The Chronicles of a Gay GordonGordon, J. M. (Joseph Maria)
History
The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon
Gordon, J. M. (Joseph Maria)
Generals -- England -- Biography; Gordon, J. M. (Joseph Maria), 1856-1929
He gave me instructions, confidentially, to draft two Bills, one
embodying the provision for the adoption of the universal service, the
other simply dealing with the proposed changes in organization. When the
time arrived to place the proposals before Parliament Kingston had come
to the conclusion that the expenditure involved in initiating National
Service was greater than he could ask Parliament to vote at the time. He
determined, therefore, to pigeon-hole it. The Re-organization Bill was
promptly carried by both Houses and became law. The Act of Parliament
fixed a date for the carrying out of the change. To avoid the clerical
work involved by the carrying out of the re-attesting of the whole of the
citizen forces, partially paid and Volunteer, under the new Act it was
provided that every officer, non-commissioned officer and man who did
not, in writing, notify his intention to sever his connexion with the
forces owing to the new conditions, would continue in the service, and
the date for the beginning of his period of service under the new Act,
namely, three years, would be entered in his existing attestation papers
by the respective commanding officers. If I remember rightly, not one and
a half per cent. withdrew.
The eventful day arrived on which every member of the force ceased to be
a soldier. The next day all willing to do so would be soldiers again.
That night we were dining at Government House. After dinner it happened
to strike the Governor that there were no soldiers in South Australia
that evening with the exception of myself. So lifting up his glass he
said, "Behold our army! Every soldier except one has been disbanded
to-day. He is our army. Good luck to him." And "The Army" I became to all
my friends in Adelaide, and, later on, right throughout Australia.
Jubilee Year, 1897, was now close at hand. I had been steadily at work
since my trip home in 1889, and was now finishing my fifth year as
Commandant. Everything was working smoothly, and I was asked by Kingston
if I would like to take a trip home and attend officially the Jubilee
celebrations in London. I talked it over with my wife. Our two children
were then just four and three years old. My wife thought that it would be
more enjoyable for her and for the children if we let alone the Jubilee
festivities and got six months' leave, reaching London later on in the
early summer, so that we could enjoy the autumn in Scotland and return to
Australia at the end of the year. Kingston fell in with this suggestion,
and I was granted six months' leave of absence and reappointed Commandant
for a further period of five years.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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