“THE RED TRIANGLE.”

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7749, 15 July 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

“THE RED TRIANGLE.”

A NKW MILITARY ADJUNCT. THE MORAL GRIP OP THE ARMY. {Written for the MellJurno “Argus’ 4>v it* rpecinl correspondent in Cairo, »A. Glanvillo Hicka.) When the compete story of the world'* urea teat war ij written the record of the work carried out under the sign of the “ Hod Triangle,” by which symbol the Y.M C.A. is now recognised in all spheres of our military operations, will be found to stand tint nb though written with letters of gold. I am in a position to speak with accuracy, and therefore with some authority. oi the results achieved by tno Y.M. C.A. in Egypt, for not only have 1 lie* n right in too thick of the iniliJary lilt* of Cairo and the Canal zone for thi pael four month*, but I have been closely associated with those military officials who have been most immediately concerned with the social we'l-lx iag of the thousands of our men in khaki in Egypt. The war is never done with teaching m new iesnrns, and pi rliaps one of the most important of the lessons wkidi have hen iin prised upon military lend- , rn in Egypt during the months which ban; followed the evacuation of Clalli|K)li* has boon tlu* absolute mod or an entirely new system of treatment >f thi men win n riot actually engaged in li«>ld opera lions of one kind or nnotlier li you rend the historical records iii the wars in winch our armies, or, for that matter, the armies of any natif in, hove In on engaged, you will Itiid that during the wlude period ot the war there was singularly little **clit\:ti .mi from actual fighting, and that -m li relaxation as did come in the way of ihe sold'ers look tho form of nun clung. How different are the eonditon of the present warfaro 1 After im wore w ithdraw n from Gallipol i i transported to Egypt, they imd wliai can only In* called months >1 itlhni v . Not a man among them but irou'd hare boen infinitely more arduously employed at home in peace timeH than wen* most of the troops ill the y.i Cairo, a i itj n hose iniquity mid vin - ' offered such mischievous <:<•- i on foi these idle hours, and *n manv instances led to such disastro is rca an ong the troops, 1 hero wore 4«i»r troops in the very perfection of . al litne S, well fed and stout of (unit, the very pick of the manhood ) bung connti im. We had no 1, tu r to offer the Empire, and the Empire iMml no better of us—and lhose men were allowed, through an utter lack «>f adaptation of new means In n< u military system, to be led into iniwhievniia and corrupting avenues of lif. w'ri !i physically unfitted them for ilu work t o which the Empire hod cn'L IV| tile.... Home day tlu* whole history of these •.I military lii** in Egypt ''''ll tie written up. and the nation will have ..n i|.jK)i-tunity of forming an opinion op< o ihe l(MMit it sustained there during the days preceding and the days :■ lnu.il tbs I),U'.l:il!i'lle> rampaign. The Defence Departments of the (oinmonwenlth and the Dominion «>l New Zealand may find it advisable, in the best interests of the people, to lm ii 'h to the public returns of veni r. a 1 cases which were < rented in Cairo during those niontlw whe7i. while wnitn. foi tin’ threatened attack upon ilu Canal, our men found no outlet for |lm i energies, or at any rate, an inMiffictnt out’.cf, and came to grief by the hundreds. lint, through the whole sad story, and throughout the whole long period of the sojourn of our troops iu Egypt, ran, I kc a thread of gold in a sombre paite n the splendid work of the Y.M.C.A.. the sign of the Bed Triangle boi am, the rallying point for the young men who li:ul n grip upon themselves and would not let go; and these men ral 'in.; to tb- - Y..M.C.A., became, with that organisation, a power which ic*p ( the necessary moral grip upon the aiiny. To-day Hi Kgynfc wo have :m entirely different condition of affa The opening «<l the Auzac Hof .i I ousc of accommodation and a plat* o! wholesome entertainment for tli. men of our armies, has quite trail'* onmd the situation. The pity is that the clmng' came so late in tho ran i ngn. but it has sot the standard i..i ! ituro o|H*rat:i»n>. in this direction, and from this point ol excellence there can be no retrogression. Even Ik.*lor.- ♦ '••* coming of the Hostel, however. i should ho said that the Y.M.t .A. carried on a wonderful work am- ng the troops in Egypt, which is being daily extended and now reaches out t > the mast distant camps from Solium oil the extreme western border to the desert treneii camps fifteen mill- cast of tin- Canal; and the higlilitnrj officials there arc ncvor weary of cominending the work oi this organisation. And tho secret •! the success which tin* Bed Triangle has achieved, not «»nl\ n Egypt, but tliroughoiit all tin* van ms |i. Ids of operation iu tis war, n llic rerogniti"n <'l Ilu* nectftlv . f preserving to the men away from inine, some of tin* dementis of the life, the need of the home atmosphere even Hi a foreign land. Not hundreds but hundreds of thousands of the men who to-day are still engaged in fighting for tin* world’s freedom, thank the Y.M.C.A. for the factl- ■ d ffi iilt conditions, for writing regular letters home, and for a biindn I little social acre ice • w hicli in foreign lands have been dear tu*s with the hon. ’-life of their youth and early maiiho'Hi. Side bv side with the Bed Cross iu Egypt I have m on the Bed Triangle *jn tent and booth, or floating in tho breeze, and I have* lieeii led to examine the value of both institutions, si-I** by ri.lt*. It came with all the force of n r \elation to mo to itvognifle that in mode, ii wnifniv the Bed Triangle wa- just as important a symbol, and ■ bold qu iH> important, ii no - , i ven more important results wr«» aciiieved than under the noble Bed Cro:-**. I am in no wise belittling . . work <il ili • Aimy Medical in th * held. I have served with tlu* corps, not, as sunn* have gloriously done, on the battlefield, but in the humbler splie;o of tile headquarters staff, and having si'en and known of its glorious record through the war, I could not • ek in nnv degree to minimise :td noble achievements Yet 1 have learn.l that wlii'e the Bed Cro-s organisation onlv deals with the roldier when I c is si» k, or after he has been wounded in cil her ©sc w hen he is off the lighting strength of IPs unit—the Bed Triangle institution seeks to ensure that the soldier shall be kept i■ t for his duty, that his country shall not b • rohl>ed of his services alter it has been to the exp*, nse of training, equipping. and transporting him t-» tho field of operations thousands of miles overseas. I| is in, this avenue of effective usefulness that the Y.M.C.A. has a natural advantage over all the ' e"gan’sations in the field in present-day military operations, and the officials of the V.M.C.A, who happened to bp in Egypt having recognised this important fact, lost no time in making the very best possible use of the knowledge gained by local conditions.