WAR CRIPPLES

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 412, 20 April 1937, Page 7

WAR CRIPPLES

DOING USEFUL WORK. ! Factory For Disabled. I • As a result ot the Great War, England still has on hr pensions list he name;, of 450,000 disabled men, of whom 154,000 are 50 p r cent, disabled, lacking limbs or organs. The ppalling ot. 1 of 45,000 men are 80 o 100 per cent disabled, and 8000 are still in hospital, probably naver o come out until they die. In an attempt Vo h Jp these war ;• ripples, organifta’ions have been working cont tan tly throughout Great Bri ain. Amb. ssador s to New Zealand for one of ;he most successful I of the bodies, the Disabled Soldi i s I and Sailor; ' Mu ual Association, are ’ Mr and Mrs H. W. Guy, who arrived ■ in Wcir.ng'.on to conduct a campaign throughout the Dominion. Dining their tour of Nev* Zealand, which will occupy about four mon'hs, Mr and Mrs Guy bops to arouse, public interest in disabled men here by the exhibition and sale of goods, says the Dominion. If hey can pertuade any group of voluntary workers to form an organisation in this country similar to that which th y represent | hey will supply all information, including details of every process. Largest in the World. Accordingly, the S A.S.M.A., as the

voluntary workers on the Mutual Association call th ,ir group, began in 1919 i s unpretentious textile printing industry. At first only one man \.-as employed, but gradually the business expanded, becoming the l:’."gest of its kind in the world. Now th re are 50 disabled men at •ork on an es a\e near Sheffield — dyeing and hand-p inting design.*ipon silk fabrics. “Among those 50 men there are only 35 arms and 40 legs,” said Mr Guy. “One man has ’ only the first finger and thumb of the i left hand left to him.” The factory i self was erected during the war for the purpose of making aeroplane parts. It consists ( f a long shed from which bungalows radiate. Th?< work is done in the t heds. and the bungalows have been | converted for. the use of the men and | their families. Eaph home has it's i littl : pa'ch of garden. Although the little community suffered with the rest of England during the slump, it has been virtually Eelf-Eupporting throughout its existence. The- S.A.S.M.A. committea early, realised that organisations for returned soldiers’ relief could not rely alone on the charitable mind of the public. What they marketed must, be fit to sell on its merits, not for • entimental reasons. “The important thing for disabled soldi rs end sailors is not so much money, as in’erest.” said Mr Guy in an interview. “Naturally, they want j enough funds, to keep themselves and •their families, but t.he provision of I some, occupa'ion is the suresit way Ito restore their cheerfulness and | balance. Unfortunately, they are too | disabled for monotonous mechanical | work in ordinary factories, and they • are, of course, quite unfit for hard I physical tasks. The problem is Io j find some eff : c ive means ot taking their minds off their wounds and troubles.” Support of Royalty. The goods from the S.A.S M.A. factory are excellent in quality, land Mr Guy is proud of the fact that he has supplied the association’s goods to Practically -every titled person in England. Queen Elizabeth when she was Duchess of York bought a cover>et as wedding present to the Duchess; of Gloucester, and Qucien Mary Is a regular customer. Besides this factory, there tt-ere more than 40 other similar schemes in operation in England, said Mr Guy, but organised assistance v.'as. available only to a small proportion of disabled men. Many others were employed as car-parking attrndan’s or on jobs that required little exertion, and some were given work by large firms which were permitted to us?, a special King’s, seal on their no’epaper if they employed at least 10 per cent, of disabl d men. Nevertheless, there was still an army of wounded returned men who -wtere simply dragging out an existence.