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Hokitika Guardian, 8 February 1922, Page 2

General Sir Andrew Russell, K.C.M. G., who is to honor Hokitika with a visit this week, was a notable figure during the great war. He commanded the New Zealand Division with conspicuous success in the field, and won the respect and admiration of all who served under him. General Russell is a soldier made in New Zealand. He ■ was not created a soldier by the mere circumstance of the war. Long before Armageddon overtook the world, General Russell was making a study of war tactics, and was quietly and naturally fitting himself for the great charge which was to be given him. Looking back now, it seems to have been part of the eternal fitness of things, that General Russell should have begun his mental training so far in advance, and that long before the alarm bugles rang out he had studied war tactics, and the theories of the army authorities on the European continent. Naturally the knowledge stored up in those preparatory times stood the soldier good service in the days of reality to come. Gene r al Russell commanded one of the best divisions in the field, and that best was no doubt due in a great measure to the well-trained officer at the head of the division. One of the tests of General Russell’s success ;is the .meanre of his popularity with his men. That was whole-hearted in the extreme, signifying that a as man and a soldier he had those pleasing human attributes which count in the favor won among his fellow men. The General is a very modest and unassuming man, but his genuine worth is beyond all dJoubt. He did his King and Country great service, and is worthy the plaudits of those who indirectly benefited at his hands. A cordial welcome will await him here, but however hearty it may lie it can in no way bo overdone.

A praiseworthy movement is in hand to complete the Hokitika State School war memorial ready for unveiling on June 3rd, King’s Birthday. The foundation stone was laid last June, and it will ho very fitting if the memorial can he completed by next June. Some additional funds are still required, and this money is to be raise'd during the month, when the memorial will he ordered, and is to he delivered in time for unveiling on the suggested date. The object has been commended to the public before, and a good deal of practical support has been forthcoming. It turns out however that the whole of the town has not been canvassed for donations as yet, and this remissness I is to he made good in the next two or three weeks. The purpose is a very worthy one. It is singularly appropriate that the young mind of the present and succeeding generations should be impressed with the sacrifice entailed in winning the Great War, which gave the world its freedom. To have lost the war would have been a cataclysm beyond imagination. The war was won by the self-sacrifico of the men who served, and the local school was the mental and physical training ground of quite a contingent of young men who went forth gallantly to war to play their part. They are worthy of all honor, and their action should be rP->

membered in enduring stone. Those obligations the war memorial proposed will help to fulfil. It ia for those now who appreciate what was done to see that the memorial is an accomplished fact. Very little more money is required for the purpose in mind, and there is therefore the call for more money which it is expected will be cheerfully given. .