THE DEFENCE FORCES

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXIII, Issue 15901, 12 April 1912, Page 8

THE DEFENCE FORCES

THE TEMPLETON ENCAMPMENT

MEN MARCH INTO CHRISTCHURCH.

The camp of tho First Canterbury Regiment of Infantry at Templeton was brought to an end yesterday, the men marching back to town. On tho last night in camp an outpost scheme was carried, out, after which a huge camp fire was made. The men gathered around, enjoyed a supper, of bread and cheese and coffee, and sang songs till “Lights out” was stranded. Yesterday morning reveillo was at 6 a.m., and physical drill was the order from 0.45 to'B a.m. After breakfast camp was struck. Tho men then cleared, the lines, had dinner, and at 1.35 p.m. set out on their march to Christchurch. Tho route was by way of the Riecarton Road,, along the western side of Hagley Park, ever the . Carlton Bridgo, down the Papanui Road, thence to the Barracks by way of Colombo and Cashel Streets. The regiment was headed by a pipe band, which played lively marches all the way from the camp. At the Riecarton Hotel a number of spectators awaited the arrival of the men. At about four o’clock the regiment came in sight. As it came close it was seen that it made an impressive sight. The faint strains of a Highland pibroch gradually grew louder and louder, till they mingled with tlio tramp, tramp, tramp of marching feet. Then the officer in command passed, riding in front of the column, _ which stretched' for a considerable distance along the dusty road. Then came the men. Sturdily they marched past, in their serviceable khaki, with knapsacks on tlieir backs and rifles on their shoulders. The pipes played a lilting march with a merry catch in it, and the men swung along in good stylo. They could claim,, with reason, to bo the pick of the physical manhood of the city, and the contrast between the first parade and' the march homo was made noticeable by tho improved appearance of the men. _ Then they wore nondescript, some in uniform and some in mufti. They were pale and with tho slightly amende appearance common to tlio sturdiest of city-bred youths in the healthiest of cities. . Now they were .bronzed to a man, and might have passed for a regiment of sturdy labourers. Tlio men carried themselves erect. They had already marched about eight miles, but they stepped out with a will. There was penect discipline, but the men were brimming over with that exuberant joviality which is a characteristic of soldiers. Lusty voices trolled out catchy mnsic-liall iuncs in time With the rhythmical movements of their feet. One triumphant paean,' which ended each lino, with a stentorian recommendation to all and sundry to’ “have a banana,” seemed to lie tho favourite, but was hard-pressed by a ditty which extolled the great pleasures awaiting one and all “ beside the sms’de.” As the men swung around the corner and tho column was seen in full length, tho splendid result of the time spent in camp was made manifest. Tlio men kept perfect time, and tho whole column moved as one man. But here wero no martinetmade machines. Tho spirits of tho men ran high, and they seemed to be enjoying tho march, and to be sticking at it beemiso they liked it. On the Papanui Rond n horse shied, and its capers were jokingly put down by one of the men to its “ anti-militant tendencies.” , • On arrival at the barracks the men were drawn up in companies and dismissed. Before this, however, tho officer who commanded tho camp, Lieu-tenant-Colonel the Hon G. J. Smith, spoke a few words to the men. Ho said that he was very well pleased with the way in which the men had marched in. Not only. was it a credit to the Canterbury First Regiment of Infantry, but it would have been a credit to any infantry regiment in New Zealand. Ho called for three cheers for the pipers who had accompanied-the regimen! home, and-they were heartily given. The men were then dismissed, and, picking up their belongings, started for home. In talking with the men a reporter of the “Lyttelton Times” heard laudatory reference made to the work of the No. 3 Company Field Ambulance Corps, which had been in the camp. Although the corps had, fortunately, nothing of a serious nature to attend to, it had done yeoman service in curing, colds and attending to the minor ailments that are unavoidable >\ hen a large number of men are encamped together. The men did not stint their appreciation of the work done by the corps during the week. Ono tent in the camp will be remembered for some time among the man of the regiment as “ The Antimilitarist Tent.” Its inmates were, with one exception, confirmed resistors. Speaking to a reporter, however, they did not attempt to deny that their experiences had been such as to convince them of tho benefit of tho scheme. One of them, in a colloquial vein, said that he had never felt so well physically in his life before, and as for iiking the camp, well, he had had a great time, that was all. Ho would certainly admit that the training was a splendid thing in every way, and onlv for that little word “ compulsory n he would bo quite delighted with the scheme. As it was there was certainly nothing in tho actual training to object to. It was a really fine thing in overy way. The others all endorsed this statement, and the reporter did not feel disposed to doubt thoir statement as to health, for every man in the regiment had a coat of tan on his cheek that would have done credit to a ploughman. All were loud in their praise of the officers, and of the personnel and management of the camp generally. Whether anti-mili-tarists or not, it may he taken on tho authority of tho officers that there were no shirkers in the camp, for even the most unpleasant tasks found plenty of volunteers. In an interview after the arrival nt tho barracks, Lieutenant-Colonel Smith said that the men marched in with throe rests of seven minutes each. The whole march was excellently done. The discipline was splendid and none fell out. The c-ondnct of tho men throughout the camp was excellent-. There was no grumbling, a fine spirit was shown by all and a willingness to perform all manner of tasks, however unpleasant. As an instance of the satisfaotoriness of the culinary department, he mentioned that before leaving in the morning the men went across and cheered the cooks in a body, carrying the ser-geant-ccok shoulder-high. They afterwards chaired the popular Staff Ser-geant-Major Henderson all around tho camp. 011 the last night of the camp an outpost scheme with blank ammunition was carried out. Tin's was practically the same as a sham-fight. The lieutenant-colonel stated that it was undertaken with a certain amount of doubt on his part, lmt his confidence in tho men was amply justified by the wav in which it was carried out.