GENERAL BIRDWOOD.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 145085, 9 September 1916, Page 5

GENERAL BIRDWOOD.

(By Arthur- Mason.)

COMMANDER OF THE ANZACS. AN IMPRESSION.

; ’• LONDON, July 1. No small part ol tne prev uogo or a. recent vis.*c to the iron* wa* m Lie opportunity one had Uieio ol meeting, tor itits disc Mine, General Hirciwoou, JSy now tire devotion of uie Anzats to incir ComuiaiKlcr-in-Cnicl is one ol Uio established ti-adliions of the war. it is wcu known, and generally ueec.pted, as the unanimous summing-up ol him by men who liavo been at closest touch with Ills icalersliip during many mouths of strain. , It witntsscs to quite unusually cordial relations as between the soldiers of an army and their supreme command, Tuis war Is fuller than war has overbeen of instances erf that tie of comradeship between officers and men. It exists m every part of the British Army of to-day. a triple, link of interest, sympathy, and admiration. it had its origin in the thousandfold gallantry of soldiers of all ranks flung

suddenly and together into perilous places in the early days of the war, and it has strengthened its present solidity under the influence of mutual esteem. In the case of Genera 1 Birdwood and his men it is tho rare link ot tho mutual esteem of • a commanding officer and his .soldiers based upon a*n uncommon familiarity of each with tho work of the other. Even at first sight one discovers him as tho pleasantly LOinpaiiioiialihi mau everyone knows him to be. Still young enough in appearance, young enough, indeed, at years go, youth is preserved to him by an obviously young heart, a temperamental gift which is plain to ■cc in ihe kindly eye, the ruing, ed keenness and geniality of. the open features, ami the sympathetic affability of manner which is part of him. Being a General, he has. 1 presume, his anxieties. But they are not appa*ruit. tin tho contrary, no trace of them is to bo seen either in his manner or his conversation he is, in truth, a sunnily sintling, even-tempered mull, obviously and quite comfortably* at (cutset witn tho all sorts and conditions about him, win,, in their mr.i, are never Jcs-s than at. case with an cilicer so approachable and so genuinely and patiently their irieml. His tomb win the soldiers, down to the youngest private among thorn, is singularly i enii-.’ete. It is a real intimacy, an intimacy which is at onto close and considerate, a spontaneous and iimiffeoted intimacy, with no Migg. -I.:. *n in it ol condescension or strain of any kind. It results in tho singular cine of intercourse between him and his soldiers which makes up so much of their pride in him. He possesses, in quite uncommon degree, tho gift of touch with his .subordinates. In presence of their General they have no need to Ist other than themselves. From the first it was pleasant to talk with General Birdwood. There is no half-way hesitation about him. You are-there, and he accepts you without question. It is for you to prove him ! right. And that is tho loss hard to do, because* all the usual preliminaries to acquaintance are covered in advance, because, that, is to say, you seem at once to he on terms with him. and because you feci at once that you may talk to him freely and at large. It is an instant cordiality on his part. He has the gift, of it. Almost it persuades you Ural you and he are not strangers jit all, but old friends. It is that absence of stiffness, or anything remotely like it. which makes him the ideal leader of our own soldiers. They wore bound to le.-pcec him—on h.;s rank, and on liiis pcetion in relation to themselves—hut more than respect is needed to create tho jihviously affectionate regard of the Anz.ie army for their General. That has issued from the gifts and graces of camaraderie which are so notably his. It is those gifts and graces that inspire him to the irieiuhy touch with :1m men which moans so much to them, and which has seemed to place them on equal footing with hint ever since he began in his comradely fashion to move among them through the camps and fields ol Egypt and Gallipoli. Aloving aiming them quite well describes him. indeed, for ho is an actively energetic general, constantly about, vigorously alert, quick-fooled and quiekcyedji keen to see whatever is to ho seen ref'the men. and untiringly interested iu the everyday detail of their lives within the acne of war ho governs. II is hr virtue of this activity of his, and his Vloir and con-taut touch with his soldier.-, that all tins intimate history of General Birdwood’s relations with them has come into being, and, as anyone knows who has seen him with them, could not hut come into being. For lie meets them always with the grace of a friend uppermost, and the authority of a superior scarcely suggested. , . „ ■ . . It was good to SCO _this (mo level ol camaraderie as it exists between tho Australian soldier in France and General Birdwood —and it was plainly to bo seen whenever one saw them meet, cither in tho course of their duty to him and his official supervision of it, or on casual and unprepared occasions when, meeting, as it wore by accident, they met always with the ease of mutually trusted familiars. Many are tile stories told oi his way- with these men of ours. Quito a cluster of,them might with advantage be written, down tor permanent reward ot him. But vhoy should be written down not after the merely passing touch with him iha.t was all 1 had, but with the full flavour Jr. them of the life of the army day in rami day out. One ol them may, however. bo permitted lo me. General ißirdwoocl himself told it to. us on an jtftornoon when we were a party of-men at bomb practice. Going i-ound tho trenches in Gallipoli one morning, ho came upon a soWier bombing the enemy. l T asked him, ’ raid the General, 'Tunv he was getting on. Ho'was not getting on. In lurid language ho complained , that tho blauky bombs were no good, would not go oil. ‘Look at this blauky thing.’ Ho said to, me. and he tossed it into tho trench, almost at my foot. There was a tremendous .explosion, and tho shattered missile fle.w in all directions, some, of it,_by the way, through ray leggings. Recovering from the shock the* soldier turntd to’me with an air of mild surprise, and said*. ‘AA'e-11, that s^ the first one that’s gone off this long time!’ ” .and General Birdwood laughed wholeheartedly at the memory of this casual Australian soldier who had so nearly killed him. And, heing.the man he is, I have an idea- that he laughed at the moment itself, and I should not he surprised if he and the soldier parted company, laughing at their, own excellent little joke.