FALLEN ANZACS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 65, 19 March 1925, Page 6

FALLEN ANZACS

HELPING THEIR DEPENDANTS

WELCOME GIFTS OF, MONEY.

During the Gallipoli campaign an Anzac Book Committee was established at Anzac in order to produce an Anzac Book as a Christmas present for the fisnds of the Forces there, and it was decided that the fund resulting from the sales of the book should be devoted in some way to the benefit of all the troops who fought at Anzac* . In March, 1920, a gift of £500 was received by the then Minister of-Defence (the Hon Sir James Allen) from the committee, to be used in whatever way was thought fit for the benefit of those New Zealanders who fought beside the Australians and the British and the soldiers of the Indian Army at Anzac as some small recognition of their comradeship. The £500 was invested in such a way as to provide 54 grants of £12 each spread over fourteen years, and to' bs allocated to each of four Anzac men or their dependants.', These are selected by the War Pensions Board each year from amongst those whose cases are considered specially necessitous ones, and which are not amply covered by the existing war pensions. legislation, and the amounts are forwarded so as to reach the recipients in the form of a Christmas box.

.The Minister of Defence (the Hon i * Beaton Rhodes) has communicated with the Anzac Book Trustees in Australia, informing them of the allocation made last Christmas, and enclosing copies ■of the acknowledgment, of «a ?l folloW]ng is typical :— ' I-JiS, t °f my dau Shter ar"3 myself I wish to ex-press sincere thanks and g atitude for the timely Christmas gift ?L a The, knowledge that our falfart, ° ♦80ldM? r i 8 "Ot fOT*otten comforts us extremely. I had just paid a bib deposit on a quarter-acre section and a tiny cottage, and the transaction has taken all my savings. The money was much needed and most welcome. It was_ delightful, to receive such a gift on Christmas Eve and the kind action made us very happy." It will be recalled, also, that after the visit _of General Pau and the French Mission some years ago, a sum of £400 was handed to the Defence Minister by General Pau on behalf of the mission, to be allocated by him in his discretion t *i, ™ldows and orphans of some of those New Zealand heroes who by giving their lives in the cause of the Allies, have at the same time contributed to saving France from the yoke of the enemy. In this connection let me say, said General Pau, "that Ido not pretend for ono minute to pay a debt of gratitude. Noble vcople do not consider gratitude- as !a burden, and in that respect we French feel as do noble people Neither do I think that anything can lessen the sorrow of families of the fallen soldiers. Glory enlightens, but it does not dry the tears of those who have lost loved ones. I should simply feel happy as a Frenchman, and as a friend of New Zealand, if you would see, and if your compatriots would see, in the modest' gift attached to this letter a token of the sincere thankfulness of France."

The £400 was invested so as to provide a Christmas box of £30 a year for 15 years, and last week the Minister of Defence sent a letter to General Pan enclosing a copy of the acknowledgment received from a widow who was last year's recipient.