ACTIVE SERVICE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20118, 12 December 1939, Page 7

ACTIVE SERVICE

GOAL OF TRAINING SPIRIT OF THE TROOPS IMPATIENT TO GO ABROAD MR. COLEMAN'S VISITS “The one point in respect of whicli there is any feeling of impatience is the date at which they will be sent overseas. The men in the camps throughout New Zealand believe that they are training for active service abroad, and they are becoming more and mb re anxious to know when they will get the chance to show their mettle,” said Mr. D. W. Coleman, M.P., discussing to-day the visits which he paid last week to N.Z.E.F. camps at Trentham, Burnham, and Cave. As a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence, Mr. Coleman formed one of a party of official visitors to the camps, and his impressions were shared by other members of the party. At each of the three camps, the men in training were found in excellent heart, especially now that the epidemics of sickness had passed, and anxious to do their utmost to qualify for the overseas service to which all were looking forward.

He firmly believed that the prospect of active service was the dominating theme among the volunteers, and that the Government would not have received such a gratifying response to its call for volunteers if home service had been all that was proposed. Every man seemed to be bent on making sure of his place in the early transports, and there was no doubt that the discipline and general spirit of the troops was excellent. Major-General “Tiny” Freylicrg

“The selection of Major-General L. C. Freyberg as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the field has been endorsed by everyone who could be considered to have a real opinion on the subject,” continued Mr. Coleman. “His appointment has contributed greatly to the interest which all are taking in the preparations fbr sending a New Zealand force- abroad, and the officers and men of the forces whom I met last week did not disguise their satisfaction. They were extraordinarily keen about the leadership of the division, and everyone who knows anything about military matters will realise that the choice was most important to the men who will serve in the New Zealand forces.”

In the three camps he visited, the Mayor met numerous Gisborne men, several of them holding commissioned rank, and others being well on the way to qualify for stripes or commissions. His visit to Trentham took place at a time when the Maori N.C.O. group was in active work, and the visit being unannounced, the members of the party had an opportunity tb see exactly what the conditions of training were.

Maoris Respond Readily

The response of the Maori boys to military instruction, said Mr. Coleman, was amazing. This was illustrated by a number of evolutions, and a brief exposition of the manual of arms, the smartness shown being highly creditable. One might have thought the Maoris had been under instruction for a year, instead of seven days. There was an amusing evidence of discipline, too, in the demeanour of the men as the Parliamentary party walked between their ranks on an inspection. A number of the trainees were well known to Mr. Coleman, as they hailed from Gisborne and the East Coast, but they did not betray their recognition of him by the flicker of an eye-lid, as long as they were on parade. Their reaction once they were dismissed for a chat with the Parliamentarians was typical, however, and Mr. Coleman learned from them that they were having a remarkably happy time in camp. They shared with the European soldiers a decided keenness to know when they woulil be going overseas, and officers in charge of their training gave them the most gratifying reputation for their soldierly spirit. At Cave, where the machine-gun-ners from Burnham camp go for their advanced field training—there being plenty of wide open space to work in —Mr. Coleman was greeted by Lieutenant I. Crafts, formerly of Gisborne, who had been detailed to meet the inspecting party and conduct them through the camp. Gisborneites or former Gisborneites seemed to be carrying a good deal of responsibility in the commissioned ranks, Mr. Coleman found, felt proud to find them doing such good work with their men.

Mutual Respect Between Ranks

Characteristic of .the new conditions for preparing an expeditionary force, in the Mayor’s view, was the excellent relations between officers and men in the camps. Discipline appeared to be a foremost consideration, but in chatting with the men in the ranks he heard nothing but complimentary references to the commissioned officers and N.C.O.’s, and the good feeling seemed to be fully reciprocated, The keynote of the training was a desire that everyone should do their best to make the division worthy of New Zealand, and he had no doubt that if anyone showed a tendency to slack, his equals in rank would note it and show their feelings before disciplinary action became necessary.

“The Government, through the Minister of Defence, has provided the camps with every reasonable amenity, and the men are happy and well-treated,” Mr. Coleman said. "The food is excellent, and steps are being taken to ensure that none of it is spoiled in the cooking. The accommodation is much superior to that remembered from the last war, and the camps are being still further improved. They could bo ideal places for training in a short time. There has been some comment that the conditions of military camp life should be more representative of what the men may expect overseas, but the Government feels that while it has the opportunity to .treat the men as it feels they should be treated, expense is not to he the determining factor.”