Sir Andrew Russell.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XI, Issue 199, 16 August 1921, Page 2

Sir Andrew Russell.

SOLDIERS AND FRONTIERSMENSCENES OF ENTHUSIASM. GENERAL SHOULDERED ROUND THE ROOM. Fine scenes of enthusiasm were a feature of the smoke social tendered to Major General Sir Andrew Russell by the Auckland branch of the Returned So.diers’ Association and the Auckland squadron of the Legion of Frontiersmen at the Masonic Hall, Princess street, on Friday night, when the function concluded by a group of exsoldiers taking Sir Andrew Russell shoulder high round the room. Air. E. \V. Inder, president of the Auckland R.S.A., was in the chair. There was a large gathering, nep resen ta Live of civilians as wed as soldiers, among the foremost visitors being the Hon. J G. Coates (Minister of x'ublic Works), Hon. C. J. Farr (Minister of Education), Mr. J. H. Gunson (Mayor of Auckland), and Mr. H. D. Heather (chairman of the Auckland Harbour board); Tne function was a very pleasant one, opened by the toast of ‘'The King" and by a brief moment of silence in i honour of the men who did not come back from the Empire’s battlefields. Welcoming the guest of the evening and proposing his health, Mr. Inder said iSir Andrew was president of tne Returned So/.diers’ Association in New Zealand and commander of the Legion of Frontiersmen, and as the general had already met the men of tne R.S.A., the social was more of a welcome from the Frontiersmen. The fact that their guest had agreed to become a commander of the Legion showed he intended to carry on as energetically as he had done at the front, and the speaker then went into a few details of the history of the Legion in Auckland. t THE LEGION IN AUCKLAND. The New Zealand Legion, he said, had not been accepted as a separate body for service in the war, because the authorities had thought that it possessed neither the necessary equipment nor training, although at the commencement of hostilities the Legion had offered its services as a body, and had volunteered to fill a transport with a fully equipped mounted force, and also to man it from bridge to stokehold. The Auckland squadron had started with a small nucleus of enthusiasts in 1912, one troop having its headquarters in a dilapidated little Chinese laundry, while another, the marine troop was established on the waterfront. The marine troops was 26 strong, and it volunteered to a man, every one serving at the front. Some were artillery drivers, others served in the infantry, and still others were in the navy- Ten of the 26 were killed. SIR ANDREW’S REPLY. AVhen he rose to make reply to the welcome Sir Andrew was cheered to the echo, and when the tumult had subsided he said he wished to repair an omission at the previous ceremony. This was to express his appreciation of the energetic work done by the officials of the local Returned Soldiers’ Association, which owed much to its executive officers, and much also to the citizens of Auck’and. Especially ho wished to refer to the Ma\or, Mr. J. H. Gunson. (Applause.) They were proud to see that Mr. Gunson had been able to attend this gathering. For what Mr. Gunson had done to establish their club, and to put it on a sound financial foundation, the soldiers owed much to him- And now that they had such a comfortable club, it was assured to them as loiig as they had a use for it. As for the Legion of Frontiersmen, Sir Andrew said he had not long been a member, but already ho had been impressed with the. ideas which animated this organisation. Its members were proud of the flag, and were prepared to fight for it, and any man should bo proud to belong to such a body. It was the speaker’s opinion that perhaps the men of the Legion would be of more use as indiffiduals than as a complete body in war service, because each would then be trained and given special qualifications, and, being placed in the troop and platoons of any service force, they could imbue their fellows with tho spirit of the Legion and apply their own particular know ledge. The Maypr proposed the toast of the “Returned Soldiers’ Association,” paying a warm tribute to its work, and emphasising the influence it had exerted upon tho Government. This influence had had a direct bearing in connection with repatriation and tho making of provision for the disabled and their dependents. Mr. Roy Mason made reply, waimly thanking Mr. Gunson for his great assistance to the Association, particularly in its infancy. Mr. H. 1) Heather proposed “Army and Navy,” Captain Quartley responding, while the toast to “The Legion of Frontiersmen” was proposed by Hon. G. J. Garland, M.L.C., and replied to by Captain d’Esterre. Mr. T. Long made a bright speecn in honour of “Kindred Associations,” to which MrMcComish replied, and “Tho New Zealand Parliament” was proposed by Mr. Eadie and replied to by Mr. V. H. Potter, M.P, The intervals between the various speeches were filled by several excellent vocal numbers, and at the termination of the function there were scenes I>f wild enthusiasm while Sir Andrew Russell was carried shoulder-high.