THE YPRES LEAGUE

Otago Witness, Issue 3542, 31 January 1922, Page 37

THE YPRES LEAGUE

BASED ON SENTIMENT AND PATRIOTISM. THE FORCE OF COMRADESHIP. (From Obb Own Corbbspondbnt.) LONDON, November 30. Earl French, at the Ypres League meeting described the defence of Ypres as probably the most magnificent that the British army accomplished, and certainly as one of the most thrilling and outstanding feats of arms of the whole war. ‘Surely, ’ he said, “after the smoke and dust of-the conflict have cleared away, and we haie time to count our losses, appraise our achievement, and bury our dead, we can hardly regard the theatre of this iongenduring and costly struggle as common ground We must always look upon this Belgian town, t.his patch of Belgian soil, as a Greek might have regarded Thermopylae ‘as a place apart,’ with deeds and memories to sanctify it. Even were ft not, as it is. the vastest cemetery of our Britisti dead, those who served in the Yprc-s salient could never regard Ypres with indifference. And after we are gone it will continue to be a shrine for the children yet unborn of the men who served at Ypres. The object of the 'eague, which can now muster some £6,000 veterans of the salient, is to per potuate the bond of union forged on that eoil within the shadow of its lofty ruins and ancient ramparts. Those who served there regard themselves as brothers in arms It is surely a good thing in these trying times, when so many are seeking to cleave ■us asunder, to have a force, though of sentiment alone, to draw us nearer together. Every man who helped to guard Ypres, whether ho has funds to pay a subscription or not, mav come forward and inscribe Ins name on the great scroll that will be deposited at Ypres. But from those who can afford a donation the league will accept it for the purpose of building a memorial liostel at Ypres for British pilgrims to the battlefield, and for the commemoration of the historic site.” —(Cheers.) A GROWING ORGANISATION. Maj or Murat, the secretary, explained that acute trade depression had largely curtailed ilie activities of the league; to appeal for subscriptions was impossible when the country was destitute of money. Cord French’s appeal for increased membership had, however, borne, fruit, and there v,as no doubt of the ultimate success of the league. In the United Kingdom there were 40 branches, and others had been founded in Canada. Australia. New Zealand, South 'Africa, and India. It hud been decided to admit all Belgian soldiers who served under the British command during the war, and

on the Ypres Register were the names of 20,000 ex-soldiers who were at present unable to subscribe even the necessary shilling for a scroll certificate. Altogether the league rr ight consider there were nearly 26,000 members, and the potential membership, when the relatives of the dead were remembered, must be in the region of 2,ooo,ooo.—(Cheers.) The aims of the league were based on sentiment and patriotism, and the founder, Colonel Beccles Wilson, had reason to be proud of the organisation ho had created. A FEAT UNPARALLELED IN WAR. Major-general Seely, M.P., declared that when history was written in correct perspective the two outstanding episodes of the war would be the defence of Ypres and Verdun. The beginning of the First Battle of Ypres would be imperishably associated with the name of Earl French, whose genius in the first the war undoubtedly made it possible for Britain to carry on the struggle to victory. While Y’pres stood as a permanent memorial to the tenacity of our race, the nation must not forget that the defence was made possible only by the gallantry and co-operation of the French and Belgians. From first to last there was not a British division that did not serve in the salient, and any memorial erected would represent all the troops who served on the Western Front. At the decisive point in that dreadful battlefield during the first German attacks the British were outnumbered in men by 10 to one, and in weight of metal they were inferior in strength by 20 to one. For three weeks all the resources of the greatest fignting machine in the world were employed in vain—the feat of the defenders stood unparalleled in war. —(Cheers.) Through the war the attempt of the strong to destroy the weak hod been proved vain. Mankind now could never be so mad as to allow the Washington Conference and the League of Nations to fail. The glorious spirit of sacrifice manifested during the war had made a profound difference to human nature. A discussion followed concerning the memorial at Ypres. The secretary announced the strong feeling among' many members that the ruins of Ypres should be allowed to stand as witnesses to the past, but a representative of the Ypres League in Belgium declared that the Burgomaster and inhabitants of the city strongly opposed the idea. In his opinion within 10 years the Cloth Hall would be rebuilt. FIRST-HAND INFORMATION. Lord French mentioned that General Seely first served under him, then became nis chief as Secretary for War, and again served under him in France. On the latter occasion he had to give him what was known as “a good damning.”—(Laughter.) “He had only been in the field a week before my chief of staff came to me in horror a d said the Duke of Westminster and Colonel Seely had been captured. It wasn’t true, but it ought to have been. —(Laughter.) They had actually penetrated the enemy's outposts before Mons. That is how Colonel Seely' used to get his information. It was aery first-hand indeed.”—(Cheers.)