WORK DURING WAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22962, 14 February 1938, Page 3

WORK DURING WAR

HOME FOR SOLDIERS ENGLISH WOMAN'S SERVICE TRIBUTE TO DOMINION MEN Decorated with the Order of tho British Empire in recognition of her voluntary war work in France, a distinguished visitor to New Zealand, Mrs. d'Arcy-Hildyard, arrived at Auckland by the Rangitiki 011 Saturday morning. During the war years Mrs d'Arcy-Hildyard established a rest house at Boulogne, where over 275,000 men, including many New Zealand soldiers, stayed for a night or so to rest before proceeding to the front line. Army rations were also cooked for the men free of charge, and tho home was staffed by 10 Army orderlies and six voluntary women workers.

"The New Zealand soldiers were line men and after having met them I determined to visit their country," said Mrs. d'Arcy-Hildyard. "This is ijiy first opportunity and 1 am going to suo as much of the country and its people as I can while I am here."

Mrs. d'Arcy-Hildyard has a two-fold purpose in visiting the Dominion, as she wishes to study tho Women's Institute movement here and also the Plunket system, in both of which she takes an active interest. She is president of the Colburn (Catterick Camp) Women's Institute in Yorkshire, and intends to take back to her institute information of the same movement in New Zealand. "In England the Women's Institute is a very valuable organisation, which interests itself particularly in educational and rural district matters," she said. "A petition was recently sent to Parliament by the Women's Institutes in an endeavour to obtain cheaper milk. The petition carried great weight, as the movement in England is powerful, well-organised and respected."