MISSION TO GALLIPOLI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17890, 19 September 1921, Page 5

MISSION TO GALLIPOLI.

MR. W. T. JENNINGS' VISIT. CARE OP SOLDIEES' GRAVES. COMMISSION'S FINE WORK. [FBOSt OCB OWN C iKESPONDEJTT.] LONDON, Aug. S. Anwng the recent p. -,val s in London is Mr. w. T. Jennings, M.P., who crossed the Channel from France three days ago. Before leaving New Zealand he was presented in Auckland with three wreaths— one to bo placed on the grave in Gallipoli of his son, Mr. Edgar Jennings, N.Z.E F ; one to be placed on the grave' of the Unknown Wamor in the Abbev ; and one to be placed on the grave at Athlon* of lieutenant H. Jennings, R.F \ who died in Ireland after having been wounded at Loos in 1915.

| Mr. Jennings left Australia bv the J Ormonde in May, and travelled bv her to J Port Said. After visiting Cairo he went | to Alexandria, and saw thf graves of a | number of New Zealanders there. From I Alexandria he took steamer and went to ! Piraeus, and thence to Smyrna, Mitylene 1 and Chanak. At Chanak he was met b-' : Colonel Hughes, the Australian repre- ; sentatjve of the Imperial War Graves j Commission, who took him by steam launch to Keilia, where the Imperial War Graves Commission have their depot, and headquarters in connection with their wort on the peninsula..

At Keilia Colonel Hughes made Mr I Jennings known to the two Kew Zea'- ; landers who are attached to the commis--1 Ft £ Ut - W ' Mildenhall and Mr. ft. I. Marr (Gisborne). So great an ; advance has been made with their work of I road construction, as well as cemetery I formation, that it was possible to cover '» ; gr ~ dls tance by motor-car. I With the two New Zealanders Mr Jenj nines motored to Quinn's Post, Lone Pine. I Walter's Ridge, Courteney's and Ana* Gove, and then down to Oape Helles. Altogether he visited some 20 cemeteries and in every place he found the graves kept m the best possible order. Large numbers bore the names of men whom he i had known m the Dominion, while in other J cases their relatives are personal friends. ' Many Graves Unidentified.

I , .-filer placing the wreath on the sn-ave of ! wftw.' g^ r M " Jen ™gs. who was with the N.Z.E.F. Mr. Jennings up to Chunuk Bair, where Lieut.-Col. Malone | (officer in command of the Wellington I Battalion) and so many other gallant New j ZeaJanders were killed on August 7, 1915 .Unfortunately, Mr. Jennings found that I * ,€? rc6 ? ta f. e of identifications, not only I at Gnunuk Bair, but elsewhere, is very small, due to the fact that many of those who gaye their lives on the peninsula were left umnterred until after the armistice. It was, of course, a very sad sight to the visitor to see so many thousands of the original wooden crosses, many of them bearing names he knew so well. In due course these crosses will be replaced by small headstones of uniform design. In Mr. Jennings' opinion the whole conception of the cemeteries is a very good one. It will take a long tires before the work is completed, but at Keilia he was shown the sketch maps of what still has to be done, and having already seen the cemeteries which have been laid out he was .able to form a comprehensive impreaaion of the whole. To the representatives of the Imperial War Graves Commission Mr. Jennings pays a great tribute on account of the devotion they are bestowing on their work, which naturally is of a very sad and trying nature.

_ Mr. Jennings has'no hesitation in saying that when the work is completed it | will be very creditable to New Zealand in ■ every way, and it will be an achievement worthy of the memory of al] the brave New Zealand lads who there sacrificed their lives. With his two companions Mr. Jennings spent two days making a complete tour of the cemeteries which have already been formed, and many times he photographed the graves of New Zealand men, in the hope that those records, although pathetic, may bo of some comfort to their relatives in the Dominion, a number of them being personal friends.

Meeting With IJoyd George. After leaving GaJJipoli Mr. Jennings ■went to Constantinople, where a brief stay was made before continuing the journey to Nish, Sofia, and Milan, by the OrientSimplon line. The overland journey was a very hot one, the shads temperature in the train last Sunday in Northern Itaty registering 104 degrees. From Milan the journey was continued to Paris, and Mr. Jennings reached London on tho evening of August 2. Yesterday afternoon Mr. Jennings went to the Abbey to place the wreath on the grave of the Unknown Warrior, and*no'w he is about to start for Athlone to •>nsit the grave of Lieut: H, Jennings, who, after being wounded, was sent from Loos to Dublin Castle with a number of other officers, and there he died. With the ccmEletion of the main purpose of his mission e will 'go to Scotland, but he does not contemplate a long stay in the British. Isles. He thinks of leaving about the end of September for America on his way home. This morning Mr. Jennings accompanied Mr. Massey to Downing Street. The New Zealand Prime Minister introduced him to Mr. Lloyd George, and there was time for a brief chat.