DOMINION’S FORCES

Evening Star, Issue 23834, 14 March 1941, Page 5

DOMINION’S FORCES

PATRIOTIC WORK COLONEL F. WAITE'S ACTIVITIES Statements of accounts forwarded to the National Patriotic Fund Board by its overseas commissioner, Lieutenantcolonel the Hon. if. Waite, D. 5.0., M.L.C., provide a striking insight of the ramifications of the patriotic activities that he, the New Zealand War Services’ Association, the New Zealand Y.M.C.A., and others have conducted in England for the benefit of the members of the New Zealand forces. Apart from the maintenance of the New Zealand Forces Club in London, expenditure has been incurred in many other ways to augment supplies of comforts sent forward from New Zealand.

Not all the expenditure, though the purchases have been made in the United Kingdom, has been incurred solely for the benefit of New Zealand forces in England; some of it has been made in the interests of the welfare of the New Zealanders in the Middle blast, for whom in addition the National Patriotic Fund Board has made snbstanr

mittanccs to its acting representative in this theatre of the war operations. For instance, the New Zealand troops in the Middle East have shared in the purchases that have been made in the United Kingdom of a considerable quantity of sporting gear—football jerseys, boots, stockings, shorts, and so on.

The accounts also show the attention that has been given to making special provision for members of the New Zealand forces in hospitals and convalescent homes. Expenditure has been incurred on furnishings and equipment for these institutions and for the provision of special gifts at Christmas time. New Zealand prisoners of war have also not been forgotten, tho accounts showing the allocation of moneys for tho despatch of comforts to them. In addition to other provision which has been made out of the patriotic funds for the New Zealand forces in England, capitation grants were made to supplement the Christmas rations. These grants were paid direct to units, who spent their subsidy in their own way. Apart from this, representatives of every unit, to the number of 250, were given leave to attend Christmas dinner at the Now Zealand Forces Club in London. The High Commissioner for Now Zealand (Air W. J. Jordan) and Brigadier J. Hargest attended the dinner, which, states Colonel Waite, was a very happy break for the men.

Funds belonging to the New Zealand War Services Association in the United Kingdom have also been made available to promote the welfare of the New Zealand forces, payments made from these funds in November and December amounting to over £4OO. At a meeting of tho General Committee of the New Zealand War Services’ Association, which attends to the running of the New Zealand Forces Club in London, Colonel Waite paid a tribute to the service it was giving. Ho said he had probably come as closely in touch as anybody with the troops, and he had been very glad to note the high regard in which they held everybody connected with the association. That day a letter had been received from a member of the R.N.Z.A.F. thanking the association for his Christmas parcel, and expressing the opinion that no other body of colonial troops in England was as well looked after as the New Zealanders.

On behalf of the troops, he thanked the General Committee for its magnificent work. Miss M. Thurston and the Hospital Committee were doing fine work in visiting members of the New Zealand forces in hospital, who also were sent letters and parcels from the office of the association. The padres were looking after other isolated groups—doing valuable work visiting men in hospitals and so on.