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