TAPAWERA CAMP

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 17 April 1914, Page 4

TAPAWERA CAMP

BIG MUSTER OF TERRITORIALS EXPECTED, i, A wljjto city, inhabited by,khaki-clad' men,' will spring tip on ,Mr< Geo. Macmahon's property at Tapawera by next Wednesday. On that day the Nelson Territorials will take up their quarters fur 13 days' training. Men will' bo drawn from Blenheim, from every portion of the Sounds; from the valleys ot Takaka and Collingwocd, from the fruit lands of Motueka —in. fact, from every nook and corner of the province will the lads in khaki arrive to do their duty to their King and country. And many of., them will have to do that duty not only at some sacrilice to themselves, but also. 1 to their families. The comforts of a home will, for the time- being, be replaced with the discipline of military life with all its attendant necessary restrictions. There will be hard workto do—nowadays wo do not iP la y soldiering as was the case so often- p,t the old Volunteer camps; the idea is to ■ret down, as close as possible to tie stern reality of things and give the embryo soldier an insight into the real thing." Not that anyone tones'to see , these piping days of peace disturbed; but. as Lord Charles Beresford once remarked, a nation's bdst surety of pewe is to be well prepared. And it can bo said for the great' majority, of our citizen soldiers, that they willingly . giye up tiire to make themselves efficient in whatever branch of the service they .may happen Lo be placed. ' WORK TO BE DONE. ■ The camp at Tapawera should afford - the troops of all branches an excellent opportunity of doing practical work in conjunction with each other, an opportunity which only a big number ot tins kind, can give. Here the artillerymen, the mounted men, and the infantry will be given the chance of carrying o" 1, maneouvres over a wide area of ground) working each in, combination with the other, and obtaining an idea of what it really means, for comparatively large bodies of troops to be moved a? . from one . central place: It is expected that over 1100 men will be under canvas, comprising 700 infantry, 400 mounted, men, and 70 artillerymen. COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT, ■ It 1 was Wellington, if memory /serves aright, who was a strong believer in never sending his men t6 fight on , an empty stomach, unless, of course, it was absolutely unavoidable. There were times, of course, during the hard fightin "v'in the Peninsula, when his men had. to° fight—and fought right well —ill-fed and ill-clothed: But m these altered • ' times," there is little fear of the Territorials suffering in this respect, and very complete arrangements are being made to carry out the commissariat branch of 1 the camp. Special cook-houses aro.beinrr erected, presided over bv speciallytrained cooks ; a liberal allowance is /provided for each territorial, .and in this instance a fruit diet lias been added to the ration. . .The qucsti&n of. transport is an impor- ( tant one. ,It has been arranged that the -mounted infantry will proceed to camp on their own mounts; wliilo the infantry-men at a' distance will arrive in Nelson either by boat or other conveyance. .The whole body of. infantrymen will entrain at. Nelson station-oil the 23rd inst. for the scene of the camp. ! About 200 bell tents and mar-' quees will be erected to apcomifiodato Uie men, and a squad of the permanent staff will leavd for. Tapawera on. tho 20th inst. to arrange _ 'for the erection thereof. The social side of oamp life will not be lost sight, of, and in this connection the Church of England Men,'a Society is providing a large marquee, whioh will be stocked with literature, etc. - „

MEN MUST . ATTEND

In regimental orders issued, it ig made clear 'that all absentees ..from the camp who have not received permission to attend the casual, camp (held later on) will bo proceeded against. \ No leave of absence from camp will bo granted on any ground except sickness, and only , certificates from officers 6f the New Zealand Medical torps will bo recognised. The weight of personal # baggage of those proceeding to camp is limited to 701b for officers and- 201b to other ranks. Every N.C.O; and man must s . take into camp the following articles. Uniform (including slouch hat), arms and equipment; blankets; knife, fork, spoon, platd* and mug ; _ washing . and. shaving gear, s.mall " mirror; _j2 pairs \ boots ; tin dubbin ; change of underclothing ; 2 extra pairs of socks: button stick and brass polish;. boot brushes; cloth for washing dishes. Nb motor bicycles will be allowed in fcamp, and any person, whether soldier or not,, who brings any intoxicating liquor into camp will be punished by the civil courts, and'is liable to a fine of £20.. RATES PAY.

Although the men will bo under canvas for 13 days, pay will bo allowed for only nine days. This at fii'st aiglit may seem an.anomaly, but under the new v regulations the 'four extra days will allow mounted men and country units to put in .parades which will count as evening drills, which would otherwise have to be made up in. single parades during the year. This will prove of much convenience to those living at_ a distanco from a-drilling centre. During tho extra four days free rations will bo provided. Pay will be issued at the following raWs:—Colour-sergeants, 5s 6d a day; sergeants, ss; corporals, 4s 6dj lance-corporals, 4s; privates, 4s. THE DAILY ROUND. A Tho daily routine will be follow^: — Reveille, 6.30: coffee, 6,30; sick' parade, 6.45; ration party, 6.45: general parade for physical drill, 6.45; men's 'breakfast, 7.'30; officers and sergeants' breakfast, 7.45; company orderly room, 8.15; company parade, *9; battalion parade, 9.30; return to camp, 4 p.m.; regimental orderly room, ; 4 p.m.; retreat, 5 p.m.; guard mount, 5.10 p.m.; men's dinner, 5.30 p.m. : officers . and sergeants' dinner, 6.30 p.m.;, first 9.30 p.m.," tattoo, 10 p.m.; staff parade, 10 p.m.; lights out, 10.15 p.m. / INSPECTION BY GENERAD SIB lAN HAMILTON. *" ' On Monday, 4th. May, the camp will be inspected by General Sir lan Hamilton, Inspector-General of Oversea Forces. tie. will arrive in Nelson ■env-a battleship, and during his visit' also inspect the cadets. The camp.ivill be in charge of Colonel R. A. ChflfTey, V.D., who will have for his staff officer Captain F. H. Hudson,, N!Z. Staff Corps, Lient.-Colonel W. 11. Pryant., V.D., will havo, command -of 'tile infantry regiment; the moused rifles will be under the control of Major H. O'B., Deck; Captain N. Adams will command the "H" Battery, N.Z.F.A.; ard Captain Hugh Pearlcss will command the ambulance corps. CADET INSPECTION. General Sir lan Hamilton will inspect the Cadets, Post and Telegraph Corps, N.Z. Railway Corps, l and l Rifle Club members on 4th May.