RED CROSS AND WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, 16 March 1928, Page 11

RED CROSS AND WORLD

SOCIETY IN WAR AND PEACE HAD BEGINNING IN SWITZERLAND. ACTIVITIES SINCE THE ARMISTICE The world-wide activities of the Red Cross Society, something about its origin and the work it did before the war, during the war and after the war, was tho subject of an address in New Plymouth last night by Brigadier-General Bateman-Champain, C.M.G., SecretaryGeneral of the society in England. The emblem of the society was, he said, a red cross on a white ground, the exact reverse of the Swiss national flag. Many years ago Swiss citizens, appalled at the dreadful suffering of the wounded on the field of battle, came to the conclusion that something should be done in the direction of relieving the suffering. So at Swiss instigation representatives of various countries met at Geneva to launch the movement. The Governments decided to use the Red Cross .as the emblem of the medical services of the world. No one took it very seriously at first, of course, and it was not until after the Boer War that Britons took it seriously. It was about 1905 that a Red Cross society was really formed in England, and the object was not merely the knitting of socks and comforters, but the training of a personnel ready to help should there be a mobilisation, and the Territorial Army should there be an invasion. So when war was declared there were detachments ready for service. When he spoke of the Red Cross hi England he included the Order of St. John, explained the general. He was pleased to see members of the order present that night. The order and the society had corn© together during the Great War and, he was pleased to say, were now working together, not as one body, but in eo-operation. During the war they had raised thousands of pounds and V.A.D.’s were scattered in every theatre of activity. He had met them everywhere. They were not on Gallipoli, but just behind it, in Egypt and Mesopotamia and in other places. RED CROSS EVERYWHERE. When the armistice came the Red Cross was everywhere in the world. Non-belligerent countries had formed societies, not only to help themselves but others as well. -It was felt that it would be a thousand pities if these organisations were to be scrapped. Could they not be of some use in peace? A conference was held on the Continent and it was decided to recommend the society to the League of Nations. As a result, article 25 of the league’s covenant recommended the Governments to encourage the maintenance of Red Cross societies in times of peace in order that they might assist the civil community. This was signed by all the Governments in. the league. To-day 54 countries possessed societies, and all were members of the Red Cross League, representatives of which met in Paris every two years. He was firmly convinced that the movement was an influence for peace and he quoted Dr. Colquhour, the distinguished New Zealander, as a firm believer in its tremendous value. It was not a parochial movement, but was international. It Czechoslovakia, Red Cross was doing all the pioneer health work. In America the society was attending to the educational side to improve the health of ths community, and was organised to help the suffering and distressed. The organisation had helped rescue and attend the victims of the great Mississippi floods, and to-day it was performing a similar function for tho homeless and injured in the path of the waters from the burst dam near Los Angeles. The ideal of the movement was to help one another, not only in peace but in war. First and foremost among the things they were doing was tho care of ex-service men. Money raised during the war was used for this purpose, though some of it was, of course, sent back to the countries in which it had been collected. He had seen the work for ex-servicemen in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, and the men themselves had expressed their gratitude to them. To-day 'hey were spending in England in helping ex-servicetnen, naval and military, over £200,000, and it was calculated they had enough for' 15 or 20 years. RECOGNISED'BY WAR OFFICE. As a result of the success of the Red Cross in England the authorities had asked them to prepare for eventualities. Many of them said there would be no more war, and none of them wanted it, but they all got to work and about 1921 or 1922 it was found that girls and young men were again becoming ready to start training for Red Cross work; training was necessary if they were going to function properly. So under the War Office scheme the society was training people in first aid and home nursing, as the St. John Ambulance Association was doing. The War Office recognised the certificates of both organisations. The trainees were formed into detachments, and by degrees the society would get the full complement asked for.

“You must find out from your Health Department what is wanted,” urged General Champain. The young people in England were beginning to ask what scheme they might take Up towards helping the sick and injured. Five hundred ambulances used in the war had been scattered about England by the society., Each one was in charge of a detachment either of members of the society or of the St. John Association, and they were always ready for service at a moment’s notice. When the general strike came in 1924, 80 or 90 private cars waited outside the society’s offices ready to take out-patients to and from th© London hospitals. Mr. Bernard Tripp, of Timaru, had been one of the owners who offered their services in this direction. The Red Cross massage depots during the war had in peace been transformed into orthopedic clinics where children received massage and electro-therapeutie treatment. He desired to make it quite clear that in England the Order of St. John and the Red Cross Society worked together in tho closest' co-operation and the greatest harmony, not as one body, but conjointly. As an instance he mentioned the hospital at the Wembley exhibition. On a building being provided it was furnished and staffed by the Red Cross. Fifteen or 20 V.A.D.’s were provided and the society and the association worked in co-operation. The hospital was used as a clearing station for between 2000 and 3000 casualties.