WITH THE RIFLE BRIGADE

Southland Times, Issue 17663, 22 February 1916, Page 2

WITH THE RIFLE BRIGADE

A SOUTHLANDER'S LETTER. PRAISE FOR CAPTAIN POW. Rifleman R. G. Grieve, Ist Battalion, Karl of Liverpool's Own, son of Mr John S. Grieve, Waianiwa, writing to his mother on December 2Gth, from the Western Front, Egypt, says: "Yesterday while you people were having your Christmas dinner, we were marching out of cam]) for our maiden scrap. We left camp at 1.20 on Christmas morning to light one of the many tribes of natives who arc causing so much trouble about here. About S a.m. the fight started. At first we all felt a little funny when the bullets started to fly, hut we soon got used to them. We were not in the thick of it until dinner time, and at r> p.m. we had them well beaten, so it was not a long fight, but while it lasted it was fairly hoh Out of the 1000 men in our battalion we had 2G wounded and six killed, but no Southland men were among the. casualties, “One thing we wore all thankful for was a good captain to lead us. Captain Pow is one of the best, and he keeps so cool under fire. There are a great many more of these tribes, so I suppose we shall have plenty of this work. The Sihks took the lead in our scrap, and as you know what fighters-they arc we had a good company to follow. We arc on the proper active service rations now, and have had nothing but bully beef and hard biscuits since we came here from Heliopolis. Captain Pow gets the cooks to make stow of the bully beef so he is doing his best for us. This morning we were served with an apple an orange, and a packet of cigarette as our Christmas gift from the officers." [The Captain .Tames Pow, referred to hy Rifleman Grieve, is in command of C Company, Ist Battalion N. Z. Rifle Brigade, and was formerly a master in the Southland Boys' High School. When he enlisted he was a master in the Otago Boys’ High School.]