Sling Camp was a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

camp occupied by New Zealand soldiers beside the then-military town of

Bulford Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish. ...

on the

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England.

History

The camp was initially created as an annexe to

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about northeast of the town of Amesbury. ...

in 1903; it was originally named "Sling Plantation" after the nearby woods. Soon after the beginning of World War I, New Zealand troops started work on building wooden huts here. They were later joined by Canadian troops, joiners, bricklayers, and civilian workers. The word "Plantation" was then dropped from the title and it simply became Sling Camp. After building was completed, it was said that if each hut were placed end-to-end they would measure 6 miles. In 1916, the camp was occupied by New Zealand forces and was then known as

Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

Camp by some. It then comprised four main sections: Auckland, Wellington, Otago, and Canterbury Lines. It was officially called the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Reserve Camp, and trained reinforcements and casualties who were regaining fitness. In 1918, there were 4,300 men at Sling. Soon after this date the camp suffered large casualties as a result of the

Spanish influenza The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. The camp also housed fourteen New Zealand

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objec ...

s (among them

Archibald Baxter Archibald McColl Learmond Baxter (13 December 1881 – 10 August 1970) was a New Zealand socialist, pacifist and conscientious objector. Early life Baxter was born at Saddle Hill, Otago, on 13 December 1881, to John Baxter and Mary McColl. H ...

and his brothers Alexander and John), who had been forced into the army and sent all the way from New Zealand to England to make an example of them. At the end of the war, there were 4,600 New Zealand troops stationed at the camp and it became a repatriation centre. At that time there was unrest in other camps as a result of delays in demobilising troops. To try to maintain order the "spit and polish" regime was enforced and route marches ordered. The men requested a relaxation of discipline as the war was over and they were far from home, however this was refused and the troops rioted, stealing food from the mess and all of the alcohol from the officers' mess. In an attempt to resolve the situation, the officers and men were promised no repercussions, but this promise was not honoured; the ringleaders were arrested, jailed and immediately shipped back to New Zealand. To occupy them, the New Zealand soldiers were put to work carving the shape of a large Kiwi in the chalk of the hill that overlooks the camp. The Bulford Kiwi, as it is known, is still there today. Much of the original camp was demolished in the 1920s and replaced by newer buildings. RootsWeb: SUSSEX-PLUS-L Re: Sling Camp WW1
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References

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External links

Film of New Zealand troops departing Sling Camp, from the New Zealand Film Archive
* ttp://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/NEW-ZEALAND/2002-10/1033798719 More transcripts of lettersbr>More transcripts of letters
Bulford Camp New Zealand Army Military history of New Zealand Military history of Wiltshire