"THE KID FROM TIMARU"

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 50, 27 February 1918, Page 6

"THE KID FROM TIMARU"

(By Barrie Marschel.)

"A sunny-faced youngster from Timarn—he was always cracking up •his little town—fought like a young tiger. He's in. hospital now, but .will be heard of again."—Extract from a soldier's letter. The boys uvoai-j the transport were btLai tiukog We'd, just begun our journey, said "Good-bye" ta=»? Farewell light, Some were skitin' awful of the deeds they meant to do, When h e butted' in promiskus with—"l'm Kidd from Timaru." .t His years were twenty; wavin' hair above two steel-grey eyes, A laughin/ face—you know the sort—the smile that makes smiles rise; At first we barely noticed him until again he drew Attention, by repeatin' his—"l'm Kidd from Timaru." Oh ! Timaru —that tinyi town —he'd got ] it on the 'brain, We'd start to talk of many things but he stuck- to one refrain; We hoped we mieht see London, p'raps Berlin, and Paris, too ; And then he calmly asked us, if we'd been in Timaru. And he'd a girl in Timaru —a girl -with Irish eyes—"A genuine oil paintin' " ; guessed she'd tumbled from th e skies : He referred to her as "scumptious"— was satisfied he knew That her eyes were fixed on Egypt, though she lived in Timaru. Egypt! Well, -we got there, to its endless sand and .^un, Then drilling, always drilling—a case of never done; Sand and sand, fierce burning sand, our Ted hot curses drew, And Kidd admitted Egypt had more sand than Timaru. Then came the news that we could get a chanc e to win our spurs, To play the game and show our breed was not a breed of curs. We were ordered- off to Gaba to face the Turkish crew, We yelled "New Zealand will be there," - ' —-Kidd said "And- Timaru." A rousin' cheer, that split the sky, went boundin' .through the air; Wf e vow'd when we struck Ga'ba they'd . know that we were there. , W 0 swore for King and Country, our very beat to do, Kidd swore for King and Country, but added—Timaru. The world knows how w e played the . game on Gaba Tepe's shore, How ploucrhin' through the rates of Hell, the brunt offfier e we boTe, Blood-painted sand proclaimed the doom of comrades good and true; But bullets somehow seemed to miss young Kidd from Timaru. We faced "Loosed Hell" as scrunching o'er the sand we scaled the cliff. While Turkish snipers' rifles mowed men down at every whiff; No fellows stopped to count the cost as up the bank we flew, And level with the foremost ran young Kidd; from Timarn. S ;TWsr^f Old-Abdul under cover was as cunnin' ae.a rat; , As yet- we'd done no shootin —saw nothin' to shoot at, Till a Turkey popped his head up; tna. head he ne'er withdrew, For a rifle pi»ged, the sergeant said. "Turk's head for Timaru." And when th e fight over, and each had done his part, And felt a man and soldier, witn aching eye and heart, I searched among the wounded, lor tn< fellows- that I knew, ' I turned one over on the sand— twas Kidd from Timarn. He'd carried in his Captain, almost dying through the wrack Of smoke and fire of battle; -but just as he'd got back, A Turkish sniper "pink d him, but the bullet went clean through, And when he's well they'll hear again from Kidd of Timaru. We both could do with patchin', sc they popped us into dock, •Where we lie, with many others, witt our eves fixed on the clock Wonderin ; when the time will come, when, we're well enough to do_ .Some more for Old New Zealand—'Kida. some more for Timaru. a "head" slipped in and read a cable from the King; ,„_ r Bte thanked his "gallant soldiers! we made the sick room nag With cheers—real rousin' hearty cheer? —then Kidd said "Stnk e me blue I hope to God he's not forgot to cable Timaru." "Mr W Surrell, manager of the local -oicture theatres, to-day received the ?oWng telegram ,from Blenheim: «' 'Kid from Timaru' a terrific hit serening an extra night. f« arriving motor to-morrow. This does not mean that the picture will be a. day late for Nelson. It will be screened as advertised. ,