LEGION OF FRONTEN. M ERS I
MEETING IN NEW PLYMOUTHA meeting of those interested in the formation of a brunch 01 the Legion of Frontiersmen in New Plymouth was held lit the Soldiers' .Club- on Friday nighl.. -Mr. 11. J. H. Okcy, M.P., presiding Amongst those present were members of the Egmont "and l'onalu troupes of the Legion, there-being only a small attendance of local men. An apology for absence was received from the Mayor (AirC ][. Burgess). Mr. o£ey welcomed the visitors and expressed a hope that a branch would be formed in New Plymouth. He did not know a great deal about the Legion, ; but he knew • that at the outbreak of war they offered to the Government a large body of men and horses, and also 1 offered t£> equip and maintain them. But though the offer was not accepted the : members were undaunted and numbers of them eligible for service had offered and been accepted.- He referred to the inability of the country, to maintain astanding army after-the war, and saidhe was sure-the Legion, of .Frontiersmen; .would do .much to keep alive the milk tary spirit, so that there would .be some preparation for defence in time of. peace, and in that respect the Legion would prove ■ a useful organisation. Ho then asked Frontiersman Jones to state the aims of the Logion. .. Frontiersman Jones, OC. of the Egrnonf, troupe, said tl)e Legipn's chief had recently likened the. Legion to a column en route, and he thought he might say the column liad- that night reached a new camping ground, where there was great' promise of future activities- First and foremost, the Legion .was a brotherhood in which the spirit of Empire was the common/bond- The Legion.had received' official recognition in nearly every, partof tlie Empire. aB being a means of securing the services of useful men of good character for use in times of "war. Tltt Legion had not received official recognition in New Zealand, but out of the 1700 members'at the outbreak ;of the war within a yeai 1200 .'were on active service. Those remaining were practically all over military, .ago. Referring to the 'aims of the Legion, the speaker said' the main plank was to prepare for war in time of peace. He mentioned hVv insistently the late Lord Roberts, a prominent Frontiersman, had urged liis warning, and how he spent his last years in trying to rally the forces. The' Legion was formed about nine years ago and was represented in practically every" part of the Empire. In New Zealand it was organised about six years ago, the Taranaki organisation being formed just prior to the war- He thought the time was opportune for increased activity- One point about the Legion'was' that it looked after its own by means of a mutual aid fund, from which financial assistance could be. given to any returned member of tins. Legion. Each troupe had an advisory committee !to consider assistance, for Frontiersmen.' Concluding Mr. Jones referred to the help given.by the 200 lady menders of the Legion in New Zealand who were continually sanding comforts to Frontiersmen on active service. Frontiersman" •Goldaworthy then read sonic extracts from the report of the last conference of the Legion held at Hastings last year, which contained a record of what the Legion in New Zealand had accomplished. Some reference was made to the objection of the Government to allow soldiers in New Zealand to wear the Legion's badge on their uniform. Mr. Okcy said ho had made representation to the Minister of Defence on the matter and the reply had ben that no alteration could be made in the regulations forbidding the wearing of badges on uniforms. Some returned men spoke of the comradeship amongst Frontiersmen on active service and of the fact that the badge was in evidence in the field. Mrs. Dabell, a member of the Legion present, related some of her' experiencs a s a member, and how the badge had been an open sesame almost everywhere she had gone. On the motion of. Mr- YV. Ellis, seconded iby Frontiersman Goldsworthy, it was decided to form an executive committee to assist: in forming a New Plymouth troupe. The -following, were elected to the committee: Messrs Goldsworthy, C. Gill, (iriggi Eraser Jones, W. I Ellis, and A. L. Huntef,
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Taranaki Daily News, 25 February 1918, Page 2
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721LEGION OF FRONTIERSMEN. Taranaki Daily News, 25 February 1918, Page 2
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