CANTEEN DUTIES

Waikato Times, Volume 129, Issue 21549, 11 October 1941, Page 10

CANTEEN DUTIES

WORK AT SOLDIERS’ CU B j Billiards, cards, ping-pong and ; quoits are the chief form of amuse- ! ment at the Soldiers’ Club in the I Winter Show buildings during the 1 week-ends, when members of the j Hamilton Women’s Auxiliary Volun- ' teer Corps entertain and provide j meals for soldiers on leave from the 1 sui rounding military camps. As | many as 300 soldiers visit the club j during the week-ends and on many ! occasions some 500 cups of tea are j served. Magazines, books and ilj lustrated papers are provided and i headed writing paper is available. ; Dancing and community singing are ; always popular and the pianists are j constantly in demand. I The navy uniforms of Ihe girls j mingle happily with the predominati ing khaki, and hare and there the I gold stripes of the n.c.o's or the sii•ver buttons of the officers add variety, i The five platoons alternate in taking ! week-end duty and each girl is cxI pected to give at least two hours con- ! tinuous service. Two officers of tne | headquarters’ staff are on full-time ; duty with the platoon commander ! and n.c.o’s taking different hours so | that there are always officers of some ranking present. AH Service Voluntary ' All duty is, of course, entirely i voluntary, and the district commit- ' tee of the Women’s War Service j Auxiliary arrange, direct and approve of all the work undertaken by | the Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer • Corps. i In the canteen the bread, butter, j tea and sugar are supplied by tne Patriotic Committee, the milk is : donated and local caterers give what j remains of their stocks after closing , time on Saturday. However, the I bulk of the food is provided by the 1 girls themselves, and while there is : no compulsion, each member of the J corps is expected to give the I equivalent of two dozen cakes once |i n five weeks. The men have been : recently served with colds meats, • salads and potatoes followed by bread and jam in place of the usual cakes and sandwiches, and this is greatly appreciated, as many as 60 to 80 men sitting down to lunch or tea on Sundays. There is, of course, no charge made. The club is open practically continuously from 5.30 p.m. on Fridavs until 11 p.m. on Sunday.