RETURNED SOLDIERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 137, 11 June 1936, Page 4

RETURNED SOLDIERS

KILBIRNIE MEETING The third annual meeting of the Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay, and Melrose ( Auxiliary Committee of the Welling- t toil Returned Soldiers' Association was held last night, Mr. D. Gunn presiding. ] The annual report, which was adopted, stated that the membership ■. during the year increased from 93 to , 107 members. Owing mainly to the enthusiasm of the ladies' executive, a ; record amount for the district had been collected on Poppy Day. A party , of over 300 children of returned' soldiers of the district were entertained ( in Christmas festivities on December 21, 1935. Bridge and "500" parties had become so popular that they were now held every week. There had i been a decrease in the number of un- ; employed members. The ladies' com- , mittee had raised £50 by means of . a bazaar. Thanks were expressed to : the Otaki Maori entertainers who had , given up much time towards making the carnival a success. The sum of i £86 16s had been made available in ' different forms of assistance and re- . lief. . In moving the adoption of the annual report, the chairman said that the auxiliary committee had made considerable progress during the year, the . financial position was sound, and the 1 activities of the auxiliary were in- : creasing. The auxiliary had assisted returned soldiers by every means in : its power. In one very sad' case it had done everything possible for a sick soldier, but unfortunately his ill- ■ ness had proved fatal. The association had attended to the funeral arrangements and had received the very grateful thanks of the widow. The balance-sheet, which was passed, indicated that the income of £295 exceeded the liability by £47 ss. Lieut.-Colonel A. Cowles, president of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association, congratulated the auxiliary upon the fine work it had done for the : relief of distressed Diggers.. Mr. P. Coira, chairman of the social committee, outlined the activities of the committee during the year. Mr. C. Bell praised the efficiency of the auxiliary. A special vote of'thanks was passed to the ladies' committee. The following officers for the year were elected: —Patron, Mr. J. Stellin; chairman, Mr. D. Gunn; vice-chairman, Mr. H. M. Harris; hon. secretary, Mr. V. H. Blair; hon. treasurer, Mr. G. R. Little; committee, Messrs. H. G. Bruce, H. Catanach, P. Coira, D. Stirrat, J. McClatchey, H. Tahiwi, J. Beattie, and G. d'Emden. LADIES' COMMITTEE. The following officers were elected at the annual meeting of the. Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay, and Melrose Ladies' Committfee of the R.S.A. last night:— President, Mrs. H. K. Bruce; vice-pre-sident, Mrs. A. Couper; hon. secretary and treasurer, Mrs. H. M. Harris; committee, Mesdames Coira, G. East, I. McLeod, Ledger, E. B. Topp. H. Catanach, J. McClatchey, J. Wickens, Roberts. J. Meiklejohn, H. Bacon, Salmond, C. S. d'Emden. The annual report of the ladies' committee was adopted. Special thanks were expressed in the report to Mr. F. Martyn Renner, principal of Rongotai College, for his co-operation in the Poppy Day appeal, Of the £54 collected this year in the district, Rongotai College was responsible for over £9 of this amount. Xhe W.R.S.A. records show that the Rongotai College collection this year was larger than that of any other college in the Wellington area. HATAITAI AUXILIARY 1 "I cannot guess how the Hataitai auxiliary has got its working expenses down to 12s 6d for two years, seeing that it has done such wonderful work during that period," said Mr. L. Hill, of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association, at the annual meeting of the Hataitai Auxiliary of the W.R.S.A. last night, Mr. Hill congratulated the auxiliary on its efficient working, and on the very material -assistance it had given to needy returned soldiers. .. In moving the adoption of the annual report, the retiring chairman, Mr. R. H. Williamson, said the most important part of the, work. of. the auxiliary lay in finding employment for unemployed ex-soldiers. The Hataitai auxiliary, the report stated, had; been more fortunate in this respect-than other Wellington auxiliaries. At the beginning of the year, there had been eight men on the roll, but this number had since been reduced to five. The committee had not drawn from headquarters the amount it was entitled to in grants, as the money collected by its own efforts was sufficient. In the work of assistance; - a special word of praise was due to Mr. G. Miles. Of the 140 returned men living in Hataitai, 69 were members of the Wellington Returned Soldiers' Association. A vote of thanks to the retiring chairman, Mr. R. H. Williamson, was carried by acclamation. The following officers were elected:—Patron, Colonel H. E. Avery, D.5.0.; chairman, Mr. G. Miles; vice-chairman, Mr. H. Harris; honorary secretary, Mr. H. R. Biss; honorary treasurer, Mr. F. R. Aveling; committee, Messrs. N. Woods, J.< P. Urquhart, F. Williamson, J. H. McKay, P. G. Thompson, P. Hepburn. An enjoyable reunion and smoke concert followed the meeting. Lieut.Colonel A. Cowles and Mr. J. Spence, of the W.R.S.A., were present. Speeches were made by Mr. H. R. Biss, Mr. C. O. Bell, Mr. W. Reed, and Mr. H. Harris. __________