GIFT OF £10,000.

Auckland Star, Issue 18, 22 January 1940, Page 5

GIFT OF £10,000.

Y.M.C.A. WAR WORK.

HUT AT BASE CAMP.

SHEEP BREEDER'S GESTURE.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, Sunday,

A Centennial gift of £10,000 has been donated by Mr. T. H. Lowry, the well-i known sheep breeder of Hawke's Bay, to advance the war work of the Young Men's Christian Association. The gift is in the form of a cheque under to-morrow'e date, coinciding with the national celebration of New Zealand's firat 100 years.

Mr. Lowry has stipulated that the money must be used for the establishment and maintenance of a Y.M.C.A. hut for the welfare of the New Zealand fighting forces overseas. The hut is to be established at the base camp, wherever that might be, and will be maintained during the -whole period of the ■war. During the last war Mr. Lowry and his family donated the hut which wae at the base camp at Etaples. It was known to th'ousands of New Zealand soldiers. v

Referring to the work of the Lowry Hut, Mr. J. L. Hay, senior officer of the New Zealand Y.M.C.A. overseas during the last war, said the hut was established at the most strategic point for the New Zealand forces. Of all the Y.M.C.A. work in the war area, the most valuable service was that given l)y the Lowry Hut, with ite large concert hall, hot showers, billiard and recreation room a'nd other facilities, which were provided without stint.

Hut Always Crowded.

The hut was always crowded with appreciative Diggers and earned the well-deserved reputation of being the best-equipped Y.M.C.A. hut in France. A special feature was the wonderful service jjiven by- Hμ ■women workers. Miee Violet Russell, who was in charge of the women's work at the Lowry Hut *4fe hwt Jbe awociaied^wifch

the new Lowry Hut. Associated with Miss Russell will be Mrs. Percy Chapman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lowry and wife of the well-known cricketer Mr. H. P. F. Chapman, who was captain of the all-English eleven for several years, including the Australian tour. Mrs. Chapman and Miss Russell are at present giving voluntary service with the Y.M.C.A. in England. Also associated with the Lowry Hut during the last war was Mrs. Smithson, of Timaru.

Another feature of the work of thej Lowry Hut in France was the work of Mr. Peter Nelson, who established gardens and managed a farm of 10 acres as part of the Lowry Hut activities. He made a specialty of vegetables and on many occasions a motor truck made special trips with vegetables for soldiers in forward areas.

Many soldiers referred to the Lowry Hut as the Desert Gold Hut, after Mr. Lowry's famous racehorse.