A LITTLE BELGIUM

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10057, 23 August 1918, Page 3

A LITTLE BELGIUM

It) HEART OF ENGLAND INTERESTING STORY OF ELIZABETHVILLE. If you ask any British working-man what it was that drew England into the war, one word will give you his answer: “Belgium.” Those who are versed in high politics may argue as to whether, if Germany had refrained from “hacking her way through” Belgium. British statesmen would none the less have felt compelled to draw tlie sword. That* is 'a hypothetical question which it is impossible to answer with certainty. But plain men deal in plain facts, and for the plain man in England it was the invasion oi Belgium that placed intervention beyond tho region of dispute. As if in commemoration of this supreme fact, there has sprung up in tho very heart of England a Little Belgium, with factory, houses, church, schools, and care complete. Save for tho broad north-country accent of tho genial policeman, who represents the majesty of English law. you will hoar naught but Flemxsn and Walloon spoken in its streets. Step inside Little Belgium for a moment, and you will find yourself breathing a different airless dour, loss responsible, more fuP| of the zest of life than the atmosphere of the England which girdles it around. . Should you be a linguist, you may chat with Belgian soldiers wounded in tbs service ot their country, 01 talk with one of the trim Belgian housewives. as she “tends her shining pots and pans or gives the finishing touches to her specklcss white naperyShould your tongue be of scant service to you as a medium of communication, you' may watch the sister ot mercy, in her gracious, flowing robes, as she takes her way to the girls school, or listen to the haunting cadences of the Belgian melodies which come floating on tho air fro™ classroom or cafe. Or,, if you will, you may wander into the factory, and watch the sturdy Belgian employees at their work, or stray into tho gardens and see what fair flowers an exile may i aise upon an alien soil • NAMED AFTER BELGIAN QUEEN. You will find this miniature Belgium nestling in one of tho most beautiful valleys or northern England, not far front tho wharves and dockyards of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It is £a!l, Elizabothville. after King Albert a heroic consort, and several of streets bear the names of other members ot the Belgian Royal .Family- But LimabothviUe is not unmindful of its Allios. There is a Place George V., and a Boulevard Queen Mary, while General Joffre ami Lord Kitchener are also C °Hore”°in tills small hut compact community, some four gians are employed, making shells lor tho British Army, and hero thcir wives and children have found a peaceful haven after the horrors oftheirdevastated homeland. Elizabothville is » memorial, raised by the British Government in honour of tho tie which binds England to Belgium, and, as the Belgian Minister for War has declared, it shows in most practical form “what the co-operation of tho two Allied nations can produce. It was Mr Lloyd George, then Minister for Munitions, who was responsible for tho establishment of Little Belgium at Elizabothville. The Belgian Government was at first loth to release the necessary men, as they could be found only in her fighting forces, but eventually it warmly co-operated in the proposal, on tho ■understanding that only Belgians should be employed at tho factory, and that they should bo under the control of a Belgian general manager. This condition was, of course, willingly agreed to. It was, indeed, the essence of the scheme, and some four thousand workmen were sent over, with a full managing staff. Out of this number, nearly ninety per cent, have seen service, while about three-quarters have been wounded in the field. Some four hundred, moreover, have been decorated for distinguished military service. Tho men are cheerful and happy, and their smiling faces testify to their appreciation of their surroundings. ENERGY AND INDUSTRY.

The stacks of 6-inch and 8-inch shells, waiting in tho storeroom to bo transported to tho front, boar witness to their energy and industry. Already the factory has provided more than * million and a half shells for the Bn tish Army, and, as regards the ecy. nomy of "output, it is sufficient to re i mark that in December, 1916, the number of pounds paid out fortnightly in wages was double tho number of tho weekly production of shells, while today tho two figures balance one another, although in the meantime the rate of pay has been increased. But Eliznbcthvillo is something more than a factory. It is a town. When the Belgian soldier downs tools, aftoi a hard day’s work, ho returns to tho comfort of a well-kept homo, and finds his wife and bairns waiting to welcome him on the threshold. 'lire town has been planned ou tho most approved lines of modern building, and the ut. most care has been taken to secure that the houses are trustworthy and pleasant to the eye. All the furniture and utensils have been supplied to tho Ministry for Munitions, and tho interiors of tho cottages present a cosy picture of happy homo life. Each house has its own water sup. ply and sanitary arrangements, and electric light is laid on throughout. In the evenings you may see the proud owner digging in liis own garden or assisting in the great allotment campaign which is no\V being pressed with such success throughout tho length and breadth of England. Tho weekly payments made by tho tenants cover rent, rates, and tho use of the household furniture, and are not based upon any idea of profit. A G AUDEN CITX. The streets are wide and pleasantly planned, and tho ample space allowed differentiates Elizabethvillo from tbo industrial quarters—so often ugly and overcrowded —of the older towns. As is well known, tho Ministry of Munitions, in the housing arrangements which it has made for the great army of munition-workers, which has been called into existence by tho war, has proceeded very largely upon “Bolden City” linos, and has enlisted the services of some of tho most distinguished bousing authorities in tho country. There are three public dining-halls, where tho workers—and, foi that matter, a largo number of the <sthor in-

habitants—take-their- meals, and where the food is good and the charges low. “Communal housekeeping” has long been an established feature of the "Garden City,” and tho communal kitchens which have been established in many of the chief industrial centres since > the war have emphasised the economy in time, money, and labour, which may be affected by co-operative enterprise. Tho principle has special advantages when, applied to the new munition "villages,” and it has proved a groat success at ElizabethviUe. In the largo cafe and recreation hall, at the sign of the Cheval Blanc, the features of tho Brussels cafe are reproduced as exactly-as possible. Games, concerts, boxing matches, wrestling bouts—such are s ome of the diversions in which tho inhabitants of Elizabethvillo delight, and the recreation hall is the natural ceutro of the social life of tho town. Shopping at Elizabethville is a simpler and less exacting process than elsewhere, for, in addition to mt butcher’s shop, where the Belgian mothor sends her little girl to draw the family meat ration as if she were a British housewife born, there is only one emporium to satisfy tho varied neod s of . the community. ■ At- this • village Wanamaker’s, you may purchase^—of course from Belgiansalesmen “and womeii—all that you require forj-our household, and you need have no fear that you are being "fleeced”'by some rapacious retailer. There is a plentiful supply of goods at Elizabethville. and_ many a London suburb would onw it its facilities for rapid and satisfactory purchase. HOLY GROUND. The Chuwih of St. Michael is a plain, simple building, but it is bright and decorously ornate within. How many a petition must have been offered within these humble walle for a brother, a son, a sweetheart still servI ing in the field. How many a prayer ! for victory must have been, uttered. I How many a silent tear must have been dropped in remembrances of happier days and the sweet sanities oj home and fireside. And lo hon Dieu must have listened, too, to many a sign of thankfulness that after the tortures and terrors of an invaded country, the worshippers have found a quiet haven in this peaceful English valley. This simple shrine is, indeed,, holy ground, rich in, more sacred memories than many a cathedral. -It is the Church of tho Exiles, whence the windows are always open towards Jersualem. in the hospital, where “cases” are tended by White-robed and gentle nurses, all the doctors are military surgeons. As has been said, some threequarters of the .Elizabethville workers are wounded soldiers, and, while they have been restored to health and strength sufficiently to perform a good day’s work, an old wound often proves jealous of too speedy a convalescence and gives trouble once more. Thera is a special maternity ward in tho hospital, where the new citizens of ElizabethviUe find dainty cots ready-to their arrival, -and where sweet flowers and fruit bear a breath of the countryside. ‘ • ■ • HAPPY CHILDREN. And what, of the children? Let the bright looks and merry faces in the playground of the girls’ school tell their own, story. Elizabethville is itself a baby town, and its children lead a free and happy life. Go into the class-room and hoar the girls singings theid school songs, or watch the boys, ihtefitly ‘ listening, while their master, still Thi ' army ''uniform, instructs them in the Ihngukge ‘of their temporary hosts. Or pay a visit of inspection to tho Boy Scouts’ Troop which has been formed at Elizabethville. and hear the boys give three lusty cheers for England.' You will then know something of the vigour and health which course i through the veins of this young comI munity and will cherish .no fears for * tho Belgium which is to he after- the ■ war. \ , I For if Elizabothvillo is • something I more than a factory it' is also something more than a fact. It is a symbol. I.And symbols are more potent and enj during thani facts. Elizabethville places pn record,- in the industry of its workmen, in the courage and resourcefulness of its women-folk. in the cheerful good spirits of its boys and girls, that Belgium will arise again, her strength renewed and her national vigour ’ unimpaired. In building' Elizahethvide,' England has given a hostage' to the future, and lias written,, in letters of bricks and mortar, her determination that Belgium, at, whose call her manhood flocked to the colours,, shall be restored in fullest integrity and recompensed—so far as recompense is humanly possible —for the immeasurable crime which has been perpetrated against bcr. There is laid in ElizabethviUe to-day the first stone of tho Belgium of tomorrow.