GENERAL GODLEY

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 January 1935, Page 12

GENERAL GODLEY

WELCOME AT HOKITIKA. |OUB <>WN CORRESPONDENT.] HOKITIKA, January 23. 7he Returned Soldiers’ Association .list night gfive General Sir A. Godley I ui enthusiastic welcome, while at the ] same time the soldiers’ wives and. .ady rriends entertained Lady Godley .n AH Saints Hall. Elaborate pre-1 .aiations were made in each case, ’inci each was most enjoyable. At the 1 jv.diers’ Hall, Mr W. E. Brown (President of thg local branch of the R.S.A.) presided, and imparted vim and humour into the proceedings. He extended a hearty welcome to General Godley, and with him BrigadierGeneral Meldrum. He apologised-for the absence of the Mayor (who is in Akaroa) and welcomed the DeputyMayor, Mr A. R. Elcock. Apologies were also read from the branch, patron (Mr D. J. Evans) (at Weheka), Mr J., O’Brien, M.P., and Mr J. L. Menzies (Waimate). Mr T. W. Duff (chairman of the Hospital Board) and Mr T. Chesterman (County Chairman, and South African veteran) were also present. The Chairman referred to the progress of the local branch and the efforts, to form a medical association, in which The Hospital Board has met them. He exhorted all the members to subscribe, and those who are not members to join up. and subscribe. He referred to General Godley’s career as a soldier, and called upon Biigad;ier-General Meldrum to, propose the toast of “Our Brigadier-General Meldrum expressed his pleasure at being privileged to propose this toast. He traced General Godley’s career and attributed the success of the New Zealanders to the training of the Territorials organised by General Godley after being appointed to the command of the New Zealand defences in 1910. It was due to his training that such a fine tody of men were able to proceed to Samoa without bloodshed at the beginning of the war. He then .referred to the General’s work in Europe, then on the Rhine with the Army of Occupation, and finally at Gibraltar. The toast was drunk with musical honours. General Godley, on rising to reply, was received with vociferous , applause. He said he was not going to give a speech but a rambling talk. He commenced by asking those to stand who were with the Main Body, English Imperials, South Africans, Gallipoli, tunnellers, and machinegunners, and each section was well represented. He then went on to praise the work of the New Zealajiders at Gallipoli, the Somme, Paschendaele, etc. He condemned the armchair critics who say that Gallipoli was .a failixr®- If held a large body of the flower of the Turkish Army which if released would have done irreparable mischief elsewhere. He congratulated the R.S.A. on keeping together and assisting the less fortunate, and expressed his pleasure on seeing the volunteer movement progressing. He iiad also looked upon Westland as one of his best recruiting grounds. He spoke of the good feeling existing between the Australian men and New Zealand, also the Homeland. The Anzac spirit was well established here. He mentioned- several of. the leaders in the war, who were still going strong. He again expressed his pleasure in meeting the men, and sat. down, amidst applause..

Mr Thornhill Cooper proposed ‘Fallen Comrades,” after which Mr A. Perry sang, and “The Last Post” was sounded by Mr D. Stevenson.

The “R.S.A.” was proposed by Mr H. M. Coulson, and ably responded to by Mr McKane. “The Women of the War,” proposed by the Chairman and responded to by Dr. T. Childs. “South African Veterans’’ by Mr A. C. Armstrong, and responded to by Brigadier-General Meldrum.

Much humour was imparted into the various toasts. On General Godley leaving, prolonged cheers were given for him. Mr W. Lindsay presided at the piano, and songs were contributed by Messrs A. E. Perry, T. Stqpforth, and recitations and sketches by the Chairman, Messrs T. Chesterman and F. Easther.

The Black Hand Orchestra provided the music. Mr F. McCabe conducted the singingi of old campaign songs. Other to"asts were: “The Volunteers,” proposed by Mr T. Ryan, and replied to by J. Hutchison. “The Chairman,” proposed by Mr F. McGregor,” and responded to by the Chairman. “The Secretary,” proposed by the Chairman, and responded to by Mr Roy Patterson. The meeting concluded with “Auld Lang Syne,” and the National Anthem. RECEPTION AT GREYMOUTH. General Sir Alexander Godley will arrive in Greymouth on Friday, when he will be met by Brigadier-General W. Meldrum, and the President and Executive of the Grey Returned Soldiers’ Association. It was intended that the General should inspect the Mossy Creek dredge and the South Beach sawmill, but in deference to his wish that he be allowed to rest after his trip to the glaciers, those inspections have been cancelled. At 7.30 in the evening, General Godley and Lady Godley will be accorded a civic reception, and at 8.30, the General will be entertained by the returned men of the district at a smoke concert in the Oddfellows’ Hall. The General has expressed a desire to meet veterans of all wars, and it is hoped that all returned soldiers in the district will be present to join in the welcome to their war-time leader . Arrangements have been made to have the reception broadcast, for the benefit of those unable to attend.