SERVICE TRADITIONS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 672, 25 May 1929, Page 13

SERVICE TRADITIONS

GOVERNOR-GENERAL SPEAKS TO YOUNG OFFICERS

NEW CLUB ROOMS OPENED **The difficulty of declaring these rooms open is that only last year I declared your other premises open. It is pleasing, however, that the new quarters indicate some air of permanency.” r J'HESE were the remarks of thi Governor-General. Sir Charle* Fergusson, who opened the new clubrooms of the Auckland Officers’ Club last evening. The 120 officers pres ent represented every arm of the military service, and the assembly in eluded officers of the Imperial Army, the Navy and the Air Force. His Excellency, who was accom panied by Captain E. P. O. Boyle and Captain E. L. Orr-Ewing, was welcorned by the president. LioutenantColonel T. H. Dawson, who expressed the club’s appreciation of his kind ness in coming so often among them Lieutenant-Colonel Dawson welcomed also the officers of the senior service and other guests. Among those present w’ere Sir Wal ter Stringer, Commodore G. T. C. P. Swabey, representing the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. Captain L. V. Wells, R.N., Lieutenant-Col-onel R. Tracy luglis, Lieutenant Commander C. H. T. Palmer, R.N.V.R . and Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Parkes. vice-presidents. Brigadier H. R. Potter, officer in charge of the Northern Command, who is still indisposed in Rotorua, was represented by Major H. C. Glendining. Speaking more particularly to the young officers. Sir Charles reminded them that they had another duty beside that of teaching the art of war. That was to instruct the men under their care in the principles of citizenship. In the Officers’ Club officers of the territorial forces, who had not the advantage of constant social intercourse in the officers’ mess, which was one of the most important institutions in the service, had the oppor tunity of themselves absorbing and passing on to their men the trad) tions of the service and the prineipu of citizen discipline. Those were tin principles which, carrying the arn>> in the field of victory, carried also the nation to greatness. THREE WORDS The war, continued Sir Charles, while it robbed the Empire of a great proportion of its youth, pushed the remainder on to manhood, with the result that the youth of today was neither ignorant nor ill-informed. To them he would give three words to ponder over: “The side, the spirit and the second innings ” By the side he meant an appreciation of team-work and self-sacrifice: by the spirit he implied the traditions of the school, which taught one to do by instinct the things one should do and to avoid the things one should not do; and by the second innings he meant the instinct of remembering that until the last ball was bowled the game was not lost. He strongly advised young officers to give brief lectures to their men on the meaning of those words. During the evening LieutenantColonel J. Hardie Neil, past president was elected a life member. An enjoyable programme of musi cal items was given by the Lyric Four (Messrs. A. McElwain, H. Richards, A. Ripley and E. Thomas).

House Destroyed Fire at 2 o’clock this morning completely destroyed a seven-roomed dwelling owned by Mr. W. H. Hall, in Somerset Road. Carterton. Th** family escaped with a few articles of clothing. When discovered the fire had a big hold and, as the house was about four miles out from town, no water supply was available. The building was completely razed. —P.A.