THIRD ECHELON PARADES

Camp News (Northern Command), Volume 1, Issue 18, 30 August 1940, Page 8

THIRD ECHELON PARADES

Wellington Gives Troops Rousing Reception MAGNIFICENT BODY OF MEN 7’?;' u? ’y.\-G.'G ; '\ ''W ''G''*r.-G; -; 4 ;’’ G'' I '' G 7 ' •

A In spite of cold winds, and y lington turned, out on Saturday, the third echelon, the biggest mil the outbreak of war some 3500 1 body of men, the force receivec the thousands who watched the and lined the route through the < Bronzed and immobile, in' battl soldiers stood in a 'silence broken to hear the Governor-General, L( civic life, and a representative of ary Force, wish them good fortune safe return. . < . ; ■ Then, most stirring scene of a and drums beating through city sti ‘ and through a storm of falling memorial to ; those who fell in th marching with swinging stride, th y hour to pass any point in the ciQ at the Railway ' Station when the 7 tori Quay. The parade was one none who .took, part, are ever like '■‘"’'Fleeting patches of sunshine were being limited across the sky by ominous clouds, when the. troops arrived at the \ Railway Station from Trentham ■on 'Saturday .morning. However, rain did not seem sufficiently imminent .for the authorities to adopt the alternative scheme of holding the ceremony in the Town Hall, as was intended in the case of wet weather. ‘ /GrG So by 10 o’clock the official guests were; filing. into their places on Parliament steps, and the balconies overlooking the grounds, . while already crowds were gathering along the route, territorials, national reservists, and returned men were lining the streets, and the third echelon itself was marching into the Parliament .Grounds and taking up positions facing the - dais. They, stood easy, resting on their rifles, and' chatting in low voices, while they waited for the ceremony to begin. 7.; ' Officers Qf the three armed forces, in distinctive uniforms, nurses in scarlet and grey, Parliamentary leaders in solemn black, and . many prominent 'citizens took their seats on either side of ,the . dais.: -Cinematographers and Press cameramen prepared to record the historic occasion. Along the edges of the grounds and on the commanding hillsides and houses, crowds thickened

as the moment approached. Overhead, flags flapped wildly on the cold and gusty wind. '

veeping skies, it seemed all WelAugust 17, to see the march of litary parade in Wellington since troops took part. A magnificent 1 tremendous acclamation from ceremony at Parliament House city. edress and with bayonets fixed, the i only by the flapping of the flags, ord Galway, leaders of public and* New Zealand’s former Expeditione in the war, a swift-victory and a ill, they marched with bands playing • reets crowded with scouting people, paper flakes. They saluted .the le .Great War. d Rank upon rank, ley made a procession that took an y; the vanguard was arriving back rear, had barely' turned into Lamb-._ which few who witnessed it, and fly to forget. -. ; <

MARCH THROUGH CITY STREETS

■•• '' -t. -A \ ■ ' , ■ • . '-A,' : ' '"J ■ Vast Crowds Line Route PRIDE IN FINE BEARING OF SOLDIERS 1 Massed crowds all along the line of march gave the men of the third echelon a ; memorable reception when they marched through -Wellington streets on Saturday morning.- Few who saw them could, abstain from comment on, their splendid physique and martial bearing, or'could' fail ( to feel a -thrill of pride that the Dominion could produce such splendid manhood. They came out'of Parliament grounds' in necessarily cramped ranks, and. \Vith a short pace, but as they marched down Molesworth Street they fell into a' swinging stride reminiscent of the famous step of the Roman legions. The sombre, workmanlike khaki battledress, relieved only by . the coloured identification'tabs of the various units,

was a smart uniform as these men .wore. . it. There was no single man in all that - parade who did not measure up to a high, physical standard, or whose rifle was wrongly sloped,, or whose marching fell short of excellence. The men . realized that they were taking part in what might .well be the most formal parade of the war for them. They marched with eyes straight , ahead, exchanged no greetings with the ! crowd and gave no answer to the hails of admiring friends. Along the Quay '.the crowds were i massed half-a-dozen deep on either hand,, and tliere were spectators lean- ■ ing from every window . and massed upon ' every balcony. As the troops marched, the crowds grew denser. I Many people had shown due regard for the official suggestion that it would be better.‘to line the route than to watch the ' ceremony at Parliament. As the column passed the end of Featherston Street and approached Willis Street, it faced a 'swirling blizzard of torn paper drifting wind-carried from the upper windows of the high buildings on either side. Windows -and ' balconies were white with drifted paper and the road- : way was carpeted with • 'fragments. Torn streamers festooned, rille-barrels and caps. . ' Willis Street and Mercer Street saw the densest crowds of all. The soldiers marched through a' narrow cleft in the massed populace to an uproarious and I sustained clamour of applause. The procession must have been nearly two miles in. length. From lower. Lambton Quay, while the rear of the column was still passing, the head could be seen in the distance marching; in the opposite direction along Waterloo Quay toward the station. . After the men had passed along La ton Quay, spectators raced across to see them on their way back'in J envois and Waterloo Quays. . - The enthusiasm of the onlookers, undeterred by wind or rain, was one of The. most-striking features of the - parade. No yard of. the way was not crowded with people, cheering and waving tings, handkerchiefs, hats. - After the parade, while the men were entraining for Trentham,' the crowds dispersed. All bus services were rushed; all trams packed, and for an hour after the parade there .was considerable congestion on all transport services.