COSMOPOLITAN FORCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20958, 22 August 1931, Page 8

COSMOPOLITAN FORCE.

VOLUNTEERS AT SHANGHAI. NEW ZEALANDER'S COMMAND. 1 ' .i; . .. i WHITE RUSSIAN BATTALION. One of the most cosmopolitan miliary units in the world, vieing with the French Foreign Legion, is the Shanghai "Volunteer Corps, whose commandant, Colonel N. W. B. B. Thorns, spent 25 years in New Zealand as an officer of the Staff Corps. Writing to a friend in Auckland, Colonel Thoms supplies some interesting details about his remarkable force, which includes a number of ex-Russian troops who formerly served under the Tsar. "In the Shanghai Volunteer Corps I have men of 21 different nationalities," he writes. "They are grouped in 12 units, each of which trains according to different methods, and I can assure you it is very difficult to judge a big competition on the lines of the New Zealand Riddiford Cup. I have a two-company battalion of White Russian troops —wonderful fellows, who can beat the Guards at drill easily. When Igo on parade they present arms to me and when their commanding officer comes up and salutes me, I call out to the men, 'Sdrova Voluntiri,' whereupon they chant in reply something in Russian which means "'Good health and happiness to you, oh colonel!' "They stand at the present while 1 inspect the line and as I pass each man follows me with his head and 'eyes. It is most impressive. When the officers call on my wife they kiss her hand. They are nearly all ex-Imperial Life Guard officers and their breasts are covered with medals and decorations. "Shanghai is the most wonderfully interesting city in the world. It is vert ugly, but very interesting, because it so cosmopolitan. Adding to the spice of life there is always the chance of being called to active service at half an hour's notice. The police are armed to the teeth and bandits kidnap and rob in broad daylight. One meets with interesting people of 40 or 50 different. nationalities. in a way one could not possibly do in any other country in# the world. "For instance, one is invited to the homes of influential Chinese and eats extraordinary food with chopsticks. Next day one has to go to an Orthodox Russian church service at midnight and hold tapers while the choir sings magnificently. A voyage of exploration in the slum quarters may follow and so to something totally different next day. "It is exceedingly hot here—a steamy heat, much worse than Auckland. It rains very heavily and then the sun raises steam which prevents one from keeping dry. We get about three months of that and then winter brings bitterly cold weather. But the place is full of interest and no one knows what will happen next." This year Colonel Thoms was largely instrumental in forming an Anzac Society at Shanghai.