Historic Trentham, 1914-1917: The Story of a New Zealand Military Training Camp, and Some Account of the Daily Round of the Troops within Its Bounds
Commandant's Orderly-Room
Commandant's Orderly-Room
An thus it fell that Private Blight
Began to court disaster,
When he came into Camp one night
And kissed the Quartermaster.
Orderly-Room—the Camp Commandant's Orderly-room, which is a higher court than the Orderly-room of the officer commanding a company—was about to begin. "What is the list like ?" the Commandant asked, as he took off his top coat and sat down at his table. It was half-past eight o'clock on a dull winter's morning, and a wood fire crackled in the grate, giving a glow to the room that was in contrast to the nip in the air outside. "Eight cases, sir," replied the adjutant from his desk, which was near the Commandant's—"chiefly overstaying leave," he added.
"Very good; I'm ready," said the Commandant, briskly. The Campsergeant-major—a warrant officer who stood at attention near the door—saluted and left the room. His voice could be heard outside, where the eight cases were paraded with military police as guardians. The tramp of marching men sounded in the porch and the door opened smartly.
"Quick march!" said the Camp-sergeant-major, and led the file into the room. Close on his heels came a lance-corporal of police, then the accused—there were two of them—then a corporal of police. After him came an n.c.o. and the officer commanding the company to which the transgressors belonged. When the file was opposite the Commandant's desk, the order came,
"Halt! Left turn!"
The file halted and turned like a piece of machinery, and the two accused, who wore no hats, were facing the Commandant. The sergeantmajor called their names—
"John Bull!"
"Here, sir!"
"Stephen Gay!"
"Sir!"
The adjutant rose with papers in his hand and read—
"No. 512860, Private J. Bull, B Company, 13th Reinforcements, charged at Trentham on 5/6/16—" Details of the omissions of duty, with evidence read from telegrams and letters, followed the charge.
page 127"Sergeant Rock!" said the Commandant. The sergeant stiffened.
"Sir! On May 25 I was orderly sergeant. When I called the roll at tattoo the accused were not present, having overstayed their leave from 4.30 p.m. on May 25 till 5 p.m. on June 4, sir."
He saluted immaculately. The Commandant looked at Bull.
"What have you to say to this, Bull?" he asked in brisk, pleasant tones.
"I went to Auckland, sir, to see a friend. There I heard he was in Palmerston, so I came back to Palmerston and found he had gone to Auckland to see me. We had passed on the way. I hadn't seen him for years, and I wanted to see him before we sailed, so I waited till he came back. Turned out that he had been waiting for me in Auckland, too."
"Ah! A species of see-saw! You men must realise that you are soldiers now and on active service. You can't do just as you like, and, what's more, if you do this sort of thing at the front you'll find yourselves up against a brick wall. What have you to say, Gay?"
"Nothing, sir. I overstayed at the request of friends. I rely on you for leniency, sir."
"What are their characters?" asked the Commandant, turning to the officer commanding.
"Very good, sir."
"Well, I'll be lenient with you this time—fourteen days' C.B. and forfeit pay while absent."
C.B., it may be explained, means confined to barracks. "Ten days' pay, sir," said the adjutant, who was writing the sentences down on his charge-sheet.
"Left turn! Quick march!" The sergeant-major rapped out the order so smartly that his words followed the Colonel's without a pause between them. The file tramped out, except that the policeman who had led it on entering remained standing at attention. He acted as a human buffer to check the progress of succeeding files that marched headlong into the room. Off-stage the tramp of feet died away, only to increase in volume again as the next case approached and the door flew open. Beside the motionless lance-corporal of police the accused halted and left-turned. He, too, had overstayed his leave, having wished to see his sister, who was absent from home when he arrived there on final leave.
"What is his character?" came the question, when the case had been heard.
page 128"Very good indeed, sir," the officer commanding answered. "This man was a conscientious objector—"
"I remember the case," said the Commandant, who had been looking at the soldier with steady, measuring gaze.
"But he changed his opinion," continued the officer commanding, "and said he would give it a go. And he has given it a really good go."
The Commandant glanced at the charge-sheet before him.
"I'll dismiss the case," he said. "But I warn you, as I have others, that this sort of thing will get you into very serious trouble."
"Left turn! Quick march!"
Tramp! tramp! tramp! went the ammunition boots. The door snapped to after the disappearing file. It sprang open, as though in astonishment, in less than twenty seconds, and the countenance of the young soldier who was ushered in expressed surprise, too. When he reached the statuesque lance-corporal he turned and faced the Commandant.
"Halt! Left turn!" came the usual order. Having anticipated it without knowledge, he left-turned again, and found the other policeman confronting him. That couldn't be right, he judged, so he went right about and again met with the arm of the law.
"Left turn!"
The order put him right. He stood with a half-smile on his face. He was charged with disobeying an order given by an n.c.o. Evidence having been given by two n.c.o.'s, the question was put,
"What have you to say, Mullin?"
He stepped forward, confidentially, to be nearer the Commandant's ear.
"One pace to the rear, march! Attention! Stand at attention!"
The sergeant-major spoke in sharp, shocked tones. Mullin obeyed, and went on—
"You see, sir, it's like this. This gentleman"—indicating the corporal whose orders he had disobeyed—"this gentleman is always nagging at me. Seems to have taken a dislike to me, sir. And what I want to ask you, sir—"
He hesitated.
"Yes, go on," said the Colonel.
"Couldn't you get him moved to another company, sir?"
There was silence in the room, save for the crackling of the fire.
"The Army, Mullin," said the Commandant kindly, "is a place where a man must do as he is told and not, always, what he wants to do. Always obey orders and you will get on. What is the man's character?"
page 129 page 130 page 131 page 132The officer commanding stepped forward and laid the soldier's company conduct-sheet before the Commandant.
Outside in the waiting ranks Private Jallow was muttering to himself, while man after man went into orderly-room and came out. Jallow had overstayed leave, to the amazement of his comrades. He was always so lawabiding.
"It's a woman, I'm sure," Curly said to Long Mac. But the story that Jallow was repeating to himself to get it letter-perfect did not include a woman. Suddenly he found himself being ushered into the Commandant's room.
"What have you to say?"
The question offered no loopholes.
"I tried hard to board the ferry-boat at Lyttelton, sir," said Jallow, while Curly the corporal and the officer commanding their company opened their eyes ever so slightly, "but the Customs officer said she was full."
"Can you verify this?" the Commandant asked the officer commanding.
"No, sir. He only had leave to go to Wellington. I did not know he had been to Lyttelton."
Jallow began to swallow and get red.
"Tell me the truth," the Colonel said. "You don't tell lies very well."
Like a man who descends from balancing himself on high wires, Jallow stepped on to the flagstones of truth. Bad companions had led him to miss his train and overstay leave. A weak, good nature had been his downfall.
"You are on active service. Seven days' C.B.!"
"Left turn! Quick march!"
"Two days' pay, sir," said the adjutant, hurriedly writing up his last sheet, so that the officers commanding could read the sentences, in confirmation of them, to the men paraded outside. The lance-corporal of police went out, too, and the door closed quietly and conclusively. Orderly-room was over.