THE SHIRKERS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 July 1915, Page 3

THE SHIRKERS.

WHAT THE FIGHTERS THINK OF THEM. : In a letter from Alexandria' an officer writes thus to his wife says a Melbourne message to a Sydney paper):—"The wounded are arriving by hundreds daily fresh from the. Dardanelles. The hospital staffs are strained to their limit, so instead of being curious onlookers, our chaps, stirred to the depths of feeling, mixed with pride and sympathy, are spending their 'leave' in bearing a hand, some as orderlies in the hospital, some helping on board the ship, buying fruit, etc., and stretcher-bearing. Their 'leave' is of course, as generous as I can make it. The wounded are magnifificent. Even the Press couldn't exaggerate their fine spirit and fortitude and ckeermulness. Even a German couldn't deny it. "Each of the Allies takes it differently. The French, I think, pity themselves a little. Tommy is wonderfully patient, good, and quiet—very quiet. Our chaps are not quiet, but rather impatient to be up and about. They are cracking jokes, helping each other, and are anxious to get back again to help their mates at the front. But you .should hear their opinion of the seaside campers, football wasters, and such tripe in Victoria. It would blister your cars to hear them. This was a men's battle, no manoeuvring ,no formation, each man simply bogged in arid bogged on, most heroically, and .of necessity. I would not he in Victoria now, a healthy man, of my own free will and accord, unless I was drilling hard, handling a rifle daily, and willing to come at any notice, if at all.possible, for £IOO a week, and I'm nether a rich man nor a silly sentimentalist. Nor is this my case alone. It is a universally-expressed statement of the men in the ranks and out of the ranks, and everywhere men talk together. You should have seen some telephone orderlies, little 'torirors' of the got notice to rejoin' their regiment, and were told it was going in 24 hours. They jumped with delight. If the Football Avssocaition apd such ljkc came along after sjx months' training it would he no joke, lor the Turks, for all maintain anywhere that one trained Australian equals three of any other trained men."