CLUB FOR SOLDIERS

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21369, 13 March 1941, Page 12

CLUB FOR SOLDIERS

NEW ZEALANDERS IN EGYPT THEIR “OWN HOME” AT LAST [From the Official War Correspondent with the N.Z.E.F. in the Middle East.] EGYPT, February 6. Described by Major-General B. C. Freyberg as a gift from the people , of the Dominion, the New Zealand I Forces Club, which was officially i opened yesterday afternoon, gives to | New Zealand troops in the Middle j East at last “a home of their own.” ; Delay in deciding on the inauguration of such an institution was due : iargely to the swift changes in the I trend of international affairs during 'the greater part of last year, and the j long uncertainty as to the theatre of j war in which the N.Z.E.F. would be concentrated. Today, however, the j Force is proud to own a club unsur- | passed, if not unequalled, by any i other of its kind in Egypt, j In the full year in which New : Zealanders have served in the Middle East they have been made j more than welcome at the numerous I services clubs which sprang up with ! the flow of troops into this war zone. | They have-shared the hospitality ex- ! tended to the forces generally as a 1 result of the energy, generosity and I enthusiasm of men and women of , the British community, whose efforts have been led by such prominI ent figures as Lady Lampson, wife :of the British Ambassador, Lady ; Russell, wife of the Chief of the Cairo City Police, and Lady Wavell, wife of the G.0.C.-in-C. Middle East. Debt Acknowledged ! Major-General Freyberg acknow- ‘ ledged with gratitude the debt his ! force owes to these good friends, and he had a special word for a party I of women whom the New Zealand,1 ers know as “the ladies of Maadi.’ • I Not only have these women—mostly j housewives of a Cairo garden suburb—conducted primarily for the I I New Zealanders ever since their first ! weeks in Egypt a splendid recreation L j and refreshment centre near the base ’ j camp, but they have also invited ’ many of the men into their own ' | homes. “The ladies of Maadi have ’ i a special place in the heart of every ’ ! man of the N.Z.E.F.,’’ the comman--1 i der said. He paid ti ibute, too, to • l the movement behind the founding of a second institution which is primarily for the benefit of the New Zealanders. This is the Kiwi Club, opened by Lady Lampson and other British Red Cross workers for patients and convalescents at the New Zealand General Hospital. Sir Miles and Lady Lampson, Lady Russell and several other representatives of the British women s organisations attended the opening of the new club, and the commander led his men in rousing cheers as a I mark of appreciation of their work, i The opening ceremony was carried i out by Lady Wavell, who said she 1 hoped the club would recapture i something of the atmosphere of the . New Zealanders’ own country and • their own homes. She remarked on ; ° the fact that it was hoped that sup- ’ plies of New Zealand products I ranging from beer to butter, and perhaps even including tinned oys- , j ters, would shortly be available-

;! Loan Poll Approved ) ! Approval of a proposal to borrow 1 i £2BOO for the purchase by the Newr i market Borough Council of an area s j to the south of the railway line be- - ‘ longing to the Newmarket Domain 1 Board was given at a poll of l-ate- - payers of the borough yesterday. A s total of 163 votes were cast for the 1 proposal and 26 against.