SOLDIERS’ LETTERS.

West Coast Times, 25 November 1915, Page 2

SOLDIERS’ LETTERS.

A writer in the '" Fortnightly Review" dismisses Tommy -Atkins us nils seen in his letters—the Tommy Mkens who writes from the trenches to his home folks, just jotting down tne incidents of life on the battle-field from day to day. From these letters the future historian will gather much material of value for the sidelights it throws upon the war, hut its chief interest, perhaps will be found in the lights it throws upon the men themselves. The real personality behind alway creeps up into the letters—even when the writer, as we have reason to believe is sometimes the ease, is thinking of the possible publication of his letters at home. Indeed it has been said that the best wot correspondents hare been the British Tommies themselves; and as far as the doings of our

own sold id's at the Dardanelles S concerned their letters have not only I been very helping to n proper understanding of the conditions under which the war has been fought, and havc.giv en us very graphic accounts of the var ions battles with the Turks. The "log of war’’ lias been with us from the beginning but the letters from our .soldiers have enabled us to see through the fog. In a sense every one of them is a war correspondent. It is doubtful if any people on earth, not even the French, give more vigorous expressions to their thoughts and feelings than the New Zealanders. Tins is due to a great extent not only to the liberal education which every New Zealander enjoys, but to the fact that democracy has succeeded in making its voice heard in this country as it had in no other. In a word, it has cultivated the habit of expressing itself. The American may be more volubable; he is not more expressive. If the pen or the pencil, is an tmfamilar medium of expression to the average New Zealander, them arc scores who have given us letters of great charm as well as of historic value Some of them are epic stories—some of those for instance, which deal with the famous landing on April 2oth, and with the light for Lonesome Vine—and some are simple homely narratives, all the more appealing because of their homeliness and naturalness. Thus it is that we are able, to penetrate the veil and see, as we hav e never seen before "hat manner of men our New Zealand soldiers are who are lighting the empire’s battles on Gallipoli—first the stern and resolute soldier, sealing impossible hills in the face of a murderour fire, defying death, lighting as men fought in the days of old; and then the man who through the mist of the war sees the old familiar faces in his city or suburban home, of those of the old folks at home in tho country places, and sits down in his little dug-out after the light to tell his people all about it.