League Secretary's Notes.
THE YPRES TIMES
89
TO OUR NEW MEMBERS.
We heartily welcome all those who have
joined the League since the issue of the April
edition of The Ypres Times. The number of
enrolments have been very satisfactory and we
trust, with your support that many more will
be introduced before the end of December to
make 1930, the tenth anniversary year of the
League, one with which to be proud, and we
earnestly request all the new members to come
to our support in sending in names and addresses
of their relatives and friends who have fought
in the Ypres Salient and are desirous of joining.
The subscription is 5s. per annum, to include
a copy of The Ypres Times each quarter, or
£2 ios. life membership.
As a record of service a scroll certificate is
given to members who have fought at Ypres,
and to those who have lost relatives there.
The chief object of the League is to keep alive
the great deeds and sacrifices of the immortal
defence of the Salient.
To those who revisit this battlefield little now
remains to remind them of what ex-soldiers once
knew as Ypres," but in spite of the lapse of
time and rapid restoration of the countryside,
memories of war seem of yesterday, so our main
object, commemoration," never fades, and we
look upon all our supporters to assist in our
one endeavour to strengthen the membership
of the Ypres League.
Literature will be gladly sent from Head
quarters,' for distribution to anyone kind enough
to apply for same, and we trust that we shall
have the pleasure to hear from many who have
joined during the past three months.
TO BRANCH SECRETARIES AND
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.
We take this opportunity in thanking all who
have given their valuable time and interest
for the welfare of the League during the
past quarter. We are pleased to report
favourably on membership which continues
to be most satisfactory, great recruiting work
has been done by our Purley Branch under its
enthusiastic Secretary, Major Graham Carr, to
whom our very grateful thanks are due. (See
page 88.)
Our London County Committee, too, deserve
special mention for their excellent work, reported
in Branch Notes, and we congratulate them on
the success of their activities.
Capt. Wilkinson has been very much alive
with League interests in spite of his overcrowded
hours, and we are more than grateful for the
publicity he has given to our Pilgrimages to Ypres
in the leading Sheffield papers, with such
excellent results.
We have received a letter from Mr. L. E. P.
Foot, who works hard for the League in Hart
ford, Connecticut. He conveys to us the sad
news of the sudden death of a very staunch life
member, Colonel E. D. Church (Commissioner
of Pensions of the United States). Colonel
Church had a very high regard for his member
ship in the Ypres League, and we shall feel the
loss of his influential interest very much indeed.
One of our greatest privileges of the year has
been the pleasure of meeting Capt. Henry Maslin,
of Brooklyn, New York. He arrived in London
on May 24th in company with 127 members of
the 27th American Division, en route to visit
their old battle haunts in France and Belgium.
Quite a number of them are old members of the
Ypres League, and others have joined since their
arrival in England. We gladly welcome them
into our ranks.
It is difficult for us to pen our great apprecia
tion for the sterling recruiting work done by
Capt. Maslin since he joined in 1922. His
interest in the League is always to the fore, in
spite of his many business duties and continued
suffering from war wounds, and we were indeed
delighted to have the opportunity to thank him
personally for the way in which he has so
successfully established a League Colony in
New York.
Our annual Easter and Whitsuntide pil
grimages to the Salient were again well
patronised, and our individual travel department
continues its activity.
Two Regimental Association partiesthe
2nd Londons and 85th Field Ambulancehave
had enjoyable trips to France and Belgium
under our auspices, and we are now organizing
our annual July Free Pilgrimage of deserving
cases, the August Bank Holiday trip, and a
British Legion six-day battlefield tour, com
mencing on August 9th.
So far, 1930 has proved generally successful
in all the League's departments, and we call
upon our Branch Secretaries and Corresponding
Members to carry on their faithful work of
recruiting and so make the last six months of
the year a record.
We conclude by expressing again our grateful
thanks for all your good work, and we happily
look forward to your continued support.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
We were pleased to record in the last edition
of The Ypres Times, General Sir Charles
Harington's election as Vice-President of the
League, and we now have pleasure to announce
that Lieut.-General Sir Philip Chetwode has also
kindly consented to act in the same capacity in
place of the late Sir Charles Monro.