Commonwealth Society Secretary Visits City

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29992, 29 November 1962, Page 18

Commonwealth Society Secretary Visits City

If. as a result of Britain joining the Common Market, the British Commonwealth broke up, the action would be regretted, said the secre-tary-general of the Royal Commonwealth Society (Mr D, K. Daniels) in Christchurch.

Mr Daniels, who lives in Kent, arrived from Australia, where he has spent six weeks visiting branches of the society. During his stay in New Zealand he will be the guest of different branches of the society. The object of Mr Daniels’ tour is to discuss with different branches proposals to revise the charter of the society. After leaving Oxford where he took an honours degree in English. Mr Daniels entered the Colonial Service, serving in Tanganyika from 1928 to 1940. During the war he joined the King’s African Rifles and served in East Africa. Somalia, Ethiopia and Malaya, ending with the rank of colonel in the British Military Administration.

After the war he joined the Malayan civil-service, his last post being Deputy Chief Secretary of Malaya from 1952 to 1955.

From 1955 to 1958 Mr Daniels was director of the Malayan students’ department in London, and at the end of 1958 he was appointed secretary-general of the Royal Commonwealth Society in succession to the late Sir Archer Cust. Asked about South Africa’s position in the society since it left the Commonwealth. Mr Daniels said there were about 900 members in the Republic and all of them had been advised that if they wished they could remain in the society as affiliated members. This gave them full rights except that they could not vote at the annual meeting. Only two resignations had been received from South African members while many others had since joined the society, Mr Daniels said.

Mr Daniels attended the Empire Games and saw Mrs

Valerie Young • win a gold medal and Peter Snell win the 880 yards semi-final. He said the opening of the games was a particularly inspiring ceremony. “It really was hot, though,” he added.