League Secretary's Notes.
THE YPRES TIMES
183
TO OUR NEW MEMBERS.
I take this opportunity to welcome all Life
and Subscribing Members who have joined the
League's ranks since the issue of our last January
Ypres Times. It is pleasing to notice that
some of you are already showing your enthusiasm
in applying to Headquarters for supplies of
membership forms. This is most encouraging,
and I wish you every success in your good
endeavours to add to our numbers. The League
has continually appealed through the columns
of The Ypres Times, urging each member to
recruit at least one member a year. It sounds a
small duty, but, judging from results, it appears
a very difficult one to perform so I want our
new members to set a good example and respond
to our appeal, and do all that is possible to
acquaint your friends with the aims and objects
of the League. As you already know, Life
Membership is £2 10s., and Annual Subscribing
Membership 5s. The beautiful Scroll Certificate
is given to all members who have served in the
Ypres Salient or to those whose relatives died
in its defence.
It is only natural for the war generation to
remember the heroism of relatives and comrades
who fought and died side by side in the Salient,
and now the League's ambition is to keep such
glorious memory fresh for generations to come,
and it is for this reason that a Junior Division
has been formed for children up to the age of
18, after which they can become ordinary sub
scribing members of the League. I hope that
you will come to our assistance, and that your
recruiting efforts will enrol many more to help
us in our work.
TO BRANCH SECRETARIES AND CORRE
SPONDING MEMBERS.
I have pleasure to announce that Mr. W.
Cloves has very kindly offered to act as our
corresponding member in Adelaide. I thank
him sincerely for his valuable support, and trust
that he will be successful in recruiting quite a
number of new members from Australia.
Lieut.-Colonel H. Fulton has written us from
Salisbury, Rhodesia, saying that he has favour
ably discussed the question of forming a Branch
among the officers and men of the district.
A branch would be very welcome indeed in
Southern Rhodesia, and I wish Colonel Fulton
to accept our grateful thanks for his kind
endeavours to make the League more widely
known, and I look forward to hearing from him
again in the near future.
Recruiting during the past quarter has been
fairly satisfactory, and for this work our chief
thanks are due to Colonel G. J. Henderson
(Kenya), Mr. W. H. Duncan Arthur (Congleton).
Captain P. W. Burgess (Madrid), Mr. L. E. P.
Foot (Hartford, Conn.), and to our London
County Committee.
Colonel Henderson writes to say that he is
returning to England for a considerable period,
and that during his absence Corporal C. H
Slater has very kindly consented to act as our
corresponding member in Kenya. We are very
grateful to Corporal Slater, who has always been
an exceedingly keen supporter of the League.
We hope to have the pleasure to meet Colonel
Henderson during his visit to the Old Country,
and thank him personally for the very valuable
service he has always so generously given for
the welfare of the Ypres League.
Captain J. A. C. Scott, M.C., owing to pressure
of his own work, has had to relinquish the duties
of Secretary of our Gateshead Branch, and we
are glad to hear that Lieut.-Colonel E. G.
Crouch has kindly consented to act as Secretary
of this Branch. Our grateful thanks are due to
Captain Scott and to Colonel Crouch for their
valuable work.
Our lantern slides are still being put to good
use. Mr. W. Pritchard, our staunch supporter
at Las Palmas, has recently given two lectures.
The second lecture, at which Mr. W. Seddon
(Director of Elder Dempster Co. and Grand
Canary Coaling Co.) took the chair, was a great
success, after which a collection was made,
and the proceeds divided between the Sailors'
Institute and the Ypres League. Very hearty
thanks are due to Mr. W. Seddon, Mr. Pritchard
and friends for their kind interest and help.
Our travel bureau has been put into action
earlier this year owing to the dedication of
the British Church on Palm Sunday (see p. 170).
Among our pilgrims we had pleasure to include
twenty-four poor relatives whose expenses
were defrayed by the League in order that they
might see the names of their missing sons
and husbands which are inscribed on the Menin
Gate and Tyne Cot Memorials.
Pilgrimages will take place at Easter to Ypres,
two separate pilgrimages at Whitsuntide to
Ypres and the Somme respectively, and the
usual pilgrimage to Ypres at August Bank
Holiday. A free pilgrimage is also being
organized to the graves and memorials in the
Salient from July 6th to 8th.
This season we are organizing week-end trips
to Ostend (see page 185,) taking in a motor
charabanc itinerary to the Menin Gate and
Ypres Salient battlefields. Week-ends at
Ostend have become extremely popular among
the general public, and I hope our members
and friends will take advantage of this trip
under the League's auspices.
We are shortly publishing a Guide Book,
entitled The Ypres Outpost to the Channel
Ports," price 2s. 6d. per copy, postfree, 2s. iod.