THE PRINCE OF WALES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20071, 8 October 1928, Page 6

THE PRINCE OF WALES.

(HIS REAL DUTY IN WAR. (INFLUENCE OF HIS PRESENCE UNIQUE INDIVIDUALITY. TITLE TO " PEOPLE'S PRINCE." BY WALTER AND T.EON'ATID TOWNSEND. (All Rights Reserved.f NO. XXVII. Only those who were of military age, mid were denied, for various reasons (which themselves thoy could not alter), actual participation in the combatant lines of our forces, can appreciate tho subtle distinction that was drawn by the men at the front between active fighting soldiers and those engaged in administrative and other work which brought them probably within tho fighting area, but kept them out of the trenches. Even the Royal Army Service Corps, the Royal 'Army Medical Corps, tho Royal Engineers, and other servico regiments wero at times coolly regarded by the trench and artillery men. It was not fair, of course, hut then nothing can be fair in •war. Hut argument? were useless in those days—tho actual fighting map received the praise, while too often the Other services were referred to disparagingly. The Prince of Wales realised the subtle difference between his own job and that of others: it was a bitter realisation—though not so to the matured, groyheaded stafl officers, who wisely knew that in the wheel of the war machine every unit, cog is necessary whether it is Dear tho huh or ambulating far from it. " My Insignificant Part." Prince Edward took risks in France, but they were as far as possible minimised. Ho himself would be the last to deny it. That is why ho referred to f niy insignificant part in the war.' But there was uo need for any apologia on the part of the sensitive young Prince. No one expected the heir to the Throne to ■wield a bayonet or shoulder a rifle. Probably if ho had clone—and his wishes on this subject have never been doubted—the actual influence, both on the result of the war and the morale of the troops, would have been insignificant compared with that which his presence alone effected 1 . It was a harder—a thousand times harder—task for tho Prince of iWales to reconcile himself to his "safety" duties than actual fighting would have been. Tho Prince's part in the war cannot rightly be judged at its true value by the Prince himself. For once, in his sensitive deprecation of his own war-time efforts, the Prince forg6t that his position must have inevitably made him different from every other man in 1' ranee from the High Command downwards. He was the only mun in the British Army whose individuality was demanded by the Empire. After actual events have blurred the immediate vision, it is the motive that counts in all human activities. So with the Prince. Whatever his private view.-) upon the subject, the wholfc ■world knows that he played his delicate, uncolourfm, arduous part as only it could have been played by a man whose heart was in the right place, and whose star was fhe star of duty and service to his fellow men. Won His Spurs. The great European struggle was over .—ended as unexpectedly as it had begun —leaving everyone, both at home and on the various fronts, with a vague feeling of unreality. The Armistice meant to those in the mother country that they could go to bed to sleep without the horrible fear of tho last four years, that they might ■wake to find their homes a roaring hell from the bombs of the enemy aircraft. It meant, too, a release from that harrowing anxiety of waiting for the morning's post,_ 'dreadful of receiving that small official envelope which, perhaps, contained news of the death on the field of some loved ono. To tho soldiers at the front it meant cessation from tho racket of artillery barrage more ghastly than tha dreaded " gas." But every Britisher hid his true feelings behind a mask of gaiety and jubilation. What did the Prince of Wales think of this sudden cessation of hostilities ? With the whimsical outlook of youth, he experienced a few regrets that he would now be called upon to cast off the uniform of a soldier and don once more the robes of his Princeship. But never again could he be quite the same Royal Prince of Wales—that shy, debonair figure which had won its way into the hearts of the British people through his sheer boyishness. Now he wished to be accepted as a man. He had won his spurs. Had he not, mixed with men too long and too freely to be ever restricted as he had been in those peaceful years before 1914 ? His experiences—which no heir to the throne had ever enjoyed for hundreds of years, perhaps never before —had made a lasting influence upon him. Henceforth, though he may be called the Prince of Wales, ho would always remain " the people's Prince." Welfare of Prisoners. The Armistice meant something else, too. It meant that the unfortunate men who had fallen into the enemy's hands would now bo released and allowed to return to their own country. The Prince of Wales exhibited the keenest interest in tho welfare of repatriated prisoners of war. On November 17 he attended in person at Dover and met a transport of 800 men recently released from German internment camps. Ho arrived on tho pier well before time and waited, chatting with his companions until the shriek of sirens from boats and warships in the harbour heralded Jhe fact that the prisoner chip had been sighted. It had been arranged that no one should be allowed on the p.er, but it was more than law and order could do to keep the anxious crowds in check, and they surged ® n to )he pier eagor to meet their beloved relatives. As the rnen landed hearty anrl prolonged cheers broke out, while a band played the ° f tk ° ™rchrealised that K.'fi S'lfrv ■when ho would ha™ V i r , 2 wtant He s^ Sr." to &£ Ss& Wii s * w. Wit,. (To be Continued Daily). J