"ALL ARE WELCOME."

Otago Witness, Issue 3338, 6 March 1918, Page 39

"ALL ARE WELCOME."

MOTTO "OF THE CHURCH ARMY. \Vhen war broke out and the hardships of winter campaigns were experienced, one of the first bodies to enter the field for the benefit and welfare of the soldier was the Church Army. The whole of their large and well-equipped ■ organisation was brought into operation. The motor ambulances of the Church Army engaged on the western front now number 50; there were not so many of them in the beginning, but they were the first to enter' this field of work. To-day this body has 1000 rest huts on the various battle-fronts, no fewer than 220 being in the actual firing-line. In places where it is. not possible to erect a hut, or even a tent, these rest-places are located in ruined buildings, cellars, and even in dugouts. Fifty kitchen cars, each capable of making 300 cups of hot drinks at a boiling, are at work daily behind the'trenches, supplying refreshment to the men coming out. And in London, across the water, hundreds of beds for soldiers on leave are provided in hostels, included among which are such buildings as Buckingham Palace Hotel, which was handed over to the Church Army by the Imperial Government. During the past seven months funds have been raised in New Zealand to erect the Church Army huts rat a cost of £SOO each. The upkeep of the- huts amounts, to £SO each. The Church of England * Military AfFairs Committee, which controls all the institutes for soldiers in New-Zealand, on the transports, and overseas, is now appealinn- for funds to carry on the noble work. All told, upwards of £1,000,000 has been spent on this work since the war began, and the huts and hostels and other "places so provided are open to all, irrespective of sect or creed, the motto being, "All are welcome." -