OUR WOUNDED

Grey River Argus, 23 December 1916, Page 8

OUR WOUNDED

JEW ZEALANDEBSS IN ENGLAND. (By a Special Correspondent.) Since their arrival in England Mr. Massey and Sir Joseph Ward, have had nany opportunities of ohsiii<>**- 0 — ~ york which is being done for New Zea j and Soldiers by the New Zealand War c ?ontingent Association. On the day 1 ifter their arrival they visited No. 2 tfew Zealand General Hospital, which j inder the name' of the New. Zealand ( 1 Auxiliary Hospital was the first tangi- , 1 )le outcome of the Association ; s work, j :t commenced f with only 100 beds but J ms been added to again and again, and t iiiice it was increased to more than ' L 000 beds. Mr. Massey spoke in very 1 ligh praise of the work of the Associa- t ion in establishing this institution, to j srhich he has paid another visit. Men- j ion has slso been made of the Hostel \ ior our soldiers. in Russell Square and j ■he Soldiers' Clubs at the various de- i pots and camps. At the luncheon of i ;he Royal Colonial Institute last week < -At Joseph Ward, referred An very cor- * lial terms to the Association 's devoted work amongst the New Zealanders. j • ■•-•■, , 1 THE OUTSSIDE VIEW. J Though comparisons are odious, 1 there can be no harm in quoting what ] the British Australasian says in com- < j paring the care which is bestowed on ] New Zealanders in England with the j treatment their ' fellow soldiers from • the Commonwealth receive. In making , this quotation from the ' ' British Australasian" however^ it is. fair to say that the Australian task is naturally a very much severer one than the New Zealand one, and it is open to question whether the Australian Colony in England is proportionately as strong as the New Zealand one. The "British Aus- \ tralasian" says : — "lt is a significant fact that a week rarely passes without some complaint from an. Australian soldier who finds himself neglected in hospital, and that we have never yet . had a single lament of this kind from a New Zealander.. The New Zealand War Contingent Association is evidently run on strictly business lines } and the members of the committee arc expected to worb and not W purely decor ative. Each hospital visitor makes a report twice weekly of, the progress of every individual man so that it is hardly surprising that complaints of mat- | tention are almost unknown. A great deal must be said for the tact and assistance of the Official Visitors, many of whom have a record of 18 months continuous visiting/ FINANCIAL ANALYSIS. . The Committee which is in most direct touch with our wounded is the Visiting Committee, whose duty it is to see that all hospital inmates are visited and provided with anything they require, both in the form of comforts and to replace articles of kit. The expenses of the Visiting" Committee for the month September amounted to more than . But in September the wounded from the Somme offensive were only beginning to reach England. By the end of the month there were nearly 5000 oi : our men in hospital on this side of the channel^ including 1200 in Brockenhurst, 1000 at Hornchurch and 1800 in various" British hospitals. This means a very considerable increase in both work and expenditure. The Visit ing Committee 's estimates for tho ensuing month's expenditure- amounted to £1700 including very big purchases of comforts and small articles which wer-d bound to be requisitioned. This accounts for almost all the expense, for all the visitors are voluntary, workers, and practically the whole of the office work is also done without fee or remun oration. .« THE SOLDIERS' CLUB. In ease there should be any idea tli at our men do not appreciate the accommodation provided for them by the New Zealand War Contingent Association, it vnayX be stated that up to the end of September 7^500 beds had been occupied at the Hostel in Ruscell Square, or a. daily average of 125. Men passing through London had taken 4,000 breakfasts at the. clvb } 2,000 dinners, and 1J&00 teas, while the club canteen had served more than 14,000 soldiers. It has to, be borne in mind that the facilities- that are provided by the association arc in many cases the- alternative of a second-rate public house. It is a considerable achievement to have provided for 357 New Zoalanders per day who are constantly passing through .London.. The use oi the Club is entirely optional but the Committee by meeting Leave trains .give the soldiers a chance of beginning their furlough among .friends aiid under .safe conditions for themselves. THE NATIONAL GAME. There- is no fear that the New Zealand National game will fall into abeyance while pur men arc on service in Europe. At least one of the casual ties in the English hospitals to-day is the direct result of a football accident behind the lines in France. ; Wherever any of our soldiers are gathered together in England, there is sy Rugby fifteen, and before the first frost had made its appearance they were playing Rugby matches.' with iocai clubs. Incidentally at Swansea on Saturday before 6,000 people, they turned the tables on South Wales' by defeating them by 9 points to 7. . One of the knottiest questions, which have! had to be decided by the New Zealand War Contingent Association for some tinio past, was' the.. problem -of allot jng a mod crate sum, of money for the equipment of the .Rugby representatives, of : five different branches of the service in 'the reserve camp at Sling, and a representative teanr' from 'the five. The difficulty was got over voting £25 to the, camp generally f or^ the purposes of obtaining football equipment,