THE LATE LIEUTENANT MONSON

Evening Star, Issue 16335, 30 January 1917, Page 2

THE LATE LIEUTENANT MONSON

TRIBUTES BY GENERAL BRAITH WAITE AND COLONEL STEWART. Mr F. J. Monson has received from Licugß, tenant-colonel H. Stewart particulars regarding tho death iu action of his~son, Licutenant Harold Monson. Colonel Stewart, q’2 , who is in command of the 2nd Battalion CanG") 1 - terbury Regiment, to which Lieutenant Monky". son was attached, wrote under date Septemher 26 as follows: |i/'V " Dear Mr Monson, — We have just come I? -4. of the firing line, and 1 take the first 'opportunity of .writing to you to say how ; " , deeply I sympathise with you in your loss. ' Your sou was killed during a night attack ■ made by the battalion, and bo died instan;taneously, without pain. He was one of ' our best officers—most capable and reliable—."and well liked by both officers and men. ‘ We all feel his loss, and will remember him affectionately. I hope it will oe some consolation to you that lie died a gallant death on the actual battlefield. •

Brigadier-general Braithwaito wrote to Mr Monson tho following letter; Now Zealand Reserve, Slum- Camp, Salisbury Plain, England, 26th November, 1916. •—Dear sir,—l very much regret not having written to you before this, hut since my return from fighting on tho i-einme last, month I have been laid up, and not able to do anything. If I may, 1 want to tell you how ’ deeply grieved I was when your gallant son .was killed in action. He was a special .favorite of mine, on account of ids sterling qualities._ He was the best trainer in bayonet fighting and physical training that we ■ had in the brigade, and when there was any special work to be done in that line I always sent for him. Nothing was 100 great a trouble to him. The pages of history do not contain a finer story than that of the fighting of the 2nd Canterbury Battalion during those 23 consecutive days on the Somme, and their bayonet work was what enabled .them to turn the Germans out four times, and at length hold the position. This was to a great extent the result of your son’s work. lam well aware that no words of mine can be of any comfort to you or your family in your sorrow, but I trust that, as time goes on, the memory of bis glorious life and death as a soldier may bo a proud -■ -•memory' to you. No doubt Colonel S’tewarl and his brother officers have written to you giving more particulars. He is a very great loss to my brigade, and to his own battalion in particular. With my deepest sympathy —Yours very sincerely, W. G. Brnithwaito, Brigadier-general, commanding 2nd Now . Zealand Brigade. ’*

The following letter was written by Licu.tenant Monson just before his death;— France, 16/8,16. My dear father and mother, —I have just returned from a walk to , a villasc about two miles from my billet, and am .feeling at peace with the world—lienee this letter. My correspondence has been ueglected of late, and this is due to a little indisposition which rendered letter-writing most unpleasant for.me, and certainly uninteresting for the recipient. Wo have had almost three mouths in the trenches without any spell, and felt the inaction and want of exercise, so I adjourned to our transport lines,_ which are a few miles behind the tiring line, and here I have had about, five days’ complete enjoyment. . . . Franco is a beautiful country at any time, but just at present it as at its best, for it is harvest time, and it is difficult to imagine a more beautiful scene than that which is before me now. Wo are indeed fortunate in seeing France at this season of the year (autumn), and I would give a good deni to he able to put on canvas one-half of what I have seen only this evening. The crops are quite up to the standard of our ir.uchadmired New Zealand crops, and the French farmer has every cause to he well satisfied with the results of the past year's labors. Some“crops have already been cut, and arc stookecl in long regular rows; but the majority are still standing, and our boys all hoped that we should be taken out and made use of during the harvest to help the farmers. It is a vain hope, for there is much sterner work ahead of us, I am afraid. To-night I felt in touch with my surroundings, and 'as they were most beautiful and peaceful you can realise what a change it is from the “view” that always confronts one ,in the trenches.. There we see nothing but sandbags, barb wire, and rats, and then more barb wire; and the change from that to the view I have had down hero is nor, an unwelcome one. I wandered along really aimlessly, i£nd enjoyed the walk immensely. We had a summer shower about 6.30 this evening, and the air was full of that delicious “ earthy ” smell that such showers p iduce after a.really Lot summer's day. . Tills afternoon I watched several hot tali.-.is '/march past jb'wei.. including transport, and 1 )irtillery, Ar.d not btft marvel at lbs t'u'iepfi that has come over the world during the past two years. Nowadays everything is war, and nothing else is of importance. All manufacturing works capable of being utilised have been turned into machines for war, and in everyone’s head the thought that is uppermost is “ war.” Instead of young 'fellows planning all sorts of careers for themselves and following their own special bent, all ambitions and plans are-sacri-ficed for this present struggle of guns and men. The sacrifice is, of course, merely temporary, but this life is such lhat one cannot live it and think of one's own little career. It is too absorbing, and there are always so many things to be done that to allow one’s thoughts to wander would be fatal to our cause. I do not mean that one has no spare .moments, but even then the talk is always war, war, war. And what a good thing it is that such is the case! For my part. I have absolutely no regrets at having enlisted without waiting to complete my exams, and the fact that I have another year ahead of me before I am qualified to practise my profession docs not worry me in the slightest. . . . Tho ■whole world is at war, and one who lives in this world, and is partaking of the best this world can offer, must of necessity take part in this world-wido strife or be for ever deprived of all that the world holds in store for mortals. "What is the individual loss in times such as these? Not worth the mentioning. It seems to me that the wellknown lines “ Lives there a man with soul so dead?” etc., might well have another meaning read into them. I am convinced that this war is not brought home to anyone outside the actual war zone. Any loss suffered is merely an individual loss, and the appreciation of those living outside the scene of action and danger does not extend beyond any individual loss to which they way be or have been subjected by the war. It is, of course, a good thing in many ways that this is the case. No ono would wish the horrors of war to spread beyond the actual zone. It is quite enough that the population of Europe should have to Buffer, without those living in countries afar off i being called upon to endure what these people have suffered. Still, one cannot help feeling at times that it is a pity tho actual war is not more fully felt, especially by those who, being able, have refrained from offering their services. 1 hopo I live through it, so that I can tell a few such fellows "some plain truths ;*dnd yet, on second thought, I would not waste my breath on them, So far only the fringe of war has touched us, for although we have worried and harassed tho Boche with numerous raids, wo have not yet taken part in any really active opera-

lions. No doubt our turn will come before long, iind we shall bo up and at the swino facing us, and I hope wo indict on them the trouncing they so well deserve. . . . It is no child's play, this war game, and people in New Zealand must bo prepared to receive with equanimity the list of casualties that an advance will necessarily entail. “ Omelets cannot bo made without breaking eggs,” and this must now be realised by all. I read a- stirring article, ‘ Stop All This Peace Prattle,’ in ono of the Homo papers, nnd am thoroughly in accord with the sentiments therein expressed. B-lumly put, it is simply: “The Hun must be squashed”; and we roust not stop until he is firmly trodden under our foot. 1 am afraid this Christmas will not see the end of the war. Tho Hun can fight, and will contest every inch of the way to Berlin; but at what a cost! At the cost of his entuv nation. I am convinced, that the Him soldier does not know tho true position of affairs—e.g., an officer captured in the Somme advance thought he would bo kept in France, because the O-ennan fleet had control of the Channel! TVhat tho feelings of those “in tho know,” and who must now surely realise that their dreams are shattered, must be I cannot think; but I think they will fight to a finish—in fad, they will have to. It is absolutely necessary, in order to subdue the German nation and effectually prevent a recurrence of events such as this war, that tho civil population of Germany bo mride to feel the horrors of war. Their country and their homo*’are untouched. Tho war must be prosecuted into Gorman territory in order to make tho entire race tealiso tho enormity of their dastardly acts.

The first sniffle, tho first snooze, tho first feeling of nasal stuffiness or throat soreness—these are warnings to take , “ NAZOL.” A really wonderful specific. i 1/6, fer sixty .doses.;— {Advt.J