HEALTH OF THE TROOPS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue XLIX, 6 January 1916, Page 2

HEALTH OF THE TROOPS

NEED FOR COMPLETE. REST,

Corporal I£. De Maus, of the Christchurch Press Company commercial staff;; who left New Zealand with A Company,- : Canterbury Infantry Battalion, Main Expeditionary Force, and had a long spell: of active service on Gallipoli. writing, under date of Ottobar 17 from Lemnos,. says:—"The spell we are now enjoying on this historic isle is, to say the leastiOf it well earned. At the time we left the [peninsula there were not 10 main body men left on our trench strength, of 46, and evciii then at least five had returned from hospital. The health of the com-pany-was shocking. Fully half were suffering from septic sores, and the.j great majority from dysentery or diar-. rhoea. Seeing them crawl up to the, trenches—for by no means could it be /ailed inarching, or even walking^—would, have given a lot of our folks at home a" big shock. In the newspapers one- reads a good deal about our patriotic boys who go to Australia- to enlist, because they would be unable to go to the front under six or eight months, or even more with some corps. has appeared to quite a number of us'here that, instead of New Zealand" losing men- like that, why not make up relief battalions, and give* those in the firing, line a spell. in New Zealand: of ; course, sending them.'back when they are thoroughly / restored to health. Winter clothing is being issued now. and 'deficiencies in equipment a.re being made up. As yet the 'Government, has made no canteen arrangements, antV to buy anything tasty we have to trade i with rascally -Greeks or Maltese." * 'who charge exorbitantprices. Still, we can do nothing but bear it. while there are storeships in the harbour, laden""with goods?"'which we are unable to' board' without a pass signed by about a,' dozen' officials. This is where some of the money given to the ] "Comforts for the Boys" Fund would'J come in handy. Speaking for myself—and mv section—my share of gift .roods has m 12 months amounted to a. 2oz itn of lapbLm tobacco, two tins of milk and hili a tin of fiuit "