LIFE GIVEN AWAY

Taranaki Daily News, 2 June 1934, Page 21 (Supplement)

LIFE GIVEN AWAY

HE LIVED FOR OTHERS. YORKSHIRE FRIEND OF ENEMIES. There will be many sad hearts in Germany and Austria when it is heard that William Whiting of Leeds has gone. This Yorkshire business man, for many years before the Great War broke out, had worked quietly for peace and goodwill through the Quakers Meeting to which he belonged, and through the Adult School Movement. i One of the, greatest though little realised tragedies, in the day's which followed the declaration of war was that of the innocent alien enemies in this country. Mostly quiet, humble Germans working as waiters, teachers, and so on, they and their families (often their wives were Englishwomen and their children had never been out of England) were all enemies in the eyes of the law. They were faced with destitution through loss of work and were shunned and sometimes actually ill-treated. To those pitiable war victims in Yorkshire the kindly William Whiting and his wife brought great human sympathy and practical help. When most of the men were interned he visited them in their camps and kept in touch with their families. As their number increased -he became a regular and tireless visitor. One of the terrible results of war tand-this herding of prisons was what, was known as Barbed Wire Disease, due to depression and lack of occupation. It was found among the prisoners of every country. William Whiting and his fellow-members of the Society of Friends did what they could to make this loneliness and lack of occupation easier to bear. The British camp commandants welcomed William Whiting gladly and cooperated heartily with him. News of what was done by the Quakers reached Germany, and the result was that similar work was carried on there among British prisoners.

It was simple and unaffected work like this which helped to rebuild the bridge of friendship between the ordinary people of England and Germany after the war, and one of the greatest joys of William 'Whiting’s life was a visit to Germany and Austria in 1920, when he was received with open arms in the homes of those he had met in prison. William Whiting still went to prisons after the war. He was one of the first ordinary men to be allowed to go into gaols and visit men in their cells. This Friend went as a friend, and many old criminals have come to bless him for the hope he gave them in the dark days. William Whiting’s 77. years on Earth were years of unselfish service. The Society of Friends does not put texts on its gravestones, but if it did there should be put on William Whiting’s the words “I was in prison and ye came unto me. GOOD BOTH WAYS. . UP AND DOWN BRISTOL CHANNEL. The ports of the Bristol Channel are making arrangements for the importation of Canadian grain on a colossal scale. ■ -• ■ •. •■. ■ ’ Barry, Bristol, and Cardiff firms have spent £1.300,000 between them in ’ additional warehouses and mills for the anticipated increased trade. Over 1,250,000 tons of grain was imported last year, and it js expected... that this will be increased by’a third, this year. " On the other ’ hand, seven steamers with cargoes of anthracite coal left .South Wales as soon as the season opened. They took the coal to the Eastern ports of Canada. Arrangements have been made to ship no less than 1,500,000 tons of coal to/Newfoundland and Canada during this summer from South Wales ports. For some time this exchange has been going on between South Wales and Bristol ports and Canadian. One great advantage is the saving of ships, for no ship need go either way empty. Commerce is learning wisdom all the time.