Cairo Fascist Club To Be Social Centre For N.Z. Men

Northern Advocate, 9 December 1940, Page 8

Cairo Fascist Club To Be Social Centre For N.Z. Men

(From the Official War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces in Egypt,

Mr. R. T. Miller.)

OAIRO, December 7

PREMISES WHEREIN ITALIAN NATIONALS SPENT HAPPY HOURS IN LESS TROUBLED DAYS ARE LIKELY TO BE THRONGED WITH NEW ZEALAND, SOLDIERS EARLY IN THE NEW YEARNS THE RESULT OF PLANS NW WELL IN HAND FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE FORMER FASCIST CLUB IN CAIRO INTO A NEW ZEALAND FORCES CLUB. Delay in the establishment of the New Zealanders’ own social centre had been due to uncertainty .about the duration of their stay in the Middle East. The generosity of the New Zealand public in helping to make the project possible, since rental is being paid from the National Patriotic Funds, whence a large grant has also been made for furnishings.

Effigies of Mussolini.

The premises take up the complete first floor of a modern, air-condition-ed and centrally-heated building in the heart of the city.

Effigies and portraits of Mussolini, or bronze plaques bearing excerpts from his speeches and Fascist insignia still haunt almost every room and the hallway. These surroundings recall that New Zealanders in England had an identical experience when they took over the Fascist Club in London for their own use. >

Inexpensive Hotel,

Plans for the Cairo Club envisage a centre far more comprehensive than any existing services club in the city. Separate amenities for officers, nurses, non-commissioned officers and men are proposed, and the provision of sleeping accommodation will make the club an inexpensive hotel for soldiers on extended leave. Two especially large rooms are reserved for other ranks, one as a restaurant, wherein beer will also be served, and the other as a lounge, where light refreshment will be obtainable and entertainments presented.

Recreational Facilities,

The place will also provide writing, reading and games rooms, a lending library, baths, showers, and a barber and tobacconist shop. It is hoped to stock this shop with v New Zealand brands.

Nurses and officers will have separate lounges, reading, writing and similar facilities.

Officers and non-commissioned officers will have their own diningrooms, but all meals are to be served from a central kitchen, the layout of which ■is being planned under expert guidance of local caterers. Native waiters will probably be appointed. Voluntary helpers for men’s lounge are likely to be forthcoming from the English community. Although it is intended primarily for New Zealanders, the club will be open to all troops in uniform, in line with the principle observed by other services institutions in England and Egypt - • ■ , , The opening is eagerly awaited. since existing social centres are often overcrowded. Applications are being invited from all New Zealand units here for the position of manager.