DISABLED SOLDIERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 107, 2 November 1937, Page 11

DISABLED SOLDIERS

WORK AT SANDILANDS

NEW LEAGUE PRESIDENT

Mr. W. E. Leadley, president of the Christchurch Returned Soldiers' Association and secretary for Canterbury and Westland of the Soldiers" Civil Re-establishment League, has accepted a temporary appointment as Dominion organiser of the league. He will continue in his office as president of the Christchurch R.S.A. until the expiry of his term in April next, and by arrangement with the Dominion executive of the Soldiers' Civil Re-estab-lishment League will go south to attend the meetings of the Christchurch IR-S-A. „, _ The chairman of the League (Mr. J. I. Goldsmith), who inspected the work being done by the Christchurch committee recently, today gaye "The Post" interesting particulars of the way in which disabled men are being given a fresh interest in life by the work being done by the league a\ Sandilands, and said that it had been the wish of the Dominion executive that Mr. Leadley be transferred to Wellington to organise, this district in a similar way. ■■-.-• • .' "Sandilands, which I visited, said Mr. Goldsmith, "is built on a large area. Ten small houses, with every modern convenience, have been put up, eight for single men and two for married men. The single men pay 2s 6d a week", and the married men ss. The place is kept in spotless order, and I found the disabled men happy, and pleased .with the opportunity of achieving a degree of independence. Small gardens have been made, and the feeling that they are self-reliant has given many of them renewed interest in life. "The Christchurch City Council's electricity department was approached by the league for assistance under the adult apprenticeship scheme, and experiments have been made with three men. They were paid originally £1 a week by the council, and thte rest was paid by the Government as economic pensions. The manager of the electricity department told, me that he was perfectly satisfied with the men. Two had gone up for examination and passed, and were now getting the award rates, and the third man is still under tuition, but is going tip in a fortnight, and the manager has every hope that he will pass. .-.,.'■ "Then I went to a poultry farm. The man running it was helped in a small way by the provision of a few broody hens and sittings of eggs, and now he has an up-to-date poultry, farm with close on 1000 head of poultry, and\ the place is kept in- a model way. This man also is satisfied that he will cease to rely on the economic pension. . '■.-.-. "Another man was building a boat. He had been tried on many things, but without success. He was not-suitable for farm work, but when asked what he wanted, said he would like to try and.build boats. He has now1 a won-derfully-built boat on the ■ river, and lives in it while he is finishing it off. It should be worth several hundreds of pounds when it is finished. "In the near future another man will go off the economic pension owing to his success with a second poultry farm. • '■'~;•

"In another place two men have started a factory for radio cabinets, and their work is in such:demand that they have orders enough to keep them busy for. some time; They will soon definitely go off'■'the" economic pension; They told me that when they are so fixed themselves, they will be in the position to train other, men to do likewise. ' .< ''..■■ '."■;'

"A one-legged man who was in particularly bad physical and mental condition was helped to build a tomato house for himself, and', became so> interested in his work and ultimate success that his outlook on life brightened .immeasurably. Another war cripple has found work and mental absorption in repairing and repolishing old furniture. He has only one arm, but his-work is excellent, and he is doing well. There is also a factory in Christchurch which I visited, where disabled men are making suede, inlaid wood, and other goods.

"It must not be thought that the league's effort's to make these men selfsupporting are based solely on the idea of relieving the economic, pension system. It is the effect on the men themselves which :is' the reward, and which gives the real pleasure. With nothing to look forward to out of the life of the >rest of the busy community, a thing apart, 'as it,were, it is only natural for disabled men to acquire a gloomy, outlook on what is left of their lives, and in the case of married men their families become similarly affected. Finding them something they can do as well as anybody else, even better, helps them to regain something of the position in the community they lost through service to their- country."