,

Headquarters Company: Arthur Cocks' Cup, Pte. K. Crompton; Jones Bros. Cup, Cpl. R. H. Bell; greatest number of hours' training, Pte. S. D. Pope (intelligence section), Cpl. I. T. Johnstone (signal section), L./Cpl. J. F. McDonald (motor-cycles), Pte. R. F. Hill (transport section).

A Company: Awards of merit, L./Sgt. I. T. Galloway (Khandallah), L./Cpl. A. E. Harrison (Johnsonville), L./Sgt. W. Orrae (Eastbourne).

B Company: Award of merit, L./Cpl. G. Todd; highest rifle and Lewis gun score, Cpl. S. M. Hope; greatest number of hours' training, Cpl. A. E Harris.

C Company: Award of merit, Pte. G. C. Mann; highest rifle and Lewis gun score, Cpl. J. A. Ferguson; efficiency, L./Cpl. W. C. Ancell; Colonel Kemp's Cup, Pte. R. W. Wilkinson.

D Company: Most efficient n.c.0., L./Sgt. J. D. Barclay; company rifle shot, L./Cpl. D. C. Williams; company machine gun shot, Pte. B. C. Moss; greatest number of hours' training, Pte. M. Messenger.