TORPEDOED SAILORS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 229, 15 June 1918, Page 5

TORPEDOED SAILORS

GRATITUDE FOR NEW ZEALAND

ASSISTANCE

LETTER FROM LADY DIM3DAI.E,

Last year Mrs. Hamilton Nimiiio, oreanising secretary for, the Women's Christian Tsmiienmce Uuion througliiiut A'ew Zealand i'ur work anion},' seamen, made an anneal iur comforts for the men of the mme-sweeuei's and of torpsdoed vessels, A s»leiKli(l response was made, a large quantity of warm clothing of splendid quality'(2l) eases) being sent to England, as well as money, and in reply the following letter of thanks was received by Mrs. Nimmo from Ilia Dowager Lady Dimsdale, president of .the Ladies' Guild of the British and Foreign Sailoi-d' Society ;— "Am-il 8 was a memorable clay i'ov the oCicials of the Ladies' Guild of the British and i'oreiiin Sailors' Society, for on that day the l!u' cases of comforts for the mine-sweepers which) had been sent over by the Women's Christian Temperance ITnion of New Zealand (through the superiuteudent, Mrs. Hamilton Ninimo) having been safeiy deposited at the society's warehonse in Coinniorcinl l'oad were opened and the great process of unpacking commenced. And what a magnificent contribution it is! TJiao quantities of socks, jersejs, cardigans, pants, shirts, umlervests, etc., all of the best quality and -beautifully made, sent to those splendid men of our mercantile marine...who. are engaged in their work so full of deadly peril and yet who go foith so cheerfully and uncomplainingly day in and day out in order that our troops shall be emerged safely from all parts of the Empire to the various battlefronts and that articles of food and commerce which are so important to our very existence as a nation sh.vll be taken safely to their destination.

'Lord Beresford voices the feelinjj of the whole Empire when he says,: 'Without their aid the war could not havecontinued; ihey have fed the people of this country and our tleets and aVniijs, facing death on every voyage and leaving 10,000 of their shipmates at the bottom of the sea who have civen their lives for the State'

"In addition to this splendid gift a sum of JMoO has bson received, to be used for these men, of which' £100 lias been sent to the High Commissioner for New Zealand to be used for the New Zealand sailors and firemen who' are prisoners of war in Germany or elsewhere, and of this Mim we learn Ml 10s. was collected by tho Maoris of New Zealand to bo cable 'Home.' In this year 1318, when our great society celebrates its hundredth anniversary, this gift from overseas comes us a great encouragement, and seems part of the great scheme of tilings we are undertaking throughout the Empire.

"Nothing has been of happier augury during the war than the marvellous way in which our oversea ..Dominions huye rallied to the help of the Mother Country and have made her cause then own. Wo knew they would not fail us, and yet, even we hardly realised the length to' which they would go. Tho very outbreak of war seemed to w tho fuliilmetit of God's own good time to use to the uttermost Ills int-.inn we , j'latt garnered up in all thesi.- long' years of workyears of preparation to meet in a small way the needs of the snilors for whom we had nhrnjs worked. And how great •the needs of these men have been—men who were not trained for lighting, but whose ways were the peaceful ones of commerce—and yet when the call came they were ready, and their marvellous bravery and devotion to duty furnish an epic of heroism which can never be surpassed.

"In the year'l9l7 over 22,000 torpedoed men were brought into the society's homes, while 011,711 free meals were given to them, and C2,5'28 articles of clothing supplied, and .the work is still going on and -will do till these terrible times are over and peace once more reigns over the land.

"The work we are doing is indeed an Imperial one, and one welcomes the help and co-operation of our sisters throughout the Km pi re, while our thinks go out to those in far-away New Zealand who have done so much to show their active support and sympathy for our work and thus to prove to all the world what the word Empire means."

Mrs. .Avery, Havelock North, is staying with her sister, Mis* Perry. Ke'lburn.

A most succeMt'iil entertainment was given in the Y.W.C.A. Building, Herbert Street, liisl evening, organised by Mrs. Kissel!, and taken juut in by the KjfaKarere Club, one of the circles within I'ae association. The programme, which had been arranged for the eveniii" was of much merit, and consisted m-jncipaily uf displays of signalling, marching, anil a little scene of water lilies and n butterfly, which was charmingly carried out. The signalling display was declared by an expert to be one o Ithc best of its kind, so well wore the movements executed, with such nrecisinn and sureness. The funds resulting from the entertainment are lor (he association's foreign department; as a matter of fact, for work in Japan. A very pleasant evening cml«l with tho singing of tho National Anthem.