16 Remembering
RSA REVIEW • summer 2013
PEELING BACK LAYERS OF LEMON SQUEE Maj (later Brig) Herbert Hart is reported to have claimed to having originated the lemon squeezer shape out of the regulation slouch hat in August 1914, when he, Lt Col William Malone and Lt James Naylor formalised their policy that a lemon-squeezer shape should be the head-dress of the Wellington (Taranaki) and Ruahine regiments of the Main Body, NZEF. This agreement was reached in the commercial rooms of the Club Hotel in Palmerston North on the eve of the regiments’ embarkation to World War 1. However, Malone had reshaped the regulation slouch hat to a lemon squeezer for his men as one of the concessions made to 11th Taranaki troops involved in a Takapau (Hawke’s Bay) Divisional Camp riot on May 2, 1914. The riot was sparked by his agitated men being soaked in bitterly cold, unrelenting, heavy rain with no change of clothing. The shape of the hat was changed so that rainwater would run off better. Army historian Colin Andrews has photographic evidence (The New Zealand Free Lance, May 9, 1914) of lemon squeezers being worn at Takapau. He maintains that a National Library New Zealand photograph of Malone and members of the Taranaki Volunteers wearing prototype lemon squeezers (which is documented as having been taken by George Leslie Atkin at Takapau circa 1911) was, in fact, taken in 1914. He points out that there was not an army camp at Takapau in 1911, but there was in April-May 1914. Andrews says another photograph found recently shows the then Capt Malone of the Stratford Rifle Volunteers wearing a lemon squeezer in 1902. Andrews notes that the New Zealand Militia Volunteers era was more casual about enforcing strict discipline than the regular military; volunteers held civilian occupations, which had to come first. “They were sort of weekend soldiers, and this is one of the reasons Maj Gen Godley, of the Imperial Army, was sent here by Lord Kitchener in 1910, and appointed commander of the NZ Defence Forces to help reorganise the NZ Army and establish the compulsory territorial force system to replace the NZ Volunteers.” In this less strict period, a captain could raise his own unit, which is what Malone did with his Stratford Rifle Volunteers. Andrews believes Malone’s decision in 1902 to personally adopt the Baden-Powell-style hat reflected the influence of the South African War (New Zealand contingents in South Africa wore a mix of slouch and lemon-squeezer hats). Malone saw his lemon squeezer as the signature of his authority, and/or he was seeking to influence his superior officers to adopt it for the rest of the Volunteer forces. He probably would not have had official approval, but at the time, none was needed. It is believed Malone wore this early lemon squeezer until 1911 – when the Territorial Force was formed. Andrews says the 1914 camp at Takapau from April 26-May 10, 1914 was not a brigade camp, but a divisional camp. More than 6000 troops were gathered at the largest peacetime Territorial Force camp in New Zealand till that time. UGLY INCIDENT The riot was “an ugly incident and probably the blackest day in the New Zealand Defence Force’s history on the home front”. It arose when bad weather, torrential rain and very cold, miserable conditions affected the temper of the troops – who had been issued with just one uniform and ordered not to take their mufti into camp – ended up chilled and soaked to the skin. The men then discovered that a delay in their railway transport would force country units to remain in camp for 17 days instead of the regular 13 days, and town units for 11
The Kiwi “lemon squeezer”military felt hat identified New Zealand soldiers all over the world for 44 years. It was placed abeyance by the New Zealand Army in 1960, but is still worn by the officer training unit, by all ranks on special ceremonial occasions, and sometimes by the New Zealand Army Band. But the origin of the famous “lemon squeezer” peaked felt hat has been the subject of ongoing debate. COLIN J ANDREWS, from Takapuna, Auckland, believes he may have cracked the mystery by using modern, hightech communication tools and by peering through the smokescreens.
days instead of nine – without provision for extra pay for the extra time. It was, says Andrews, a “significant incident of the worst case of military discipline, or lack of it, and perhaps a serious shortcoming in good organisational planning by the military and government authorities”. The Auckland Star newspaper reported: “After tea on Saturday (May 2) night, a number of the men started a procession, which rapidly grew in size and marched through the lines singing ‘We are going home on Friday’, and came across the guard tent in which several Territorials were confined. “The rumour that one of the men in the guard tent was under arrest for refusing to discard mufti for his uniform was sufficient pretext for an attack on the tent and a demand for the release of the men inside. “The picket met them with fixed bayonets and a patrol of mounted (military) police came on the scene and dispersed the procession “A crowd of about 500 men at once made a rush to headquarters, where a call was made for a hearing, and Col Chaytor, officer commanding the division, and Col Malone, officer commanding the 11th Taranaki Regiment, were greeted with cries of ‘When are we going home?’, ‘We are going home Friday’, ‘Imperial tommies treat us like colonial dogs’, ‘No work tomorrow’ and ‘We want more and better tucker’, accompanied by stone throwing. HEAT OF THE MOMENT In the heat of the moment, Malone made a concession and had his men change their slouch to lemon-squeezer configuration. Chaytor met a deputation from the 500 (which had swelled to 2000) rioting soldiers, and concessions were made that facilitated or understood many of the rioters’ demands. Says Andrews: “I suppose you could say the potentially mutinous soldiers won the day against the officers to the extent that not only were concessions made to the men, the authorities also decided through an immediate court of inquiry to pay the men the extra pay, confirmed by government on Monday, May 4, for the extra time they were compelled to spend in camp. “There is no record of any arrests or indeed disciplinary action having been executed against the soldiers who rioted. Later, because the weather conditions had made it so bad under foot, and many of the 1000 tents had been flooded after three days of continuous rain, at the end of Gen Sir Ian Hamilton’s morning inspection of the men, he gave the announcement to break camp, which was joyously received by the troops.” Ironically, 15 months later, the 11th Taranaki
COLIN ANDREWS joined the Regular Force Cadets, Kippenberger Class in 1959 and graduated into RNZEME in 1960 as the first indentured army signwriter apprentice. In 1965 he was posted as a lance corporal to 1RNZIR, Terendak Camp, Malaysia; he did two six-month tours of duty to Borneo during the Indonesian/Malaysian Confrontation in 1965-66. Back in New Zealand he was at the Papakura RNZEME workshops, then in 1969 went to Wellington as display artist with Army General Staff and, later HQ Home Command as a staff sergeant. He was involved in the planning and building of the New Zealand Army National Museum, at Waiouru, and proposal for a special museum wall displaying all the NZ Army corps badges in cast bronze became reality. After 22 years in the regular army, he retired in 1981. Whilst in the army he was the heraldic designer of several army badges, including the chaplains’ badge, the military police badge, and the banner for the NZ Army Band music stands. He is a long-time member of the New Zealand Military Historical Society and an original research writer contributor to its Volunteers Journal. As an RF Cadet, he was part of a 100-troop guard of honour at the official opening of Parliament in 1959 – the last time the lemon-squeezer hat was worn before it was placed in abeyance in 1960. The lemon squeezer was reinstated in 1976 as a ceremonial hat. Anzac Day 2014 provided a catalyst for his research into the origins of the lemon squeezer. His findings demonstrate that 2014 will represent the 100th anniversary of the first wide use of the lemon squeezer in the New Zealand Army.
boys who had instigated the riot, were among the Anzac heroes on Gallipoli where many of them were killed capturing Chunuk Bair. Colin Andrews also dispels the frequent reference attached to the notion this Takapau camp took place in 1911. The story goes that when Gen Sir Alex Godley, visited the camp, he noticed the change in uniform hats (from slouch to lemon squeezer) and requested Malone to ‘please explain’. The colonel did so by taking off his hat and demonstrating the differences. Godley demurred giving permission as it would be against uniformity, whereupon Malone – never one to give up – drew attention to the fact that his regiment was a rifle regiment, and, as such, did not conform to arms drill as did the other 15 regiments of infantry in the New Zealand Army. Malone informed Godley that the
governor-general, Lord Liverpool – who was honorary colonel of the regiment, came from the Rifle Brigade in the Imperial Army, and was commander-in-chief of the New Zealand Army – would be approached if the general did not accede to the request. Permission was immediately granted and the XIth Regiment thus introduced the peaked hat that was dubbed the lemon-squeezer.” However, says Andrews, Liverpool did not arrive in New Zealand until 1912, so he could not have featured in Malone’s determination to have his way with the lemon-squeezer hat shape in 1911. The Wellington and War veteran and the Ruahine units embarked for World War 1 wearing the lemon-squeezer hat in the Main Body, and some units, such as No. 9 Company, NZ Army