FORESTRY—14.

Serial Waves, 14 September 1940, Page 13

FORESTRY—I 4.

To us of the 14th Forestry, this sea journey comes as part of the usual routine of our military life : travel is in our bones. 1 Way back when we were suddenly called together from all the darkest corners of N Z (and some of the worst pubs) we were immediately thrust into tents —no doubt to make us feel

at homebut soon we started on a . long series of technical manoeuvres. On the occasion of our first inoculation, with the injunction of the M O to go home and keep warm in bed still echoing in our ears, we fell back (in persistent rain) to prepared positions in a hut. Those who did not actually go to hospital fell back a bit further to another hut soon afterwards, and a week after our first evacuation we retook the tent lines, fighting all that night with the rain, which made intensive aerial attacks, and scored some nice hits through the holes in the canvas.

Encouraged by the success of these campaigns (scarcely 40 of our complement being in hospital) the authorities decided that we were fit for bigger things, and an onslaught was made on the Trentham Grandstands. Despite the loss of a fair quantity of equipment, these were occupied by the evening ; the men sleeping, as the Routine Order so aptly expressed it, “ like sardines.” A further sally by some who had missed the first onslaught, quickly reduced the Kiosk to a shambles, and coal, generously supplied by the hospital authorities, constantly (if stealthily) made its way (by night) to the furnace. It was after this period of successes that we dispersed to our various homes bearing the mysterious insignia of our Unit, and the more obvious sweepings of the bullring. Upon return a memorable occasion was brought about, by a concerted movement upon the cook (conducted a la Mahatma Ghandi) the question of who called the sausage-currying stew-merchant a cook was raised, and a decisive fall was awarded to the messees. , = i Having thus made Trentham too hot to hold us, and thirsting for greater fields of action, we jumped abroad this lugger and asked the Captain to take’ us anywhere he knew there was a good war on, and we would be players. He forthwith rang up some other ships he knew, to make a party of it, and here we are, in Owen Jones’s locker, travelling and travelling; and be damned if I can tell you where.