MAIN BODY SOLDIERS

Evening Star, Issue 16994, 17 March 1919, Page 6

MAIN BODY SOLDIERS

AND OTHER EARLY-GOERS. BACK BY THE HORQRATA. [Special to the ‘ Star.”] WELLINGTON, March 17. Tho whole of Wellington was eu fete on Saturday for the arrival of the Main Body draft by tho transport Hororata. Some difficulty was anticipated as to whether the ship would be allowed to deliver her freight of anxious warriors, and much anxiety was felt by tho hundreds of relatives who had i come "to Wellington to receive their own ; back again. Tho whole city turned out, ■ and business was at a standstill. The j troops on the ship were exceedingly bright, i and gave little evidence o? tho inferno they had been through. j Lieutenant-colonel A. B. Charters, ! C.M.G., D.d.0., was in charge, and he ; gave your correspondent a very brief description of the perils he and Ins comrades ; had been through, although he was most ’ reticent, throughout. | Colonel Charters went away with the 2nd Reinforcements in charge of the in--1 fantry as major. He was connected with the Otago Battalion throughout. He first went to Egypt, and from there to France, where ho was engaged in every engagement in which the division took part. 'fire colonel did not by any means escape the 1 perils of war. lie was exposed to every danger throughout his long service, and I was gassed at Lu Hebuternu. Having re- ; covered, ho rejoined his regiment, but shortly afterwards was unfortunate enough ; to bo gassed again. Ho survived the second attack of tho Huns’ poison, but later was wounded by a high-explosive shell at La Hebutorno. The latter wound has not ; had any serious effect on the colonel. The j fights at Arnieutieres (in which the New Zealanders shone so conspicuously), the Somme, and Messincs in 1317, ant? the I later La Basset; battle were all gone j through by the colonel. He went through 1 the Passchendaelo assault, where the New Zealanders were called upon to face almost i impossible odds and fill a breach which had been made by the Huns in the allied 1 line. The allied commanders were greatly 1 impressed (as has been told in the cables) |by the ma nificent maimer in which the (New Zealanders held their end and | prevented the line Pom being shattered | absolutely. Commendation of that effort j has been voiced throughout tho world. _ On I December 5 the New Zealanders arrived jat Le Cateau just in time to prevent anI other rush by the Huns, 'they duly acI complishod their task, although the toll was heavy. Colonel’ Charters and his division were engaged in fighting the Hun from the time they arrived 'in tlie battle zone right up to the time of the signing of tho armistice. Many of them took part in the r.crilous and historic campaign against the Turk on the now and for ever memorable shores j of Gallipoli, where so many of the flower |of our country fell and now lie. i A striking feature of the landing of the troops on .Saturday was the number of men of all sections of the forces who wore ribbons of distinction, ribbons which denoted acts of valor both on Gallipoli and in Franco, in which those who had been rewarded had risked their lives to preserve those of their comrades. In the latter days of the New Zealand Division’s work in the war area garrison duty was assigned to them, and they went from Belgium to 'the Rhine, where remnants of the defeated Him were met. The bra- gadncio of the people in the occupied area had quite disappeared. and humility reigned. The Germans -were very quiet and humble. Far from showing any ill-will to the invading army, the Germans greeted them as liberators. and particularly so was that in tho case of tho non-combatants. In fact, the general feeling of satisfaction displayed by tlie inhabitants of each village at tho cessation of hostilities made more impression on tho New Zealanders than anything else. The pinched, pale, and anaemic features of the Germans depicted a story of privation and misery, and in the words of Colonel Charters they obviously had had quite enough of tho struggle. The colonel had nothing but praise for the manner in which the troops had conducted themselves during the voyage from England. There was nothing on the vov- ; age that was not strictly military. The accommodation on the =h : p was quite good, and there was no complaint about the fond. I Any complaints made at all were made in the right sp-rit, and their responsible officers responded accordingly. Although there is no reason to mention the matter, it should be satisfactory to know that there was nothing in the nature of a demonstration throughout the voyage. | WELCOME AT CHRISTCHURCH, i The Manama carried tho .Southern men | across Cook Strait. A huge crowd grmmd I them at Lyttelton, and the public gather- ; ing at Christchurch was tho largest seen there since the return of the first of the wounded men very early in the war. Tho formal welcome is fixed for to-morrow. , HEARTY RECEPTION IN DUNEDIN. The special train from Lyttelton yesterday started wilh 279 soldiers and about 35 next of kin. Men left it at various stop-ping-places, 26 dropping nut between Oamaru and Dunedin, and 203 came to tho railway station here. Of these, 101 wore for Dunedin and suburbs, and tho Defence Department had arranged for the billeting overnight of the ICB for tho south, quarters being engaged at the Leviathan and , Walker’s Hotel, but friends took many for j the night. Captain Allan came down in j charge of the draft. i L-’outonant-colnnel Colquhoun, Major Dampen, and Captain Dobson were at the Dunedin station to receive the men and sea to their sending away. Tho train | arrived at a little after 9.20 p.m., and the arrangements were so satisfactory that tho station was cleared in 18 minutes. For j this excellent result the Otago Motor Club (represented by Mbssrs Ansell and Power) j deserve much credit. There were plenty 1 of motor cars to carry the men to their homes or their billeting quarters. Tho Otago Women’s Patriotic Association sup- | plied 10 of the cars. ] The delay in the down trip was largely i caused by tho receptions at the stations en route.’ They were of a most enthusiastic nature. So was the reception in Dunedin. An enormous crowd began to congregate at i about 7 o’clock, and they waited with ad- j mirahlo patience. The Salvation Army Band and the St. Hilda Baud played at j intervals up to the time khe train steamed I in. When she did arrive there was no rush or confusion. Everything was most orderly, and the Defence officers noted this with pleasure. The Mayor (Mr Clark), and the Mayoress were there to give a welcome, but there was no speech-making, the one important thing being to get the men quartered without delay. Ilia crowd gave the war-worn men a great reception, and hurrahed all along the line the cars took in leaving the station. Flags adorned the Town Hall and many other buildings, and the Albany -Street, High Street, and George Street School Bands played on tho route. Representatives of the Otago and Southland Women’s Patriotic Association presented each returning man leaving the station with a package containing a box of chocolates, a number of cigarettes, and a card hearing the following inscription : "The Otago and Southland Women's Patriotic Association thank you for what you have done, and heartily welcome you home again.” The Y.M.C.A. and kindred bodies also had representatives at the station. • The residents of Brunswick street made special decorations by way of welcome. Captain M'Kenzie, of the Salvation Army, welcomes the soldier boys - home again to Dunedin City, and assures them that if he can be of any service at all to them they have only got to make their wishes known. Special tramcars were put on to take the welcomers home last night, and this arrangement was found to be a great convenience. This morning Captain Dobson collected the men who were to go on by the southern train, numbering 86, and saw them safely despatched