WAR WORK IN BELGIUM

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16853, 5 June 1920, Page 7

WAR WORK IN BELGIUM

A 2TZV7 ZEALANDER'S RECORD.

(rBOM OUR OWN" COnKESrONCENT.) LONDON, March 25. April 7th is the date which has been ■ announced for tho we ucling of Miss ■ Beatrice E. Dormer Maunder, of Warleish, Rangitikci. to Mr George Knowlos 51.A., LL.M.. or Stockton House, Wiltshire. The ceremony will j take place at Brompton Parish Church, j and a i-ecoption will follow ab tho liCiyi- ! urandt Hotel, where the hostesses will 'be Lady Norman and Mrs Harrv • Bridges (nee Miss Douglas, daughter ot the late Sir Arthur and Lady Douglas). It is only about, three months since Miss Dormer Maunder returned to England from Belgium, where, as "Organising Directress"—this descriptive appellation is her own—of hospitals under Belgian military control, she put up a. magnificent record of continuous won; which was begun in September, 1914> and which by the time the armistice was signed had made vast development. Her main idea was to see to the •"comforts'' of the patients—a wide -term which meant the provision of everything which in her opinion was necessary, and would give pleasure and help toward convalescence. The "comforts" provided might range from the provision of aii extra hundred-or-so bods at. short notice to a new-laid egg. It is a proud record of this New Zealand lady that never at any time during the war did a patient in tho Belgian military hospitals want for a now-laid egg—no matter how numerous were the patients there were plenty of eggs for all requirements—and these were obtained at no cost, for Miss Dormer Maunder had seen to the establishment of a fowl-run on an extensive scale: the eggs cost nothing, and the work entailed was an interesting hobby and occupation for convalescents. Further, a piggery was established, fodder being provided from kitchen waste. §ho saw, too ) to the organisation of concerts and amusements, and tho proceeds were divided between French and Belgians; concerts were given in every French town round about tho war zone. But all this is ratlier in anticipation, for in Septembor, 1914, when Miss Dormer Maunder first went to Ostend with the idea of saving Belgian refugees the acute distress of leaving their native land for a foreign country, things were chaotic. . Instead of going to Antwerp, as intended, slio established herself at Ostend, in the Kursaal, with the permission, of the Burgomaster and Town Council. She was accompanied by a staff of voluntary all paying their own expenses, namely: —Dr. Isobel Orminston, Nursing Sister and the following V.A.D.'s: —Misses Blancho Luccna, Marie Eliott. N. Stewart Evans, V. Stone, G. Stone, Foster, and Mrs Clarke. It was not many days before Miss Dormer Maunder was appealed to for nursing help for some wounded Belgian officers, and during the fighting preceding the German occupation of Antwerp, there were many hundreds of wounded Belgian soldiers who were quartered in one of tho closed hotels, and this little baud of workers had a trying time attending to the Wounds because necessary remedies were lacking. As the Germans presently advanced tho hospitals thus set up in Ostend had to be hurriedly evacuated, and work at night in tho Kursaal had to be done by the aid of candles stuck in bottleS on account of enemy aircraft bombardment. Retreating from Ostend, Dunkerque was reachcd, after arrangements had been made for all the wounded. In October Miss Dormer Maunder went to Paris, i 'and was asked to take charge of a | French Military Hospital, but later returned to Rouen, in response to_a teleI gram from the Belgian General in comI inand there, and the Belgian military hospital was established shortly after. !In the middle of lfJlo, Miss Dormer i Maunder went to headquarters of the i Service de Sante Armee Beige, and she ! j worked beside I'lnspecteur General I Lieut.-Gcneral Melis for his military j hospitals continuously, without a break ! for respito or otherwise, until the i: armistice. Miss Dormer Maunder speaks with real gratitude of the generosity of New Zealand friends, who sent her many things—particularly materials —for her work. She did not appeal for money, though this, too, was sent to her, and was used to make the wards attractive. It is understood that she had altoge'ither a record of 80,000 beds from the ; I establishment of the first hospital to j tho end- of the war. She lias been [ I awarded the following Belgian decora- ■ | tions: Chevalier de I'Ordro do Leopold ; I Medaille do la Reine Elisabeth, avec I Croix Rouge; Medaille commerative de ,la Guerre 1914-191 S. A French award is the Medaillo de la Reconnazzance . Francaise en Bronze. j Since her return to England, Miss ' Dormer Maunder has been giving lecj tures in Scotland, Salisbury, Stour- ! bridge, etc., illustrated by* pictures ' taken by herself of the battie-area, and | in the late autumn, if she carries out her present intention of going out to ' New Zealand, residents in the Dominion will hoar from lterself something about Belgium—the title *of her address be- ; in<7 "Belgium: Before —During—and j After the War." Her address at SalisII bury was given under the presidency of j the Earl of Radnor. The proceeds go ' | to local charities, or institutions, or to ' war memorials. APPRECIATION OF NEW ZEALANDERS. While travelling from Franco rec-ent- . ly, Miss Dormer Maunder happened to got into conversation with a British captain, who mentioned that ho had fought beside all the nationalities who had taken part in the war, but of them , : all the New Zealanders stood out most prominently in his impressions. Asked why he said that, he replied: "They are magnificent men; they have great initiative ; they are splendid all round. I say that a country that can produce such magnificent nic-n must be a magnificent country. And I am hoping to go to it." Up to this point he <lid not know that he was speaking to a New . Zealander, so his appreciation was abj solutely spontaneous, aod gratifying, j because it was unsougnt. 1 Lieut.-Gcneral Sir Charles John Melis. K.C.8.. is hoping to come to London for the wedding, as well as other Belgians of note, with whom Miss Dormer Maunder had close association on account of her work, which was under Belgian military authority from first to last. After the wedding she will revisit Belgium, and pass through All the villages where she is so well known. The residents are arranging to give her a great reception, and all the villages will be en fete. i