CAMPFIRE YARNS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 12 October 1922, Page 3

CAMPFIRE YARNS

STORIES FROM PALESTINE

The lighter side of wav lias not been | overlooked by Lieutenant-Colonel C. Guy Powles in I 'l he New Zealaiidci s in “'Sinai and Palestine.’' He quotes a newspaper correspondent, who, at tlie battle of Rafa, spoke of having seen a padre trying to dig himself m with a spoon and. a man trying to put an ainmunition camel down under fire, wSilo | lie himself discreetly first adopted a kneeling, and then a prone position, There is a story about one Charlie Cox, who appears to have been no less than the commander of a Light Horse Brigade. At the village of Sheikh Zowaiid, Charlie purchased from Lie sheikh a dozen young healthy hens, ‘ all laving,” and these birds were added to Ids establishment. They journeyed onward aboard a camel, and the riding did not stop them laying evidently, for Charlie and his famous chickens were always able to add the usual adjunct to the breakfast bacon. At the first battle of Gaza, tlie Light ILise captured a Turkish divisional commander, but missed his servant, who was leading a pack horse with bis master’s kit. The Turk earnestly begged tlu. Light Horse to capture the servant, hut he got away. Three weeks later an unarmed Turk gave himself up to an outpost. He was the missing servant, who had tome in quest of his master, but without the pack-horse. At Gaza the Wellingtons, after cutting their way through cactus hedges with thar bayonets, captured two guns and ammunition. Further progress was held up by several houses filled witli Turks The Wellington men decided to use one of the guns. By looking down the barrel they trained it on one of the houses and in this way fired t.nec shots with splendid results. One cm-., poral was heard to remark that tne hiew Zealanders bad made, at any rate, a new street in Gaza. A*. Shellal a mosaic, the remains ofa Christian chapel, was. Jmcovoita. .The padre bad always been of the opinion that the chapel had been built to tho memory of some saint, and for a long time be was inclined to believe that our Saint George was buried there. Ho became greatly excited wbp, during tlie removal of the mosaic, if became apparent that theie was a chamber under the floor; and his enthusiasm rose to 1 bursting point wl on in a small cavity i itic were found the bones of a skeleur His brother officers m the division had always viewed sceptically tho ’do-, ot wiyone having been buried under tlie floor, and so the padre, hob with his discovery, rushed to the nearest telegraph station and sent the following wire to D.J.G.: ‘Have found the- bones of saint.’ By a strange coincidence the telegram went to Cairo, where it was sent to the records office without alteration or explanation. Hi duo course the padre received tho following: Send full name, No., and regi(incut of Trooper Saint.’ Touching upon those insects which made a dis.nlccting plant necessary (he author quotes the following, sung to the tune of ‘‘John Peel”:— 1 went down the lines the other day. When 1 heard a fellow in tho Waikatos say: “I’ve caught 22, which is 30 less than you. But" I liope to get some sleep before morning.” “General Allenby was a strong forceful man and as such was beloved by our men. He was, impulsive but jus', and was known far and wide as ’the ‘Bull.’ “One day,” so runs a story, “during a Turkish attack upon our outposts, he appeared and went forward with the divisional commander to see what was going on. Immediately in front of him was one of a series of posts of light horsemen. While the C.-in-C. was standing there be noticed a man at the post waving his arms frantically and persistently. Aftey a while ho asked what the man was doing, and was told that he was only signalling to the nekt' post. But the man kept on, and at length the C.-in-C. scut an officer across to inquire what the urgent message was. Tlie answer was giverr after much hedging, ’8.8.L.,’ , and the embarrassed officer had to explain to the C.-in-C. that ‘13.8.L.’ meant ‘Bull broken loose.’