BOND OF COMRADESHIP

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22332, 1 February 1936, Page 20

BOND OF COMRADESHIP

ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION amenities for visitors "SEEING THE REAL ENGLAND" Among the various organisations which are promoted with the object of drawing together in the bond of comradeship the English-speaking peoples of the world is the English-speaking union, an organisation which started in 1918. An ardent supporter of the union at present in Auckland is Miss Effie Oldfield, of Loudon, a member of the union's hospitality committee. With her father, Miss Oldfield is making a tour of Australia and Now Zealand and is taking the opportunity thus provided her of getting into personal touch with all the branches in both countries. There are between 25,000 and 27,000 members of the union in the world, 36 branches'being established in the United States. Run on lines somewhat similar to those of the Victoria League, the Overseas League and the Royal Empire Society, the English-speaking union has a magnificent building in Berkeley Square, London, Miss Oldfield said, and any visitors from the United States or the British Dominions who reside in London for any length of time might become members. " The activities of the union are based on the belief that the future peace and security of the world depends on closo co-operation between the English-speaking democracies, and that this co-operation can be achieved only by knowledge and mutual understanding," said Miss Oldfield. "We particularly wish visitors to see the real England when they visit our shores ana not merely that of the hotels. They will obtain their best impression of us by making contact with our home-life and that is what we members of the union endeavour to let them do." She said the union aimed particularly at establishing cordial relations between the peoples of the United States and England, and since the establishment of its original headquarters in New York the movement had spread across the Continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Miss Oldfield explained that the Eng-lish-speaking Union of the United States was an autonomous society, parallel and independent, officered by American citizens only, formulating its own policy and conducting its own affairs. Miss Oldfield's special interest in the union is her work for the younger visitors to England, particularly students to whom she, in common with many other members, extends hospitality in her own homo. Students from overseas who are in England to work for diplomas or other scholarships are allowed fidl use of all the amenities of the club for £1 Is a year and, in addition, they are entertained by English members of the union. Miss Oldfield holds an " open house " at her own home on one day of every week for overseas visitors who have been introduced to her through the union. "It is quito definitely our gain more than our visitors'. because through meeting those people wo begin to know what the Dominions are like before we ever go there," Miss Oldfield said. This is Miss Oldfield's first visit to Now Zealand. With her father she will leave to-day for Rotorua and will tour the whole of the North Island before leaving on her return to England.