FOR THE WOUNDED.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1917, Page 3

FOR THE WOUNDED.

.i'ORK OF THE WAR CONTINGENT ASSOCIATION.

(From a Special Correspondent)

London, Dec. 18. Perhaps there are 12,000 Xew Zealand troops in England to-dny, including the sick in hospitals and the fit men and reinforcements in camp. So it can be imagined the War Contingent Association, which id the official welfare organisation for the unfit, lias its hands full arranging tor the Christmas entertainment of them all. A' committee of the Association was set up for the purpose, and it had no difficulty in one or two eases in'devolving the bulk of the work on to the local committees, whi-h are more or iess permanent bodies. In some of the camps there are most capable committees, -whose talent runs even to the length of pantomime; and where this is so the Association merely pays over tho per capita appropriation for Christina.? festivity. Codford, Broekonliurst and Walton .«]! come under this head, accounting for perhaps 3500 men. Hwnehuroh, the convalescent hospital near London, is in a different category. Until recently there were many staff changes here and there docs not seem to have been a particularly successful organisation of local talent, so the Association has lately paid a great deal of attention to this important camp. It is here chat the committee of -which Lady Hardwickc is chairman, is devoting most of its attention. And here, as elsewhere, a whole day's entertainment was provided, winding np with a pantomime in the evening. The New Zealand soldiers display an extraordinary amount of talent and have astonished British audiences again and again by providing the whole of tho programme and fitting up the hall and scenery with their own hands'!" Miss Ttosmary Rees, the wellknown Xcw Zealand actress is in general charge of the entertainments for all the camps. Mrs, Leslie Harris and Mi=s Mackenzie are the other members of the committee. ■.!-. m iaS l d

ONE MORE DANCE. ' i * ! " n "' The Christmas at the reinforcement camp at Sling h entirely in the hands cf the military, but the War Contingent Association baa a considerable problem to deal with in the entertainment of t!ic men who happen to be on leave in

London. Estimates of numbers in war time are rather tricky. Until a late hour it was not known whether the War Cilice would permit leave or not. Then it became quite certain that a few hundred men would be in London at a

li'iose-ontf, for nil the hospitals devote I \ Christmas to entertaining their patients and rarely receive visitors. A separate committee was accordingly set up (with Mr. Moss Davis as chairman) to arrange that these men should have a Christmas as well as th« others. A monsbr Christmas dinner was decided upon v.ith a concert in the afternoon, breaking up just about six. But it looked too soft a thing (for the hotels and the harpies) to throw on the dreary streets ci' London for an idle evening such a swarm of homeless and unoccupied men' It was idle to ignore the possibilities cf such an arrangement, and the committee decided I hat something must W ' ('one for the evening too. Obviously a dance was the best way to pass the evening. But what about girls? Strange to say, in these manless days one of.the most difficult task is to find a sufficiency of girls for soldier dances. There are si few of the .'air sex whose time is net fully occupied in war work. But Mrs. Empson and some others undertook to find partners and in the week 01 two before Christmas they are ennvn«.sing every possible New Zealand girl within a radius of London. The Christ -

rc.ss day programme has accordingly been extended to keep the men entertained for the whole evening.

WORDS OV APPRECIATION. Mr. Massoy and Sir Joseph Ward paid a second visit vo the rooms of the War Contingent Association the other day at the invitation of the executive, to hear a statement on the. work and to see something of the system under which it is carried out. The High Commissioner *nd Mr, Andrew Fisher (High Commissioner for Australia) were also present. Lord Plunket, who was in tlie chair, read a brief ttatement outlining the v

vldesproading activities of the AssoeUt.'on. Mr. Massey said he was well aware of the extent and importance of the. work, o£ which he had heard from soldiers both here and in France. On

.".'1 sides thoro waR nothing but praise of it. Ho promise* that he would have prJiitctl as a white paper the statement tore! Pltinket had read. Sir Joseph M'c.rd spoke in similar terms. He was satisfied the funds at the disposal of the Association were, economically rjimnjzod, and the cost of artministrat'on was very moderate. He was sure the Parliament of New Zealand would sse that the Association got what money it required. ]n t\pn connection it may be stated that whole of the Association's visitors —numbering more than 100—are voluntary and practically the whole of the Ipkvv office work is also

honorary. As for the completeness c-i ihc hospital visiting, Mr. Massey Wii; delighted to meet, as far away as Belfast, a lady who on behalf of the Association was looking after the few Now Zealand wounded in hospital there., RED CROSS GIFTS. Since August the New Zealand War (Contingent Association has g had consigned to it from >Tew Zealand 384 cases of R'd Cross goods, which came direct by passenger or cargo steamer, and .WO cases by Government transports. Of the former supply 5-J9 cases havo already been disposed of either by being sent to various New Zealand Military Hospitals or unpacked and . distributed as required; an-1 only 55 cases remain in store. The Wr.r Contingent Association has acted as receiving and distributing agent for all these goods, which have been disposed of after consultation with Miss Thurston, the Matron-in-Chief, N-.Z.E.F.

The War Contingent Association is also acting as fairy godmother to the Lidy Liverpool Fund gifts, which have lately been arriving in hundreds of tons. These consignments are all checked and forwarded on, and letters constantly nr--iving from the units at the front ;,hnw that they are reaching their destination ind arc thoroughly appreciated.