WAR AND THE Y.M.C.A.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 183, 16 June 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

WAR AND THE Y.M.C.A.

AN AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT. When tli e full : Ay of the great war comes to ho written, one of the most fascinating chapters will deal with the work at the Front- of the V M.C.A., which has sixty per cent. of ,'ts members in the fighting-line. AMien the British Expeditionary force iirst went to Franco there wero no canteens, no recreation or writing rooms, no build»ngs at all, ir. lact, where Tomniy" could spend ii- spare hours. He could only go to the 'estaminets', or drinking-shops, open in tho towns and villages, where drink was sold that was cheap, strung, and most harmful.

Hut the Y.M.C.A. got promptly to work. \\ 11hin ten days of the declaration of war 2")0 centres were opened, and huts, recreation-rooms, cinema theatres, and camp-rooms <.C all descriptions sprang up behind the lines like magic. There were endless difficulties to overcome, but the workers, nearly all of whom are voluntary, serving without fee or reward, werke<4 with such good will that to-day tlure arc more than 1.000 Y.M.C.A. centres throughout the Empire for men of His Majesty's forces, including seventytwo m France, forty in India, and thirty in Egypt. "\\e wanted,' Mr. Arthur Yapp, General Secretary, said to niC, .ocentIv, ''to make the huts and recreationrooms for the Tommies as much like a bit of clear old England as they could possibly be. Men have often said that, coming back after months in tlio trenches, the thing they appreciate most is to hear, as they do in the Y.M.C.A. huts, an English lady's voice. It would he impossible to overestimate the value of the influence of these ladies on our soldier lads 'somewhere in France.' " That the Y.M.C.A. huts have been agodsend to the troops, not only in France but also at home, and Tomniy will tell you, and it is a revelation to see, as the writer has seen, t 1 ousands of soldiers thronging the iir.ts when one of the Y.M.C.A. concepts, arranged under the personal supervision of Princess Victoria by Miss I.cua Ashwell, is announced. Altogether, there are more than 2000 Y.M.C.A. workers in France, and forty motor-cars are used for trans t and to convey workers to and from til ? camps. Y.M.C.A. motor-cars also meet all pas-senger-boats and take friends of tlio dangerously wounded to hospital and then to a boarding-house or 'pen 1 ion', where they are entertained at the expense of the Association. Win n I asked Mr. Yapp how all this work was carried on, he told me something of the financial side of the question. In the early clays of the war, when everybody thought it tvi uld soon be over, the Y.M C.A. appealed lor £2">.000. Nobody dreamed then that the Association would need to spend €102,000 on buildings, or that the day was coming when it would ho having to issue free stationery to the extent of 12.000.000 pieces monthly. But a> the need arose the public were informed, and the response was wonderful, more than £400,'/JO being subscribed. Soir.c of the g'fts are touching in the extreme. Ladies havo been known to sell out all th?.r worldly possessions in order to invest their money in a Y.M.C.A. hut in I' ance or England, and, what is more, havo given their time to assist ni running it. Boys and girls of Britain have paid the whole cost of erecting and equipping twelve large huts. Even the dogs and cats havo done their rdu-re, subscribing 11,000, with which has been erected and equipped the largest \ .M. C.A. centre in France —a double hut in one of the camps in Keuen. A fish hawker gave six half-oowns as a thank-offering to the Y.M.C.A.; <\ lieutenant sent his first month's pay after receiving his commission a boy scout gave 2s, and there lias boon thousands of other gifts quite ar touching. It is important to note that no money subscribed lor war-work has been used for the ordinary woih of tlio Y.M.C.A. " In spite of the work that has been done, however," Mr. Yapp sa ; l to mo, "we are really only standing on the threshold. Hundreds of huts arc* stid wanted, but the generosity of the public has never yet failed us, and we st\. appeal for help with every coif donee.