CANTERBURY WARRIORS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16456, 18 June 1921, Page 2

CANTERBURY WARRIORS.

HISTORY OF THE REGIME NT, FART IN THJE GREAT W GSR. We have received from Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, “The History of tho Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F.,” by Captain David HergUEon, M.O. The object of this book as stated, in the preface, is to give in a clear and I concise manner, a record of the doings ; of tbe Canterbury Regiment of Ib© New Zealand Expeditionary Force Jwwn its enrolment to its disbandment. Tbe

book, it is stated, consists mainly .of a compilation of tbe war diaries of the service battalions of the regiment, and does oot pretend to give a vivid picture of the fighting in which thoseibattaliens took part. Particulars not contained in the diaries have been got from brigade and divisional diarios, and from tho personal recollections of various officers. The writer ad.rrtftts that tbe work is incomplete and invites members of the regiment t© send to him, car© of thepublishers, full Of any incident to which ho has notdone justice. Reference- is made to the fact that not nearly all tho men who earn decorations are awarded them, which accounts for the absence in these pages of many names. 11 is explained that where mention is Turkic of th© fact that one or other ot Aho. Canterbury’ battalions was unable to advance because the unit on a flutnk was not sufficiently forward there is no slur intended upon the units concerned, it being a pure matter of luck that one unit is sent against- a weak point in th© enemy’s line while another, niext to it, meets determined opposition. The writer’s acknowledgements arc made to Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart, C.M.G., D. 5.0.. M.C.j late Commanding Officer of th© 2nd Canterbury Initiation, for information on matters within his own personal experiencei, for record-searching, for perusal of tho manuscript of this book and for the use of maps which have been used in the illustration of Lieutenant-ColuLK-l Stewart's “The New Zealanders in France.”

It is a plain soldier’s modest tnlc this, and not a criticism, of happenings in the field, the story of thq men from Canterbury who responded to their country’s call. There are no purple patches though there is evidently ample opportunity for many, and there is mentiou of the “ Purple Line. ’ And tho portraits that arc scattered throughout tho book are tho portraits oG men who have made good : they are chosen irrespective of rank. tho. writer recognising that the ‘‘brass baits have ©Very chance of recognition : ho is concerned with the men who aren’t high up and who might- he missed in the shuffle. Pride of place is deservedly given to Sergeant Nicholas, \ -C. So great has been the flood of warbooks that most people may be pardoned if they are not very eager to continue reading of (ho great tragedy, but an exception must be made of Captain Ferguson’s book. Flowers arc placed regularly and reverently in front of the Cathedral on Anzac Dav in memory of the men who fought for New Zealand oil foreign battlefields. Tt is of llie Canterbury section of those men—our hoys—that, this book speaks. On© i hopes wo have seen the last war hut ; one doubts. One watches tho Anzac 1 Day parade. A thousand civilians pass in column of fours: they are the j men who in khaki fought for their j home, Canterbury. After them pass ! a thousand Boy Scouts: they are Che. men who will stand for Canterbury j when—if ever—the rail comes again. j And the homes nf Canterbury must rr- 1 member what the Canterbury' Regiment , did m the Great War; the national j spirit must he instilled into the i youngsters if they are to be worthy fob ! lowers in their fathers’ footsteps. No | one can read C-aptan Ferguson s work ■without marvelling at tho blindness to speak mildly—of them who did their best to decry and to stifle that spirit. They w’ere willing to accept the safety guaranteed hv the efforts ot others, but not onlv' were they unwilling to aid vn thdse efforts, but they deemed it their dutv to place obstacles in the way. Canterbury is, luckily or otherwise, lacking in war-traditions grown on her soil. Kaiapohia and Onawe did not touch th© Fakeha. There is no Canterbury’ home that has not some connection with the Expeditionary Force; there are many homes where all the glory is a very poor attempt- at an equivalent for their loss. Some idea, of how tlieir deeds have been regarded by others may be guessed from a Quotation from a number of “ The English Race,” which runs:—“So much deserved praise has boon showered on the Australian and the New Zealand forces taking part in the Gallipoli Expedition that, as is unfortunately customary, t.h© nation has no conception of the immense and heroic part .played by the English Regiments.” Tlic cover of tliis record hears the colours the regiment bore with a distinction that/ has given birth to a new and needed tradition. The khaki red and blue has won prido off place with the older colours of older regiments. That they who wore the colours were called upon to fight far away from their own little- island adds to the merit of their work. Tho numerous maps nro a very valuable, portion of th© work; particular attention has been given to this portion of the record. Appendices give particulars of tho stay of the regiment at Sling, the dispositions of the Canterbury Battalions in France, in and out of tbe front-line trenches, the billetings on the march from Beauvois to the German frontier, the honours and awards won, and th© casualty list (deaths only) before and after the arrival in France. An immense amount of work has gone to th© production of this very complete record of the doings of the regiment. Additional interest is given to it by the fact that Captain Ferguson is a- Christchurch boy and the winner of a Military Cross, and that some of the preliminary work was done by Lieutenant- G. T. ACestonade, of Christchurch. Th© book will be of exceptional value to future students of the part taken by Canterbury men in the greatest war in which the Empire has engaged. Tho format is good, and the reproductions of photographs are excellent.