FALLEN ANZACS.

Northern Advocate, 23 March 1925, Page 2

FALLEN ANZACS.

FUND FOR DEPENDANTS.

RECIPIENTS' GRATITUDE

The Minister of Defence (Sir Henton Rhodes) recently made his annual Christmas allocation of the endowment from the Anzac Book fund, and has received the following acknowledgment, among others, from a dependant of a soldier who fell at Gallipoli:

"On behalf of my daughter and myself I wish express sincere thanks and gratitude for the timely Christmas gift of £12. The knowledge that our gallant Anzac soldier is not forgotten comforts us extremely. I had just paid a £25 deposit on a quarteracre section and a tiny cottage, and the transaction has taken all my savings. The money was much needed and most welcome. It was delightful to receive such a gift on Christmas Eve, and the kind action made us very happy"

During the Gallipoli campaign an Anzac Book Committee was established at Anzac in order to produce an Anzac Book as a Christmas present for the friends of the forces there, and it was decided that the fund resulting from the sales of the book should be devoted in some way to the benefit of all the troops who fought at Anzac.

In March, 1920, a gift of £500 was received by the then Minister of Defence (Hon. Sir James Allen) from the committee, to be used in whatever way was thought fit for the benefit of those New Zealanders who fought beside the Australians and the British and the soldiers of the Indian Army at Anzac as some small recognition of their comradeship. The £500 was invested in such a way as to provide 54 grants of £12 each . spread over fqurteen years, and to be allocated to each of four Anzac men or their dependants. These are selected by the War Pensions Board each year from amongst those whose cases are considered specially necessitous ones, and which are not amply covered by the existing war pensions, legislation, and the amounts are forwarded so as to reach the recipients in the form of' a Christmas box. The Minister of Defence (Hon. Sir R. Hcaton Rhodes) has communicated with the Anzac Book Trustees in Australia, informing - them of the allocation made last Christmas, and enclosing copies of the acknowledgment. - After the, visit to New Zealand of General Pau and the French Mission some years ago, a sum of £400 was handed to the Defence Minister by General Pau on behalf of the mission, to be allocated by him in his discretion to "the widows and orphans of some of those New Zealand heroes who, by giving their lives in the cause of the Allies have at the same time contributed to saving France from the yoke of the enemy." "In this connection let me say," said General Pau, "that I do not pretend for one minute to pay a debt of gratitude. Noble people do not consider gratitude as a burden, and in that respect we French feel as do noble people. Neither do I think that anything can lessen the sorrow of families of the fallen soldiers. Glory enlightens, but it does not dry the tears of those who have lost loved ones. I .should simply feel happy as a Frenchman, and as a friend of New Zealand, if you would see, and if your compatriots would see, in the modest gift attached to this letter a token of the sincere thankfulness of France.''

The £400 was invested so as to provide a Christmas box of £30 a year for 15 years, and last week the Minister of Defence sent a letter to General Pau enclosing a copy of the acknowledgment received from a widow who was last year's recipient.