SIR GEORGE RICHARDSON – OF SAMOA

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 210, 19 August 1927, Page 6

SIR GEORGE RICHARDSON - OF SAMOA

From Master-Gunner to Administrator... Distinction at Camberley... The Retreat at Antwerp. . .

Much has been written of Sir George Riohardson's administration In Samoa, particularly In recent months, but not eo much of the man himself. The following pen-picture of the Administrator of our mandated terri-

BHE first time I saw Sir George Richardson was in 1901. It was at 5 o'clock on a bright summer morning, and he was shaving, at the

door of his tent, In an amazing manner, without the aid ot a looking-glass; his razor in one hand, while with the other he held his cheek taut for the stroke of the blade, as he smiled through the lather at a driver who was trying to catch a horse which had got away from the lines, and was careering over the parade-ground. That was his way—he did everything just a little bit better than anybody else, and he always did it smilingly. He was a master-gunner then, the smart, efficient non-commissioned officer par excellence and without a peer in the opinion ot all the officers and men of the New Zealand Artillery, both field and garrison, who had the good fortune to receive his Instruction. For eight or ten years I soldiered with him; drilled under him; rode all day with him; slept at night beside him. sometimes on the hard ground, with only a little straw to cover it; shared the soldier’s frugal ration with him; yarned with him; laughed with him; discussed the whole world with him, from the care ot horses to the government of the Church by bishops; taught him to drink cider, and he practically a teetotaller; learned from him, and practised under him, .the Intricate art of gunnery; watched him as he displayed in his inimitable manner all those fine points of soldiership which were the admiration ot all who served with him.

Yes, I claim to know him well, as well as I know my own brother, and better than I know some of them; and, during all the years I was so closely associated with him, I never knew him to do or say a harsh thing. If he could not speak well of a man, he simply did not speak ot him. His temper was always under control: I never knew him to lose it, even in the most provoking circumstances. He was kindness Itself to animals. He had to deal with all sorts and conditions of men, and he won the regard of them, one and all, by his absolute fairness and high sense of justice. His efficiency won their respect, and his good-comradeship won their regard. If anybody tells me he is different to-day from what he was when I soldiered with him, I tell them

I don't believe It. I have watched him during his whole career, from the time he was an instructor of artillery till to-day, when he is Administrator of Western Samoa, and I do not believe he has changed in character one iota since the day I first knew him.

I remember when he was promoted to commissioned rank, very largely through the actions of the officers of the battery to which I belonged and I couldn’t see that his promotion made the slightest difference in the sweet amiableness of his character. After that he went Home to the Staff College at Camberley, and went through the most stringent course in strategy and tactics with conspicuous success. The photograph reproduced herewith shows him as he then was, his rank that of major. When the war broke out he was doing duty at the War Office, and was attached to the staff of the Royal Naval Division which was sent to Antwerp. Subsequently I met in New Zealand a man who had served with that division, and I asked him how Major Richardson fared during the disastrous retreat. He said: “The last I saw of him was in a staff car, which he had filled with refugee women and children, whom he was trying to takeout of danger, while at the same time he kept in touch with the retreating column.” Yes, that was just the sort of thing he would do. He would be doing his duty all the time, and he would be doing a little more, in addition.

Not long ago I was talking with an old comrade of mine who was telling me his experiences on Gallipoli, where he served as a gunner in a field-bat-tery. He said that one day he and a squad of gunners were detailed to carry up shells from the beach to the battery, and while they were tolling, half-way up the rugged track, they were overtaken by a group ot staff officers who were going to inspect the front positions. Among them was Richardson, now promoted to Lt.Colonel. "Ha!” he said, recognising my friend the gunner, whom he had last seen in New Zealand. “Aren’t you Gunner McConochie, of H Battery, New Zealand? I remember your face quite well.” Then after a few encouraging words, he passed on up the hill, and joined the other staff officers. I tell this small incident to show how far-reaching were his sympathies and how close his association with the men he trained —he could remember them individually and by name, though he had not seen them for years. This is not a biography, but merely a few notes; therefore I will skip a few years. When Major-General Richardson was knighted, in 1925, I

wrote to congratulate him, and this is what he replied:—“You know me well enough to know that this honour means little to me. . . Honours and awards do not mean success in life. However, here I am with responsibility, and I have to get publicity whether I like it or not. My inner feelings are, however, those of the master-gunner, and always will be.” That I believe to be absolutely so. To-day his putlook on life is the same as it was when I first saw him making his toilette over a bucket of water in his tent-door. He is the same considerate helper and comrade of his fellow-men, possessed of an unerring sense of duty and service. Ambition and he were as far separated as the poles. For twelve years as a master-gunner he did his duty faithfully and well, without any other reward than his meagre pay. Promotion came to him because he deserved it, because his merit could not be hidden and must perforce be re warded. Before he went to the Islands, he told me that his policy would have as Its .chief object the furthering of the natives’ welfare, which was the first principle laid down by the Mandate, and though doubtless there would be those who would dislike and even resist that policy, he would certainly carry it through. The trouble which has been created is not, I am convinced, ot his creation. But I recognise that as a soldier he will not brook disloyalty or sedition in anyone, either European or native, who seeks to upset his ameliorative policy. For, after all, Sir George Richardson is a fighter, and once a quarrel were forced on him he would fight to the end. But he would fight fairly, it is not in his physical and mental composition to do a mean or cruel action. We who have served with h’m, year in and year out, and km him through and through, never wished for a better leader, because we knew he was satis peur et sans reproche. I am satisfied he is so still, and that when he is* free to break the silence imposed by his official position, he will so clearly vindicate all his actions that the New Zealand public will not merely approve, but will applaud, his policy.