Alarm At Donations Being Solicited From Servicemen

Northern Advocate, 28 May 1941, Page 7

Alarm At Donations Being Solicited From Servicemen

Alarm that "members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force should be invited to make donations to the Air Force Relations Organisation was expressed at a meeting of the Whangarei district patriotic executive. The secretary of the National Patriotic Fund Board advised that when he met the women’s patriotic activities sub-committee in Whangarei last month he had been informed that a son of one of the members had been asked for a donation when receiving woollen goods from the Air Force Relations Organisation. Suggested Steps

After making further inquiries any other information which could be obtained was needed so that he could take further action.

The executive passed a motion expresing alarm that members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force should be invited to make donations to the air force relations organisation for any purpose and suggesting to the Northland Zone Executive that, as far as possible, it should take steps necessary to have the practice stopped for the following reasons:— Moneys were collected by the provincial patriotic organisations for the provision of comforts and amenities for members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force to be distributed through the air force relations organisation.

Shock To Workers Circles of knitting committees were continuously at work and making great efforts to supply knitted comforts for all branches of the armed forces and it must be a great shock to workers with sons in the air force, as well as extremely , embarrassing to the executive committees in the zone, to know that donations were.being sought from members of the forces.

The only agents for the National-Pat-riotic Fund Board for the collection of moneys were the 11 provincial patriotic councils. ; ; . 1 '

To what patriotic funds were moneys collectetd by the air force relations organisation accounted, the motion asked.