LEAGUE SECRETARY'S NOTES. 237 TO OUR NEW MEMBERS. It is a great pleasure to welcome those members who have joined the League during the last quarter. My readers may be interested to learn that August enrolments far exceeded the average of former years. This may, partly, be attributable to the publicity given by the Press to the Free Pilgrimage (which the League helped to organise) to the Menin Gate in July. This charitable side ot our work made a universal appeal. But I think hearts were also touched and memories awakened by the stately ceremony, which told the world that England remembered the sacrifice of each one of her sons, and that none now had a nameless grave." People turned to the Ypres League, whose principal aim is to keep alive the memory of what has come to be called the Immortal Defence." They wished to give their sympathy tangible shape. And, if they had served in the Salient themselves, they felt that such a League would link them up again with the past and bring them in touch with others who had shared the same experiences, hardships and perils. The present, naturally, is much more real to us than the past, and in the day's business and pleasures we are apt to forget things tljat are well worth recalling. We ask all who feel as we do on this subject to help us in our work of re membrance." Do not let your subscription be the extent of your sympathy, but try and bring in other members from among your relatives and friends. In this way you can prove better than in any other that you have made the cause whole heartedly your own. TO BRANCH SECRETARIES AND CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. The chief characteristic of the pummer quarter is travel, and this year has been no exception to the rule. Indeed, the year has been remarkable for the'' number of pilgrimages, free and other wise, which have been organised, as well as for independent travel, which still continues as we go to press. It may interest our readers if we record in tabulated form the activities of the Travel Bureau in 1927. April jg'jg Easter, Ypres. June 11-14.Whitsuntide, Somme. J ulv 5-9- Complete Tour of Western Front. 23-24.Menin Gate, Ypres. 23-24.Free Pilgrimage, Menin Gate. 30-Aug. 2.Bank Holiday, Ypres. Aug. 6-9. Free Pilgrimage, Somme. Independent Travel103 Persons. As was but natural, the Free Pilgrimage to Ypres for the inauguration of the Menin Gate Memorial was of paramount interest, and the story of its origin, with other details, is related in another page by our Chairman, Lieut.-General Sir W. P. Pulteney, whose sympathy and untiring energy very materially helped the good cause forward. We are pleased to welcome Mr. G. D. Stuart as .Secretary of the new Branch, which has been opened through his initiative at A shton-under- Lyne, and we look forward to a strong membership in this northern town. We have recently had the pleasure of several visits from Captain P. W. Burgess (Madrid), who introduced the League into Spain and whose efforts on its behalf are unflagging. Captain G. W. J. Cole (Hove) is going ahead in his district, and we are grateful for his late recruiting work. I,ieut.-Colonel G. T. Henderson (Nairaslia, Kenya) merits special praise for work accomplished under conditions that might well discourage a less keen and enthusiastic member. His is a large and scattered area, and in his last letter he writes "I thought I had come to the end of fellows in this Colony who served in the Salient, but apparently not," and then follow the names of four new applicants. While fully recognising and appreciating the diffi culties with which many of you are faced, we have been a little disappointed this quarter over the falling off of members sent directly by Secre taries and Corresponding Members the number being considerably below the standard of former years. It is no exaggeration to say that you are one of the main channels through which the League is, so to speak, fed. Do not cut off supplies, or the whole body politic will suffer. There are still three months of the year to runsee what you can do in the time to make good. The Battle Book of Ypres (a special review of which will appear in our next issue) is likely to prove a best-seller if the announcement that a second edition is already in course of preparation may be taken as a criterion. We wish the book no less successful a caieer than that of The Immortal Salient, to which work it forms so interesting a pendant. The Ypres League tie, described elsewhere, has found many purchasers among our readers, and bids fair to be as popular as the embroidered badge. Stocked in the first place as an experi ment, the tie has justified the prophecies of its originators. The interest in the Ypres League lantern lecture is by no means exhausted. We would remind Secretaries and Corresponding Members that we have a triplicate set of slides in the office, which we are always pleased to send out on request. As I observed in the opening paragraph of my letter, the outstanding feature of the summer season is travelit is, therefore, to the table printed above that I must refer my readers for the events and activities of the past quarter. For your sympathy and help, which mean so

HISTORISCHE KRANTEN

The Ypres Times (1921-1936) | 1927 | | pagina 27