COSMOPOLITAN FORCE

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1931, Page 6

COSMOPOLITAN FORCE

VOLUNTEERS AT SHANGHAI.

NEW ZEALANDER’S COMMAND.

One of the most cosmopolitan military units in the world, vieing with the French Foreign Legion, is the Shanghai Volunteer Corp.?, whose commandant, Colonel N. W. B. B. Thoms, 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 '2l different, nationalities,” he writes. “They are grounded 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 twocompany battalion of White Russian troops —wonderful fellows, who can beat the Guards a& drill easily. When I go 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 I inspect the line, and as I pass ' each man follows me with’his bead 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 very: ugly, but -very interesting,, because it is 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’toj 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 slumquarters 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 Thoma was largely instrumental in forming an Anzac Society at Shanghai.