SOLDIERS ON LEAVE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 24 June 1943, Page 2

SOLDIERS ON LEAVE

PRESENTATION FROM CITIZENS ENTERTAINED AT AFTERNOON TEA Nelson soldiers on leave were entertained at afternoon tea at the Fighting Services’ Club yesterday afternoon, when the Mayor, Mr E. R. Neale, presented them with a gift parcel from the citizens of Nelson, and a packet of woollen comforts. The Bishop of Nelson, the Rt. Rev. P. W. Stephenson, and the president of the Returned Services’ Association, Mr U. R. L. West, also addressed the men, who were accompanied by their mothers, wives or friends. After cordially welcoming the soldiers and their friends, the Mayor explained why such functions as these were now held at the club room in place of public gatherings, and added that the afternoon teas were found to be more intimate and more friendly. The attendance that day was the best for some time. The parcels to be presented were from the citizens of Nelson, and it was not so much what was in the parcels that counted as the goodwill that went with them. It had been discovered that many Nelson soldiers were not receiving woollen comforts, although Nelson ladies had knitted more than the city’s quota, so a parcel of woollen goods would be presented to each man who had not already received them. Soldiers in the last war had given the youth of New Zealand to-day a high name to live up to, said the Mayor, but he was sure everyone would agree that soldiers in this war had lived up to it. Soldiers present that day had a double reputation to live up to —the reputation of the men of the last war and of this war. too. But he had not the slightest doubt that they would do so. On behalf of the city he wished the men every good fortune, and he knew that whatever came their way they would do it cheerfully. General Freyberg had mentioned that New Zealanders overseas had suffered hardships without a complaint. The Bishop of Nelson said he was glad to be associated with the gathering, while he greatly regretted the need for such a function. He had been reading recently the story of Britain in 1940, and he found it a real thrill as he remembered that we were all part of that great company of people in the Empire who stood alone against the aggressor and despoiler of mankind. The Empire was faced, it seemed, with two evils, the evil of war and the evil of barbarism and cruelty. The speaker said he was one who believed the Empire chose the lesser of the two evils. The more he thought of it the more he realised how frightful it would have been if the people of the Old Land had not stood against the aggressor. The question on everyone’s lips in those days was “How stands London?”—not because it was a great city, or the administrative centre of the Empire, but because it stood for something di;cult to express in words, but something people knew meant a tremendous lot in life for all—the decencies of life, and freedom of thought and action. So that island had stood as a lighthouse for the world, showing men and women the way to go, and one could see the effect of that lighthouse on America, and one nation after another had allied itself in the stand against tyranny. The bishop said that the older people were all conscious of the tremendous debt they owed to the soldiers who stood between the people and the enemy. He referred to the great company of people praying for the soldiers, and said there was no fieed to be ashamed of prayer for they were in the good company of a number of generals. Mr West promised the men a hearty welcome to the R.S.A. after the war, and he was sure that the chance of joining up would be fully availed of. Major K. Wood replied on behalf of the men, expressing their appreciation and thanks for the function which had been arranged and for the gifts. Cheers for the soldiers and the singing of the National Anthem concluded the function.