POPULAR PRESIDENT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 254, 30 December 1940, Page 5

POPULAR PRESIDENT

R.S.A. FAREWELL TO MR F. W. K. RAYMOND TRIBUTES TO HIS SERVICE The popularity which Mr F. W, K. Raymond' has enjoyed' a--mong members of the Whaka.j tane Branch of the Returned , S?Ndiers' Association was demonstrated at the farewell tendered him ia the King Street .-.Hall. There was a large attendrepresentative of the whole -county. A novel. and effective presentation was madei of a list of naxn- - -es of those members present. The list was topped with a 'cheque,' reading "The Unity Bank of Returned Soldiers" andl entitled Mr Raymond to 'draw' One ThousRespects. The 'Cheque* bore _ the number 1/446, Mr Ray- . mond'S Great War designation. Other Gifts included aniengrav-i r ed Gold watch, the pasit Pre#dent's medallion andi a mark of esteem for Mrs Raymond. In proposing the toast to Mr Rayjiiond, the chairman, Mr L, H. Browu "vice-President of the Association, said it was with mixed feelings: regret at the president's departure, —and .pleasure at his promotion, that life Association wished Mr Raymond "corftinued success in his career. The Association, ..said Mr Brown, was los"in£ not. only its president, but a 'fintend and Digger comrade. Energy and Labour "Our president is a banker," said ■Mr Brown, "and I have heard it said that when one goes in to him for an ../overdraft he requires a lot of security. Whether that is true I do not know. But I do know that Avhere the ; Soldiers' Association is

concerned there is no limit to the overdraft lie-was prepared to put in energy and labour.'* „

The chairman said that the Waltaftane Branch oif the R.S.A. had been fortunate- in its presidents. Each had done good work and had handed •on the jewel of office without that losing any of its lustre. The speaker said that Mr Raymond - went away with the Samoan Expeditionary Force and re-enlisted upon • his return to New Zealand, serving •overseas again with a rifle brigade. ~He joined the R.S.A. 'immediately upon demobilisation, in 1918, t and. his "interest had been maintained since. Mr Raymond had always held up the mother Association as an ideal and §iad worked strenuously for R.S.A. in •terests in other centres. Prior to com ing to' Whakatane he was for two or three years vice->president of the pan itfevirke Branch and he had been only a few weeks in this, town before lie was made a member of the of the local branch. Last ;year lie was made president. The Suburb "We are pleased and honoured that,, although you have held office for onlyi .one year, like us you will' look back upon it as one of the happiest of your life." A point he would like to make* said Mr Brown, was that Mr Ray-i jnond's superiors being in Australia, tliey had little or no knowledge of New Zealand geography. That was apparent, or they would, have known that Hamilton was only a suburb of [Whakatane, a distant one at that tfeughter), and therefore there was 110 necessity, to transfer Mr RayVißond to Hamilton to secure promo- ; lion. Mr Brown quoted the inscription on the watch, the gift of the Association, saying that the mechanism . Avorked, he was sure of that, and .while the president cr,rr ; ed the watch, though he was a Mn-ker, •would have all. the 'tick"^heSii<jiii red : Should he not be content with 'tick' .alone, a 'cheque,' signed by all those

present, for one thousand respects, -would help to carry him over. Further Tributes * .Mij Brown also handed to the Presi -dent a gift to Mrs Raymond, why> had assisted the affairs of the Association and hac; done suchj wonderful -work in connection, with the Popjpy Day Appeal. •Representing the County members Mr f. Gow said that the expressed regrets of the town were no less* keenly felt in the country. While the Whakatane district was the loser in Mr Raymond's departure, it was-pleasing to know that another district •_ would benefit. Hamilton would gain. He had opened, his in friendship to all and though jffe was in the exalted state of a he did not fofget the Diggers

Mr Raymond would fake with linn the best wishes of the district. Mr J. L. Burnett said he had had a lot to do with Mir Raymond, who had proved to be a guide and philosopher to all. He was responsible for meritorious work oil the Central Patriotic Committee, being a sticker who would not stop until he obtained what he wanted. For his efforts, as chairman of the committee, he had to thank him. Mr Raymond's

transfer "would also mean a loss to the Home Guard, the executive committee of which he was chairman. Mr Raymond's present promotion was only one step and members look ed forward Ayith confidence to tl|> day when he would become general manager. ,

A Labour of Love

I Mi- Raymond, greeted with cheers, his position was one he did not like, being in. He had found it eijy to speak but to reply to the remarks made and to express thanks for rhe farewell ceremony, was hard; it made him humble. "Whatever ! may have done, i have always endeavoured to do my best for the R.5.A.," said Mr Raymond. His work for the Association had been a labour of love. The; position of President had been made easy by the» fact that he followed in good footsteps and he had always had thevery able assistance of the secretary Mr C. A. Head. Discussing the necessity for increased membership; Mr Raymond said that the figures quoted earlier in the evening showed that the strength of the Association had increased greatly over the last twelve months. The war had helped to bring the member? together because they knew that the Returned Soldiers' Association had a part to play. But the interests of the old brigade had to be watched just as carefully as those of future members. He advised an energetic drive on the forthcoming Poppy Day. The R.S.A. should "go right out after it," because the sociation could use the money to good purpose. - The Home Guard

The Home Guard was another important phase of the country's war activities and the movement should have the whole-hearted backing of the R.S.A. Every member should join as "should every reasonably fit man. Mr Raymond spoke of the reference made earlier to the fact that he had ''qualified as the leader of the Home Guard Cavalry." He said that lie had mc.t a Maori who said to him: "You the big chief of the Home Guard, eh? You the hard case Rangi says that the Home Guard going to do the. harvesting- Do the Maori out of the 3/-< an hour. You the good fellow.'* .

Mr Raymond said it was hard to express liis thoughts on; leaving after three and a half years. That time he would treasure for ever, as he would treasure the,gifts made that evening. In thanking the Association for the gesture to Mrs Raymond, he said that his wife had been of great assistance to him and her encouragement had been worth much.

Toasts and Items

Toasts honoured were:-"The-King" "The R.5.A.," Mr L. B. Savage and Mr C. A. Head; "Troops Overseas, Messrs L,. W. Luxton and G. Otley; "The "Nursing Service," Messrs I. Gow and Runciman; "The Fighting Messrs F. J. Reynolds and C. H. Brebner; "The Visitors,'" Messrs J. A. Bullard and A. King; "The Ladies," Messrs S. ( S. Shapley and C. Walker; "The Artists," Mr Atkinson. Items were presented during the evening by Dr Fletcher Cole 1 (vocal) Dr F. J. Appleby (violin), H. Clark (violin), S. Crisp (piano accordeon) C. Walker (humour),. A. Boswell (vocal), the accompanists being Mes srs Mollgaard„ Bert Cottrell and E. Armstrong. A feature of the enteitainment was the presentation, of Mr E. Armstrong's composition, "Sons of' Diggers." sung by Dr Fletcher Cole, with Mr Armstrong at the piano. The song was enthusiastically received.

at the beach by a bonfire 1 and dis~ the exhibits be invited to go to that centre the following >night for a further competitive procession, was welcomed by the committee, and it was decided to reply to the effect that the fullest publicity would be given the idea on the night of thje l Carnival.