LARGEST IN EGYPT

Camp News, Volume 3, Issue 116, 2 April 1942, Page 3

LARGEST IN EGYPT

N.Z. Forces Club In Cairo STAFF OF NEARLY 300 So large has the New Zealand Forces Club in Cairo grown that it now has a staff of nearly 300 and is the largest and best known in Egypt, said Major 11. Turner, former manager of the club, who has been invalided home, in describing the activities of the club to the standing committee of the National Patriotic Fund Board. A year ago the board provided the establishment expenses of the club, which have since been refunded, the club having been a financial success, and it has been closely associated with it ever since.

Major Turner described the club as a well-appointed home for soldiers. Good hot meals were provided at the lowest prices, also sandwiches, fruit salads, and other, light refreshments. The amenities included a library with a good range of books, comfortable reading and writing rooms with free writing material, a New Zealand goods canteen, tobacco and cigarette canteen, a hostelry in up-to-date flats above the main club rooms where beds with towel, soap, and hot baths cost only 2/- daily, special rest rooms for nurses, barber’s shop, first-aid room, parcels rooms, and a commodious beer bar with a separate entrance where English. New Zealand and Australian beers were obtainable at prices about half those charged in the drinking places in Cairo. The bar was open from 12.30 p.m. to 2,30 p.m. and from 6.30 p.m. to 9.15 p.m., or 4| hours daily.

Major Turner reported that great numbers of men made use of the club’s amenities, including, in addition to the men of the New Zealand Forces, Australians, Tommies, South Africans, Rhodesians, and members of the Royal Air Force. The party of girls from the New Zealand Women’s War Service Auxiliary were in charge of all the counters and cash registers in the tearoom lounge, two were in the office, and one in the library. The New Zealand girls, assisted by natives, also made sandwiches and fruit salads. They had good hours and were given reasonable leave. Their presence gave the club atmosphere a real touch of home. Valued assistance was also given by voluntary women workers in Cairo.

The club had been responsible for a reduction in the price of cigarettes and tobacco sold by the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institute. As a result of this he estimated that the New Zealanders had saved at least £50.000.