Ex-Servicemen's Corner

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 270, 13 November 1943, Page 8

Ex-Servicemen's Corner

CLUBS AND THE R.SA. THE WATCH THAT "went" MOVE FOR CLOSER TIES T ° " UXCLE " m Aberdeen (Rv 91475)

QUESTION OF SUBBRAXCHBS The steady growth of R.S.A. membership m Auckland and in the social clubs in the suburban areas and the advances that have recentJv been made by Mr. A. P. Postlewaite president of the Auckland branch give ground for a survey of the \° f thC CIUbS In r^lation t0 Speaking at the quarterly meeting of members last week, Mr. Postlewaite lei erred to-the inauguration of the Rose Day street collection on Dec-ember 3 the proceeds from which are for the building fund in connection with the new headquarters premises. He referred 10 the splendid assistance the association hail received through the women's section, and also from a large number of individual ladies, while the aid of the clubs was enlisted. Takapuna, Birkenhead, Northcote and Panmure-Wellington had already co-operated, and he hoped others would fall into line. -Mr. Postlewaite has referred previously to a plan, which would give the clubs representation on the club management committee at headquarters when the new establishment becomes a going concern, and he carried his idea further when speaking of the proceeds from the Rose Day collection of the future. Assuming that Rose Day will become an R.S.A institution, a day on which a public appeal can be made for funds for exservicemen's organisations, Mr. Postlewaite said that when the headquarters building had been cleared of! , , which he did not anticipate would take many years, the proceeds of Rose Day could become a source of income for the clubs to meet any obligations they might have in connection with their club rooms. He desired the link between the R.S.A. and the clubs to be as close as their interests were kindred, and that every member of the club should feel that he was partowner of the headquarters organisation and premises. He hoped all the clubs would pull their weight behind the association to clear the overdraft. The statements of Mr. Postlewaite raise the question of the position of the clubs in relation to the association. In other centres' the ■ clubs' as they exist in Auckland area would play the part of ' subbranches of the R.S.A., with representation on the central executive of the Auckland branch. It seems to many members of the association and of chilis that the time may have arrived when the question of an alteration of the system in Auckland could very well come "umler ■ active consideration. Some of the clubs comprise 100 per cent R.S.A. members. Some do not. : Some clubs admit to membership men ' whose service would not qualify them for ' membership of the R.S.A., and any ■ change in the direction of direct affilia- ' tion with the R.S.A. would involve con- ' stiUitional action. Financial considerations ] would also enter into the question, but ' there are indications that action along ' the lines suggested would ultimately achieve a strengthening of the association * numerically, and, if numerically, then ' consequently in influence and usefulness, j + + + -h \ "A GOOD BUY ,, . NEW R.S.A. HEADQUARTERS j "After considerable negotiation with 1 the vendors your association agreed to 1 buy British Chambers, High Street, and t the purchase has been completed," said c Mr. A. P. Postlewaite, reporting to the S quarterly meeting of the association. He 1 described the new premises as a hand- 1 some modern building of seven floors and a basement, and said it was antici- c pated that the association would be able A to enter into actual occupation at an c early date. s The purchase price, said the president, c was £31,000, but as, under the agreement, t the association is entitled to net rents as from June 1, a credit offset was made of 1 more than £600, so that the net price was really just under £30,400. "Expert c valuers have advised us that it is a very 1 good buy," said Mr. Postlewaite. The r Club Premises Committee, under the 1 chairmanship of Mr. Cyril Snedden, went \ to enormous pains and trouble to make a the negotiations successful. "In order to finance the property an t overdraft of £20.000 was arranged, but s a. drive' for funds has been commenced v and has already yielded nearly £4000," h said the president, continuing. "Most of f this has been donated by public and s sporting organisations, but we should t show these good people and also our own F members that we must do something to fi help ourselves. An appeal is, therefore, s made to all members to 'buy a brick' in d the building by voluntarily contributing ]( sums of, say, £1 and upwards. If every member did this it would make a big hole in the overdraft." The Muriwai property was sold for £4000 cash, and helped to make the purchase of the new building possible. +++ • + R.S.A. WOMEN'S SECTION u At a general meeting of members the j^ president, Mrs. R. S. Judson, spoke on "' the activities of the women's section up * to date, and the plans for the future. ?. Special mention was made of the rose- x{ making, in preparation for Rose Day on „ December 3. Many helpers are still needed for this work, and those willing J 1 to assist may apply to the R.S.A., Wei- al lesley Street, or to the secretary of the cc women's section. 9Mr. Postlewaite, president of the R.S.A., Dl and Mr. Hartley Wilson also spoke of a> the help that can be given by the w women's section in the problems of returned men and their families. nn Intending members are asked to com- jt municate with the lion, secretary, Mrs. H. H. Osmers, 26, Hinemoa Avenue, ti Devonport. St

icy zii/oj Although Bill and I figure prominently in this story, the basis of the • whole narrative is a wristlet watch. ; Not any old watch of that particular typo, but one which has, or did, in a small portion of its existence, travel round quite a bit of the world. However, its globe-trotting days were cut short; for which Bill and I must accept responsibility. : To get to the beginning of the storv ! we must go back to the latter part of ■ April, 19)0. Bill and I, along with : numerous other personnel of the Second Echelon, were kicking our heels in Papakura camp, waiting to embark on the great adventure. We, of course, filled in a portion of our evenings with a spot , of poker, slippery-sam or banker. After one of these sessions Bill was in ' the happy position of being some ten odd pounds to the good. The next day he went to Auckland and invested ten 1 guineas of his ill-gotten gains in the purchase of a wristlet-watch. As Bill pvit it this watch was dust-proof, water-proof' .shock-proof and fool-proof. Perhaps Bill and I proved it everything but the last! However, the Second Echelon eventually arrived in Britain. In the intervening period, and subsequently, Bill's watch was in all sorts of places and had some exciting experiences. But its pride was due for a fall. A month's stay with "uncle" was to be its lot. Bill was the fortunate possessor of seven days' sick leave, and from our battle station in Southern England he went to Aberdeen. Bill arrived back at our unit thoroughly recuperated, but minus his watch. A soldier with seven days' leave can very seldom manage to make his finances see out the distance, and Bill was no exception. As an expedient he had pawned that much admired wrist-watch for fifteen shillings. Fortunately, within a few weeks, we managed to scrape enough together to redeem the prized time-piece But it was to be back in Bill's possession for only a short time. Our stay in the British Isles was nearing its end, and shortly before our departure for the Middle East we were given five days' embarkation leave. Bill apart from enjoying the marvellous hospitality of the Aberdonians on his previous visit, had got engaged to a fair Scottish lassie. So, although I had intended spending my time in Stirling and the storied field of Bannockburn Bill insisted that 1 accompany him to Aberdeen to meet the greatest people and the greatest girl in the world! Well, wherever one New Zealand soldier can go broke in about six days two together can do just that in half the time. Bill and I had thoroughly enjoved Aberdeen's hospitality for a couple" of days; but in mid morning of the third day and with another 24 hours before we had to board the train on our way back to London we found we had less than a shilling between us. The situation was desperate, and called for some thoughtful deliberation. All the circumstances of the position were duly debated, and we came to the decision that once again Bill's watch would have to be called upon to save the hour. Bill was quite prepared to again .sacrifice his prized chronometer but he insisted that his previous visit to the pawnbroker was his first and last such transaction. So it was left to mo and Bills watch, to do the deed. We decided to patronise the same gentleman as had come to the rescue on the previous occasion. Bill instructed mo to accept nothing less than a pound, an increase of 5/ on his effort. I left Bill in a state of expectation and doubt, and proceeded to interview our worthy "uncle." After much argument and persuasion I surprised myself, and subsequently Bill, by scooping '£3 out of our friend. I didn't tell him that it was the same watch that a few months previously had nearly broken his heart to loan 15/. That sixty shillings were most welcome, and we made the most of them, but we still had to find ways and means of retrieving that watch before leaving Blighty. \Ve decided that we would be able to raise enough when we arrived back at billets. Alas, wo found all our cobbers in no better financial circumstances than ourselves. We embarked for the Middle East with Bill in possession of a pawn-ticket, but minus his watch. For the following few months distance and other circumstances prevented us from doing anything in regard to redemption. Then Bill was taken prisoner in the desert and finished up in Italy. As far as I know he still has that pawn ticket, and with recent developments in Italy, perhaps before very long Bill and I will be getting in touch ' with an "uncle" of ours in Aberdeen. + + + + ! "A BUMPER YEAR" ] R.S.A. MEMBERSHIP EXPANDS Speaking of membership at the quar- , erly meeting, Mr. Postlewaite said: "This ■ s going to prove a bumper year for mem)ers. Already all previous records have fone by the board and at the end of the . luarter our total was 5034, including } .058 of this war. , "To-day the figure is 5450, or nearly 3 1000 more than for the same period last 'ear. This is a most encouraging result < md can fairly be claimed to indicate i omplete confidence in the officers and j executive committee. Mr. Ted Hogan has ' >een in charge of the membership drive t ind it is largely due to his efforts that ve have done so well." t Since the end of the quarter the steady l ncrease has continued, and to-day it has "" ust exceeded 5500. -\ Mr. Postlewaite also mentioned the ac- a ivities of the women's section, which, he 1 tatcd, had a membership of over 70. r