WAR BRIDES ARRIVE.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 May 1919, Page 6

WAR BRIDES ARRIVE.

TOTAL OF IGB WOMEN. GREAT VARIETY OF TYPES. A cordial welcome was given in Auckland last week by Aucklanders to the war-brides who accompanied their sol-dier-husbands home on the troopship lonic (says the Herald). There were 103 soldiers' wives, the largest number that has as yet arrived in Auckland by any one steamer. With them they brought 63 children —bonnie, healthy, little ones of from a few months to a year or two in age, of whom New Zealand may well be proud as future citizens. The wives presented an unique and interesting variety of types. Some of them looked surprisingly young, and many young girls, seemingly between 17 and 20 years old, were to be seen coming ashore with chubby babies in their arms, or handing them over to the stalwart young men in khaki standing proudly beside them. As the first of the new arrivals came down the gang-plank, there were cheers from the waiting crowd below, and the young couples were soon surrounded by crowds of friends and escorted into the adjoining sheds, there to forget their temporary embarrassment in the kindly welcome given, and in liberal supplies of hot Jtea and other refreshments hospitably pressed upon them.

The warmth of Auckland's welcome was thoroughly appreciated by all. Some of the little brides approached the gangway with the pathetic, bewildered look of those who find themselves in an unknown land, with only strangers to give them greeting, and in their minds a great deal of uncertainty as to what that greeting will be. However, they were not long left in doubt; one girl-bride spoke afterwards, with depth of feeling, of her anxiety and wonderment as to how her coming might be viewed by the people of her husband's land, and of her relief and gratitude that her welcome had been so kindly.

THE HORRORS OF INVASION. Many of those who are making New Zealand their future home, have known in full measure the horror of war, and have lived not only through days of suspense and privation in England, but through the horrors of German invasion and Bolshevik tyranny. Among those who spoke yesterday of their experiences were a young Russian lady, whose home in Petrograd had been destroyed by the Bolsheviks; another, a French girl, from a village twice captured by the Germans, and twice wrested from them by the British troops, and yet another from Poland, whose village had been caught in the tide of German invasion. Among the British girls were some who had worked in the great arsenals, others in hospitals, yet others who had taken up office work. . . And to each of them, in the midst ! of war, and death, and sorrow and labor, I had come romance, the opening up of new horizons in a brighter, happier land, and a chance of forgetfulness of all the dark and tragic experiences of the war years.

NURSING BELGIAN WOMEN. A vivid recital of her work in hospital among the women refugees from Belgium was given by one of the soldiers' wives, formerly a nurse in a. London hospital. "When the first great rush of Belgian refugees started in England, many of the women were sent to our hospital," she said. "Some of them were horribly mutilated. I wish those people who do not even yet quite bebeve stories of German cruelty could have seen them, some of them just young girls, who had been subjected to unspeakable outrage. . . A number of them were almost insane from the horror of it. We did all we could for them, and in spite of the'awful injuries of some they recovered, and were then sent to a convalescent home. They all spoke of going 'home' when the war was over, and never doubted for a moment that the Germans would finally be driven out of their country." Several of the English girls had worked in the great British arsenals at Woolwich and elsewhere prior to their marriage. One waa engaged in testing fuses, another in filling the shells. It was hard work, and sometimes dangerous, and only the great need of England would have induced them to undertake it. Exciting times frequently occurred during the German air raids, and several bombs were dropped very close to the arsenals, although, fortunately, no direct hits were registered.

•EXPERIENCES DURING AIR RAIDS. Other women also spoke of the terror of the air raids. "We got quite used to rushing into the basements and dug-outa for shelter," said one, "only in the end it got badly on my nerves. When I used to hear the droning of the engines and the explosions of the shrapnel I felt as though I simply must rush out, not into the dugouts, but right outside, where I could see what was going on. A bomb fell on a house not far away from where I was once, and killed many people. Even those in the basements were not safe, for one bomb crashed through the four floors of a house in Holloway and exploded right in the basement where all the people were crowded."

Another speaker told of the precautions taken by many of the timid, Night after night, she said, she had watched processions of women on their way to the tunnels under the Thames, wheeling perambulators, carrying with them blankets and provision for spending the night with their children underground. x Among other women workers was one who had been employed as a lettersorter in the London West post office. "There were about 500 women there altogether," she said, "and they undertook every branch of work. The sorting was not difficult when one became used to it, but you needed a good memory. We were given one month's training, on salary, and then, with war bonus, earned about £2 2s a week. I liked the work, and having lived in London all my life, was accustomed to the names of places. I don't think I would like to take on the same work in New Zealand, though," she added laughingly, "for my husband has been telling me a few of your local Maori names."

CONDITIONS OF LIFE IN LONDON. Conditions of life in London were also interestingly described by this speaker. The high wages of the war period had brought about a remarkable period of prosperity for many who had never had money in their lives, and the cancellation of the war bonus six months after the Signing of peace was, she said, being awaited with great apprehension by the workers. Many of them, both men and women, were eagerly waiting any chance to better their condition by coming out to the Dominions, where there seemed to be a so much better chance of making a good living. One of the points mentioned in connection with living in London was the great demand for housing accommodation. Rents had advanced, and even with, tfo war boaua. aaay workwg tad

found it difficult to live. The speaker herself, a widow, who had subsequently married a New Zealander, had occupied a three-room flat in Brixton, the rent for which, unfurnished, had been 9s 6d a week. When given some idea of New Zealand rents, to say nothing of the shortage of houses, her ideas on the housing question received an obvious jolt. GOOD FOOD AGAIN!

"Anyhow, there is one thing I know we can look forward to," remarked another bride, "and that is plenty of good food." What the new arrivals were chiefly looking forward to in this line was sugar, butter, and meat. It was explained that rationing was still in force in England up to the time of leaving. Only loz of butter, 4oz of margarine, and Jib of sugar was allowed each person a week. White bread was restored immediately upon the signing of the armistice, but in other respects conditions were much the same as during the war period.