ROTARIANS GATHER

Chronicle (Levin), 1 July 1947, Page 4

ROTARIANS GATHER

WELLINGTON CLUB VISITS LEVIN Almost 30 members of the Wellington Rotary Club were guests of the Levin Club nt. the latter's weekly meeting in Lgvin. last evening, and the gathering of 60 spe'nt a mpst epj oyable two hours in an atmosphere of that good fellowship which is qne of the keynotes of Rotary. The president of the Levin Club, Mr. E. R. Winkler, warmly welcomed the visitors from Wellington, and acknowl&dged the assistance which the city club h.ad given the movement locally in the twd years since it was first sponsored. Mr. Winkler also expressed pleasure at the presence of Rev. J. C. Davies, of the Lower Hutt Club, formerly a well-known resident of Levin. Mr. Herbert S, Wilkinson, president of the Wellington Club, said. how pleased the Wellington Rotarians were to be in Levin, and* • thanked local members for the fine welcome given them. Mr. Norman Hunt, of Wellington, jntroduced the speaker, Mr. O. G, A. Horne, who told of his experiences during a recent trip to the United Kingdom. Arriving in London he had been strnck by the difficulties of travellrng in Great Britain today, said

Mr. xiorne. Aiong pia,,uioriii waiting for the train the people were lined up eight deep, and when It came in there was a " wild scramble for accommodation on it. He was travelljng to Doncaster and throughout "the 200-mile journey Was compelled to stand so tightly compressed in the .compartment that it was impossible even to extract a packet of cigarettes from pne's "pocket. In the refreshment rooms there was the same rush and jostling. Ip Hufl he had seen evidence of war damage and destruction everywhere, continued Mr. Horne. The city was approximately the same size as Wellingtph and during the period from September, 1939, to March, 1945, it had experienced 815 air raid "alerts" and 82 actual raids. A 'total of 1200 people had been killed and 3000»treated in the hospitals. In all 86,700 houses had been destroyed, rendering 152,000 homeless, leaving only 5900 houses which had escaped undamaged. The shopping area had suffered simfliarly and -the ■ bupdep thi-own on the remamihg shop7keepers was immense. Huge ■ gueues /lined up -the Whole day dutside the shops, irrespeotive of the weather. All the people queued up- with a smile, yet very few of them , went horne to a meal such as those present had enjoyed that evening. From Hull he had gone to the fine old city of Manchester, which flad suffered fairy considerably in some areas during the war. The blast furnaees in tjie iran and steel founding district surrounding Sheffield had presented a very fine target for the Luftwaffe, and they had received a heavy battering, but a great rebuilding pla'n was under way and the people hoped ultimately to build an even better Sheffield. At the conclusion Mr. Horne answered numerous questions. Mr. H. B. Burdekin then voiced appreciation to the speaker, a vote of thanks being carried by acclamatipn.