REFUGEE BABIES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 112, 5 February 1931, Page 5

REFUGEE BABIES

Established at Army Home (By “B.”) The Salvation Army Maternity Home, Kensington Street, has in It nine small refugee babies from the Bethany Home, N Captain Flanders, who is left in charge of the home while the two chiefs have gone to Napier, met me with a babe in her arms. “We are just finishing bathing them; this one, Pam, is the last, 811 While she efficiently bathed the baby she told me the story. ‘These babies arc all orphans. We are their tolarparents, and they were all out In their bassinettes on the square when the earth quake started. The chimneys came down, everyone ran outside, but none of the babies was hurt.” _ Lieutenant Durle and Captain Delaney, of the Bethany Home, were then put in charge of the babies and they left Nap-

ier at two a.m. on Wednesday by service car.* The babies were carefully stowed In bassinettes, the very small ones lay down two in a basket and the bigger ones had a basket to themselves. The journey was finished at Wellington at two o’clock yesterday afternoon. “The ’quakes wore still going on when they left,” continued Oqptain Flanders, ‘but the babies slept on the way down quite happily.” „ , , Naturally the two officers in charge have been, through a most trying and dendful experience and they were both extremely tired at the end of the long journey. A great spirit of courage and helpfulness pervades the home and in spite of everything all the nice Utile refugees looked bonnle and well—ready for food and sleep. In years to como I expect some. one will tell little “Pam” the story of how, she escaped the terrible Napier earthquake in 1931, and how she was rescued and driven in her bassinette over two hundred miles.