SOLDIER JOURNALISTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2642, 13 December 1915, Page 6

SOLDIER JOURNALISTS

HONOURED BY THEIR COMRADES SOCIAL GATHERING. ' Journalists of Wellington entertained on Saturday niglit a number of their comrades who havo joined the colours, and who are at present in the training camps. About 3U journalists—the exact number is not known—are at present in camp, or about- to go into camp, and of these some 20 were present at the function. Mr. Fred J. Earle, president of the New Zealand Institute of Journalists, took the chair at the function, and in proposing the toast of "Our Guests" he gave an interesting accouut of the response made by journalists to the call for men. First he asked the company tp stand in silence for a few moments as a mark of respect to the memory of 'their comrades who had given their lives in the Empiro's cause. The records available showed tho following names on tho roll of honour:— i Killed in Action. - Corporal,,F. A. Ciraino ("Evening Post");. .r. . . Lance-Corporal S. B. Monteith- (Dannevirke "News"). Pte. R. J. Daniel (The Dominion). o Pte. C. C. Yorko("Lyttelton Times"). f Pte. Albert Harding ("Taranaki r News"). e Pte. A. Wagstaff (Timaru "Herald"), a Pte. J. R. Dunn ("Wairarapa Daily I Times"). fc J : Missing, Believed to be Killed. \ ' Pte. F. L. Vickers. ("Hawke's Bay. I Tribune"). ' ' I > r Died of Wounds. Corporal-Leslie P.. Sole ("Taranaki p Herald"). 2 Mr. Earle said that the Institute of £ Journalists had circularised every news- rj I paper office in the Dominion in the en- „ deavour to obtain a complete record of f .journalists who have enlisted. Replies n had been received from 100 papers, in- a eluding every journal of'importance, and .j these showed that 107 journalists from a New -Zealand had enlisted. ' Of these [, seven, had been killed in action, one had jdied of wounds, one was missing, sixteen jj had been, wounded, and six had been i invalided. One lady journalist who had i also been trained as a nurse, Miss Bran- f, don, had served at Samoa in the hos- n pital there, aiid was'now with the New j Zealand Army Nursing Division in the |j Mediterranean theatre of war.- , _ Mr. Earle also read a great number a of congratulatory messages from edi--tors' of newspapers and other journalists of standing, who were unable to at- |, tend:.' /Messages had come from nearly every-important newspaper office in the c Dominion. - j A Message from the Premier. { ■ The Prime Minister wrote • that he t had another engagement, but ho sent t his good wishes. His message con- e tained the following apt quotation from <3 King Henry V: £ "He who liatli no stomach to this fight, c Lot him depart; his passport shall be made „ ' And crowns for convoy, put into his purse. lVc would not die in that man's company e , That tears his fellowship to die with, us." p The toast was received with enthusi- i asm. d Responses were inadk. by Captain / Shand' (Thames "Star"), Private li K. Swiney (Auckland "Herald"),; and c Private A. N. Field (The Dominion). t The toast of "Our Comrades in the t Firing Line" was also honoured with .] enthusiasm. , Captain Vine (Records f Office) responded. £ The musical programme was provided c more by friends of journalists than by c the newspaper men _ themselves.' Particularly were they indebted in this respect to Mr. Sigurd Lestrup, Mr. Bernard Page, Mr. Norman Aitkeh, and Mr. L. Exton. / Mr. Lestrup, who- is a vocalist of no common parts, sang "The Two Grenadiers," and also the prologue t from "I Pagliacci." By special, re- E quest, -he sang "The Two Grenadiers" c later in the evening, and on both occa- i sions he delighted his audience. Mr. t Norman Aitken gave two dramatic c sketches. Journalists who supplement- a ed- the programme were Mr. C. Norman, - Mr. H. T. B. Drew, and Mr. Ivan Levy. ■. Before the party dispersed the health of the secretary of the institute (Mr. 1 J. R.-Smith) was:honoured, _ and Mr. ! Smith was -handed a little gift to com- I meinorate the occasion. 5 . - i