LEAGUE SECRETARY'S NOTES.
24
TO OUR NEW MEMBERS.
A sincere welcome is extended to all who have
become members since the publication of the
October issue of The Ypres Times.
The main object of the League, as you know, is
Commemoration. This was never brought more
forcibly or eloquently before the public than on
that unforgettable occasion when general homage
was paid to the missing at the unveiling cere
mony of the Menin Gate Memorial.
Ever since its inauguration in 1920, the League
has striven to carry out the ardent desire of
its former President, the late Earl of Ypres, that
the memory of those gallant souls who laid down
their lives in the defence of the Salient should
be kept alive for all time. With each passing
year we gather fresh sympathisers to our cause,
and call upon them in their turn to keep
the lamp of remembrance burning by enrolling
at least one member a year. Start the New
Year with this resolution and earn our deepest
gratitude. Our quarterly journal, The Ypres
Times, fully describes the League's activities and
acts as good propaganda, if members will loan
their copy to friends and others. The paper is
compiled with a view to suiting all tastes. In
this connection I may say that articles (especially
battle articles) are not easy to obtain, so if any of
you, or your friends, would care to submit an
MSS. the Editor would be not a little grateful.
Descriptions of battles anywhere on the Western
Front are always acceptable.
Best wishes to you all for a Happy New Year,
and let us add our joint wishes that the League
may prosper and flourish in 1928.
TO BRANCH SECRETARIES AND
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.
Let me begin my letter with the time-honoured
greeting A Happy and Prosperous New Year
to you all!
Before giving a brief summary of the work
accomplished in the year which has just closed,
I desire to extend a very cordial welcome to the
three new Corresponding Members who have taken
office during the last quarter, namely, Miss A. K.
Jackson (Portarlingtcn), Mr. L. E. P. Foot (Conn.)
and Mr. C. E. King (Broadstairs).
The past year has been marked by a progress
and increased stability to which those whom I
have the pleasure of addressing have contributed
their share. Where all have put forth their best
efforts, it would be invidious to acclaim one
more than another, but I should like specially
to thank Captain Duncan Arthur (Congleton)
and Colonel G. T. Henderson (Kenya) for their
fine recruiting work, the new members who joined
through their exertions in 1927 reaching the
imposing figures of 47 and 19 respectively. Our
grateful thanks are also due to Mrs. Lindesay
Kelsall (Melrose) for practical sympathy, ex
pressed in many generous ways to Mrs. Briggs
(Harrogate) for loyal support in general and for
her particular interest in the Junior Division,
whose present status we unhesitatingly attribute
to her tireless energy in advancing its claims
to Miss E. Booth (Ripon) for her sincere and
enthusiastic championship of the cause and to
Captain W. P. Burgess (Madrid) who, despite
indisposition, never relaxes his endeavours to
promote the objects of the League, either in Spain
or in this country. I could continue the list
indefinitely had I unlimited time and space at
my disposal.
The London County Committee, whose good
work, the keynote of which is comradeship, cannot
be exaggerated, held many successful reunions,
including a big smoking concert. A fuller
account of their activities, past and-to come, will
be found under Branch Notes."
The feature, par excellence, of 1927 was the
pilgrimages, free and otherwise that to Ypres
on the occasion of the unveiling of the Menin
Gate Memorial having a peculiar interest by
reason of its special character. The Travel
Bureau fully justified its existence and we antici
pate a hardly less busy season in 1928.
The long-looked for appearance of The Battle
Book of Ypres has given satisfaction to its sub
scribers, and the demand for copies from a largfer
public outside has already sent the work into a
second edition. The book is ably and sympathetic
ally reviewed in another column.
Our annual Ypres Day ceremony was held with
customary simple dignity at the Cenotaph.
H.R.H. Princess Beatrice laid the wreath on behalf
of the Ypres League, afterwards proceeding to
Westminster Abbey, where she deposited a second
wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.
The Lantern I.ecture, compiled by Colonel
G. T. Brierley, former Secretary óf the League,
was given with success on various occasions. We
have lately added some interesting views of the
Menin Gate Memorial and the Ypres Memorial
Church to our list of slides. The slides may be
loaned apart from the lecture.
Among smaller items, it was decided to stock
an Ypres League Tie and to have the colours
registered. The tie has proved a complete success
and orders are steadily maintained.
Our indefatigable chairman, Lieut.-General Sir
W. P. Pulteney, to the many presentations which
he has generously made to the League recently
added another, to wit, 48 framed photographs
of completed cemeteries in the Salient. These
now hang on the walls at Headquarters, and are
objects of interest to our visitors. Albums con
taining views of the above are advertised in our
pages.
In turning our eyes to the New Year we carry
forward a balance of hope and confidence which
gives us courage to face whatever the year may
