VERDUN.
We think of love, of garden plots and song,
We dream our dreams to be—and gone—
While hell let loose, men speak and done
Defend Verdun.
A glint of red, a glow of crimson flowers
Uplift their heads to meet the morning hours,
A glint of red—in battlefield the Hun
Awaits Verdun.
O! Frailty of man who only knows
When stormy wind across his garden blows!
For glints of red a-shining in the sun
Reflect Verdun.
Chocolate! AUSTRALIAN CHOCOLATE FOR
AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS
Nothing so sustaining for winter conditions as GRIFFITHS’ Pure Chocolate. Packed in specially sealed tins ready for posting to the Front. Also in Solid Blocks. Post a Block with your next pair of socks.
Have you seen our SOLDIER’S HAMPER Lists? Write or ring us up (’Phone 3496) and we will post you one.
Griffiths Bros. 530 Queen Street,
Petrie’s Bight, Brisbane. Prop. Ltd.
Large Blocks of Chocolate also obtainable at Finney Isles & Co. Ltd., Allan & Stark Ltd., Etc.
Comforts!!!
What could be more comforting to our boys in the trenches than PHOTOGRAPHS of their “Ain Folk” from time to time.
Make an appointment with—
Thos. Mathewson & Co.,
184 Queen Street (next Finney Isles & Co.)
Brisbane,
And secure a PORTRAIT to send in time for Christmas.
’Phone 614.
Soldiers in the Field.
INDIVIDUAL COMFORTS FUNDS.
In addition to the General Comforts Funds, many individual funds have sprung up in the last twenty months for various units. Fêtes have been organised, entertainments given, arts and crafts sold, and business ventures started and continued with success to augment the funds of battalions and units for which different committees are exerting individual effort. It was felt that the soldiers would appreciate gifts all the more if they knew they were especially sent for their own particular unit, and regimental flags are made and sent overseas, comforts provided, and any special requests of the commanding officers are attended to wherever possible.
Money is sent when specially asked for, and expended at the discretion of the commanding officers, while the continual upkeep of consignments to the different battalions means an unfailing interest on the part of the women. When the men know that the cases have arrived from Queensland and are consigned to their own particular battalion, a special value is attached to them. The very fact that they have been thought of individually is a pleasure, and from all accounts the cases assume the proportion of Santa Claus to a small boy.
Some idea of the magnitude of the work performed in Queensland, to send comforts to soldiers in the field, is realised when it is known that, in addition to the Queensland Soldiers’ Comforts Fund, the following comforts funds are also in existence in Brisbane:—
| 2nd Light Horse |
| 5th Light Horse |
| 11th Light Horse |
| 9th and 49th Battalions |
| 15th Battalion |
| 25th Battalion |
| 26th Battalion |
| 31st Battalion |
| 41st and 42nd Battalions |
| 47th Battalion |
| 3rd Pioneers |
| 4th Pioneers |
| 9th Field Artillery |
| Miners and Engineers |
A Letter from France.
France,
3/2/17.Dear Mrs. S—— and Miss W——
Our Colonel has to-day handed me your most magnificent parcel for distribution to friendless men of my company. The parcel, which was sent by Messrs. T. C. Beirne & Co., arrived in good order, and was greatly appreciated by the men. It really was one of the best parcels I have yet seen. Everything it contained was just what we find it difficult to get here.
(Signed) W. M. Davis, Major,
25th Batt., A.I.F.
And that’s only one of the many appreciative letters for Beirne’s Soldier Boy Hampers that we have seen.
Every Mail for the Front sees hundreds of BEIRNE HAMPERS going to make the recipients happy.
Can we send one for you? No trouble! Just give us your order. We do everything else.
Prices run:—10/-, 15/-, 20/-, 25/- And that means The Postage Paid By Us.
T. C. BEIRNE & Co.,
“The House of the People.”
The VALLEY, : : : BRISBANE.
Anzac Club.
CHURCH OF ENGLAND SOLDIERS’ HELP SOCIETY.
In a quiet obscure street leading from the main thoroughfares of the city, there is a sign hung out from the building of an old church, “Anzac Club.” A rest home is here provided for returned soldiers in particular, but all soldiers, whether recruits or men who have come through action, are welcome. It is the outcome of the efforts of the women of the Church of England Help Society, but no questions of religion are asked, and the club is open to men of all denominations and creeds.
The management is in the hands of men, and personal attention is given to individual soldiers in an open, broadminded way. For instance, if an intoxicated man comes into the club, he is not turned out, but taken to the rest room upstairs and given a couch to sleep off his intemperance. Everything possible is done to encourage the men to use the club. There are three rooms for their occupation. A large reading and lounge hall in the basement with a piano, gramaphone, easy chairs, small tables and a restaurant. The stage of this hall has been turned into a billiard room, and at all times of the day there are men using the privileges of the club. Upstairs there is a reading, writing and rest room, where notepaper, envelopes and a library are provided free of charge. No entrance fee or subscription is asked, and the only time a soldier has to put his hand in his pocket is when he requires refreshments. These are provided at the lowest cost possible, and it is obvious that some return is necessary to keep the restaurant in financial order. Letters are received and remain in the care of the manager until called for, the manager being in attendance every day and night, and the club open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Different societies, and Protestant churches in and around Brisbane, provide a fortnightly social, and no offer is ever refused to entertain the men. The members of the Church of England Help Society hold a “tea” every Sunday and provide all provisions. This function is extremely popular, and the attendance averages 270 soldiers. These forms of entertaining returned men have had a wonderful influence among men of previous uncertain character. They have wandered in, in the first instance, out of curiosity, but the kindness of the girls and women and the happy atmosphere of the club have attracted them again and again. Seeing that a certain respectability is expected of them, they have taken care to come sober and remain sober. The numbers of men who were apparently “lost” characters and who have reformed under the influence of the club is amazing. The women who worked up this movement, and who continue to give strenuous attention to the welfare of the club, are the source of more influence for good than they are yet aware. But the Anzac Club was not instituted as a house of reformation, nor is it run on any such lines. It is a rest home for the men who have done “their bit,” or who are going forth to fight for their country.
Remember the Men in the Trenches.
HOW WOMEN MAY HELP AND ENCOURAGE.
There is an ever-increasing demand for comforts for the men in the trenches. The Queensland Soldiers’ Comforts Depot in Parbury House has an army of women throughout Queensland working daily to supply those wants. But these women are in need of re-inforcements just as the soldiers in the trenches are in need of re-inforcements of men to-day. Those women who have immediate ties with men in the firing line have learnt of the soldiers’ delight in receiving additional comforts—they have also heard of the long hours spent midst wind, rain, mud and snow, when the soldiers’ only food was military rations, their only clothes—military equipment. Sufficient comforts have not been sent to the men. Additional socks, mufflers, mittens, Cardigan jackets, Balaclava caps, shirts, games, musical instruments, books, tinned fruits and milk are urgently needed. Surely the women of Queensland will not fail to make further and greater efforts to bring some gladness to the men fighting for us in France and Egypt.
The Anzacs who have returned from facing the hourly risk of death have a strange look in their eyes, and many, when sitting quietly smoking or resting, seem to be listening. One soldier was questioned: “You look as if you were listening all the time to something we can’t hear.” “Yes,” he said, “when I sit quietly I seem to hear the chaps in the trenches calling for me to come back.” The Anzac in question was well enough to do light military duty, but he felt that even he, after his strenuous work and severe wounds, should return and give the men a helping hand.
Can’t you hear, women of Queensland, the men in the trenches calling for extra comforts? Can’t you hear them saying, “If we had a few more pairs of socks and some extra warm clothing things wouldn’t be so bad. I wonder why the women don’t send us more things?” Those who have their women folk working here are unbounded in their gratitude for individual parcels. They also receive goods from the Soldiers’ Comforts Fund. But think of the men who have no friends or relations to work for them! They depend entirely on extra comforts to the Comforts Fund—and if there are not enough to go round there must be many a bitter thought.
But not so bitter as the thought of no reinforcements of men. Nor so bitter as the thought of extra risks, extra hours of suffering because the country they are fighting for refuses to assist them in their hour of need. Every extra man in the trenches lessens the casualty lists. Every extra comfort gives not only a glow of pleasure and hours of comparative ease, but encouragement. Writing from the trenches men say that when parcels arrive excitement is intense. It seems a voice from home, and for the nonce war and death are brushed aside. But the lonely soldier who receives no remembrances, not even slight acknowledgment of his sacrifices, must sometimes wonder if his country and countrymen and women are worth risking death for.
Imperial Service Club.
THE HOME OF THE RECRUIT IN 1914-1916.
Although this club is now closed it will always live in the memory of the soldier who was a recruit during 1914-16. It provided a place of rest and amusement to thousands and thousands of soldiers, and the energetic band of women and men, who put their untiring energies into the club, are deserving of unstinted praise.
It was open every day, including Sunday, and there were always certain members of the women’s committees in attendance during the day, while both men and women were on duty at night, the club closing at 10 o’clock. The scheme was carried out on an extensive scale, and everything possible was done to make the club a comfortable rendezvous for the soldiers. The billiard tables were a great attraction, and stationery and other necessaries were supplied free of cost. A restaurant provided light refreshment, and all sorts of amusements were arranged to attract and interest the soldiers. Over a hundred letters were often received in one day for the men, and the reading and writing-rooms were a boon to the lonely country recruit. Many men left their personal belongings in the care of the committee, and these are stored ready for the owners to claim them on their return from the war. Socials, dances and entertainments were continually being held, and several musical instruments were always at the disposal of the men in the large lounge at the basement of the building. The White City, other attractions for the soldiers, and the fact that there were so few recruits in camp at the end of 1916, occasioned the closing of the club, and the women who worked so enthusiastically for the movement have since turned their energy into other patriotic channels.
RECRUITING READY-RECKONER
FOR MARRIED MEN PREPARED TO JOIN THE A.I.F.
“FOR HOME AND EMPIRE.”
| RATES FOR A SOLDIER. | Total Fortnightly Pay. | Fortnightly Patriotic Fund allowance (if necessary). | TOTAL fortnightly income. | Fortnightly Pension if husband totally incapacitated. | Fortnightly Pension if husband killed. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With a WIFE and no children | £4 9 10 | ——— | 4 9 10 | 4 10 0 | 2 0 0 |
| With a WIFE and 1 child | £4 15 1 | 0 12 6 | 5 7 7 | 5 10 0 | 3 0 0 |
| With a WIFE and 2 children | £5 0 4 | 0 17 6 | 5 17 10 | 6 5 0 | 3 15 0 |
| With a WIFE and 3 children | £5 5 7 | 0 17 6 | 6 3 1 | 6 15 0 | 4 5 0 |
| With a WIFE and 4 children | £5 10 10 | 0 17 6 | 6 8 4 | 7 5 0 | 4 15 0 |
In addition to the above there is 1/- per day deferred pay, amounting to £18/5/- per year, which the soldier draws in a lump sum on his return.
Then, again, a man has to remember that he is fed and clothed while in the A.I.F., which is, of course, a big item to consider.
Don’t forget, too, that the rates quoted above are for the PRIVATE.
Such a big proportion of the men enlisting in Queensland to-day are married men, that we thought it would be a good plan to state all the rates of pay and pensions clearly for their information.
There is no doubt that the single men are not coming forward as they should, and many married men are coming to the conclusion that there is only one thing to do—take up the sword themselves.