RETURNED SOLDIERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 100, 29 April 1936, Page 18

RETURNED SOLDIERS

HUTT VALLEY SUB-BRANCH The annual report of the Hutt Valley sub-branch of the New Zealand Heturned Soldiers' Association, to be presented at the. annual meeting on May 2, stated that as no member of the executive was able to give the time nor had the facilities to cope with the increased work, it was found necessary to appoint a secretary on a fixed honorarium, and with specific duties to do and hours, to attend at the club rooms. Mr. S. H. Ashton was chosen. The membership had grown steadily and now stood at 225—an increase of 92 over the previous year. The incoming committee was recommended to give early consideration to the question of holding combined Anzac Day parades alternatively in Petone and Lower-Hutt, because it was found that the borough which held its service in the afternoon lost the support of large numbers of returned men who paraded with their units in Wellington. The executive had considered the formation of a separate branch, but rejected the notion. The annual report of the benevolent committee stated that durng the year 362 applications were dealt with, and orders to a total value of £309 3s 2d issued. Orders to the number of 203 were sent out for Christmas cheer, involving a total expenditure of £130. The Christmas parties for the children were held on a more ambitious scale than in previous years, and the children of all deceased soldiers were provided for. A total of 414 children were entertained at a cost of £38 2s 10d. The balances of all three accounts were in.a healthy state, and the incoming committee would have no immediate cause of anxiety in financing any of the usual activities.