BRITISH LEGION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 May 1939, Page 6

BRITISH LEGION

REPLY TO TOTALITARIAN ABUSE s'iß F. MAURICE’S ADDRESS. WILL FIGHT IF LIBERTIES ARE ENDANGERED. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright. (Received This Day, 10.5 a.m.) LONDON, May 28. “Members of the British Legion were first to hold out the hand of friendship to German ex-Ser-vicemen. I am pretty sure they still desire to be friends also of Italian ex-Service men, but it is obviously impossible for us to renew contacts so long as the Italian and German Press is daily engaged in abusing our country.”—Thus said Sir Frederick Maurice, in his opening presidential address at the British Legion’s annual, meeting, which is being attended by a thousand delegates.

Sir F. Maurice expressed surprise that the German and Italian newspapers were making “the same mistakes as in 1914,” representing us as a degenerate people anxious for peace because we are afraid to fight. “Let there be no mistake,” he added—“if our liberties are threatened, we will fight. If our friends are menaced we will stand by them. The legion has been asked to make up the establishment of national defence companies fcom • 9,000' to 25,000 and also to provide the staff at two hundred recruiting offices in the'event of mobilisation. This and other work the legion will gladly do-”