ARRANGEMENTS OF ROYAL TOUR

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27098, 22 July 1953, Page 8

ARRANGEMENTS OF ROYAL TOUR

Former Servicemen , Representation DUNEDIN R.S.A. CRITICAL (New Zealand Press Association) DUNEDIN, July 21. The Dunedin Returned Services’ Association “deplores the omission from arrangements for the Royal tour of any opportunity for former servicemen and women in a representative capacity to express their loyalty to their Sovereign.” This was part of a motion passed at a meeting of the executive committee of the association tonight. The Dominion executive committee was strongly recommended to take up the matter with the Government as soon as possible. “There appears to have been no.opportunity provided by the Government or those of its servants entrusted with making detailed arrangements for the Royal tour for former servicemen and women to give some indication in a representative capacity of their loyalty to their Sovereign,” said Mr W. H. Carson, when presenting a report drawn up by the general committee. “Upon the occasion of previous Royal visits,” said Mr Carson, “former servicemen and women were included in the general scheme of arrangements. It seems, therefore, to be a somewhat singular circumstance that, with more than 200,000 former servicemen and women in this country, no apparent regard has been had in the making of tour arrangements to the undoubted claims for recognition of this large section of the community.

“Very recently Her Majesty reviewed 70,000 former servicemen in London, and thereby gave ample proof of her interest in those who have served in the armed forces of their country in time of war. With this in mind, one might well ask whether the responsibility for the exclusion of former servicemen as a body from the Royal tour arrangements rests with the department particularly concerned within New Zealand. If this is not so, then perhaps that department may be prepared to indicate just where the responsibility does in fact lie,” Mr Carson concluded.

The Dominion vice-president of the Returned Services’ Association had been asked to do what he could, but no reply had been received, said the president (Mr W. P. Wellington). The Returned Services’ Association, he added, was not implying that local bodies concerned had not assisted in fulfilling the desires of the executive committee. They had given every assistance, he said.