DURING THE BOER WAR.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17385, 23 April 1928, Page 3

DURING THE BOER WAR.

A REALISTIC PICTURE. Miss Beatrice Day, the well-known Sydney actress, delighted her listeners at. the Lyceum Club recently, with a vivid account of her experiences with a theatrical company in South Africa during the Boer War. Before commencing on her actual subject, Miss Day explained that previously she had been discussing South Africa with several members of the club, and it was their suggestion that she should address the club on her tour. “It seems,” she laughed, “that I am ‘billed’ for much more than I anticipated. Experiences of War. “I arrived in Capetown in 1890,” she began, “and after playing there for ten weeks, proceeded with Ihc company to Kimberley, where I had my first experiences of war. On returning lo Durban my engagement finished with that particular management., and I received an urgent wire lo go to Bloemfontein. However, I found that my passport had been cancelled, and had to wait for six weeks until I received permission lo go as far as Queenstown, from Lord Milner, at that time Governor of South Africa. 'Novel Travelling. “Finally I managed to reach Bloemfontein by travelling in a coach hitched between the carriages of a goods train. The journey which should have taken 16 hours lasted nearly five days. At Bloemfoniein, eggs had reached the price of one shilling each. There was no green food for six weeks, and the only vegetables were potatoes. I managed, however, to persuade the cook to endeavour to procure something else, and s’he unearthed a Chesshire cheese. Of course rny cheese lunches were very popular. “The theatre had to be closed by 10.45 p.m., and we all had to be in by 11. At that time I was kept very busy, for in 44 weeks, 47 plays were staged. While in this town, Lord Kitchener came down twice to close the theatre, but gave up the idea when he saw how the entertainment was helping to keep up the soldiers’ spirits. “I then returned home and formed a new company. On the way out, smallpox broke out, and I assisted the doctor in innoculating 700 people on hoard the ship. Our first town on this trip was Pretoria, then Johannesburg, and then on to Bloemfontein. Peace was declared soon after, and we returned to Johannesburg. Lord Kitchener, wbo t had not been in a theatre for eight’years, came one evening. Naturally'all the players were thrilled. The seats for the two nights were put on the Stock Exchange, and £OOOO was realised. This sum was handed over to the South African Light, Horse Fund. Lord Kitchener travelled from Pretoria lo the performance. He was very gracious, and signed programmes working staff, 1 reminded

him, laughingly, that he had done me out of thirteen weeks’ salary by bolding up my passport.”

For her services, Miss Day was presented by the War Office with a war medal, which she prizes very dearly. Madame Rose Soley, who proposed the vote of thanks to Miss Day, said that she had given a sidelight on the more tragic side of theatrical life, and had helped all lo realise how much the profession can do in times of war.