THE AUSTRALIANS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 265, 25 October 1916, Page 6

THE AUSTRALIANS.

GENERAL BIRDWOOD’S PRAISE. .Sydney, Oct. 17. Mr. C. A. Le M. Walker, lion, secretary of th<- “Australian Fund,”; of which the Citizens War ('best is the New South Wales divi- ‘ ion, communicates the following tribute from General Birdwood, sent on to Mr. H. E. Budden, Chief Commissioner of the “A.C.F.,” London: — “You will have seen what magnificent work our boys have been doing in al] this fighting for the last six weeks, beginning with the capture of Pozieres and ending up with all the German main second line trenches, on the high ground above and beyond it, and at Mouquet Farm. I think I may say without boasting that we have done, if possible, more than any other individual army corps during the period we have been in the hard fighting. We have but just left that area, jnd, though we shall not have an absolute rest, yet I hope we shall have a chance of giving the boys a bit more time to themselves in which tc shake down and reorganise. It is during this period that I am honing fo’ much assistance from your ‘A.C.F.’ and the ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and Dexter to do all we possibly can to help and amuse these men. You know- how glad we shall be to see --ou here when you can come and pay us a visit.” Mr. Budden comments: —“Surely that is enough to keep our enthusiasm 1 going. The ‘A.C.F.’ is -wanted, is re- | lied upon, together with the ‘Y.M.C.A.’ by the general. Let us all in each - organisation mentioned, and on each side of the globe, see to it that we fail 1 him not!” 1 A SOLDIER’S APPRECIATION. J

Private M. Caveranne. a Frenchman, who while emplo,ved by W. D. and H. O. Wills (Australia), Limited, enlisted with the Australian Forces, refers, in the course of a letter, written from Salisbury Plain to a friend in Sydney, to the good work which is being performed by the Australian Red Cross Society and the Y.M.C.A.

“It is my duty, I think, as a soldier,” he says, “to bring under your notice the good work which is being carried on for the comfort of our troops by two different organisatins. One cannot speak too highly of the YLM.C.A., which has established here in camp the only institute where our boys can obtain a little comfort. When we arrived in this camp our rations consisted of bully beef and biscuits, but the Y.M.C.A. provided us with tea, cakes, eggs, etc. You can imagine how thankful we are to these people. We have to pay for it, but the prices are very low. In the evening the boys are able to spend a couple of happy hours in the reading room or in playing billiards. A piano is also provided. But for the Y.M.C.A. the life of a soldier at Salisbury Plain would be very dull.

“I cannot speak too highly of the Australian Red Cross in London—they cannot do too much for our boys. It is wonderful to see these ladies go to all sorts of trouble —it seems a pleasure to them.”