NEW ZEALAND V.C.

Nelson Evening Mail, 30 March 1916, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND V.C.

CORPORAL BASSETT DECORATED BY THE KING. At Buckingham Palace, the King, on February 3rd, bestowed some .130 mili; tary and naval decorations. Prominent ambn<j the recipients jvere naval, heroes from'the Dardanelles and soldiers from .New Zealand. . .. . Among the most interesting incidents was the decoration of the first New i Zealander to win the V.C. in- the present war. This was Corporal Bassett, of the Engineers, and. as the King pinned the Cross for Valour -upon his breast, he shook him warmly by the band, and in a few words paid a tribute to the manner in which the colonial forces had rallied. to the support of the Motherland, saying that for this reason he was especially proud- to welcome New Zealand's first V.C. Corporal Bassett. was escorted to the Palace by a detachment of New Zealanders, lieade d by the Anzac Band. Another notable. figure was Piper Laidlaw, who, but for- his severe wounds, would' have been decorated a couple of months ago.; As the King bestowed the, V.C. "upon . him,. he . paid, a--gracious compliment to the man whose gallantry with' the pipes on the parapet of the trenches, in- face of a rain: of lead, has. made him famous throughout .the Kinedom. The third V.C. decorated was Corporal Issy Smith, of the Manchester Regiment, who gained the distinction for gallantry near Ypres. . " , LteuHenaTit Afiilenl AJk'ock, of -the Royal Marines, who is not yet 20 years of -age, received, the Distinguished Service Cross for service' in Gallipoli.