Berkshire and The War: the "Reading Standard" pictorial record. Volume 2. Introduction [2]

General but of General -----------, the A rm y
commander."€
In a subsequent letter he says: "œOur Battalion
had been one of the most worked in the
Army, and we got no rest for long. July 1st,
as far as our Division is concerned, is talked
about as the Berkshire Day. I am proud to
belong to the regiment."€

THE VOLUNTEERS.
And what shall we say as to the Volunteers
-€” these men, fellow citizens and townsmen,
who have braved scoffs and sneers, flouts and
jeers, and most of them of an age when men
seek relief from their labours? Yet when
the tocsin o f war sounded they decided to give
up all their spare time and fit themselves as
well as they could to defend the Mother
Country.
For over two years they have had no encouragement
(except words) from the Government
or anyone else. There is a great excuse
for the rumour that Field Marshal Lord
French has done so much to dispel, viz . : that
the Government did not want them. Today
they still parade our streets with their
dummy guns (because there are no rifles) and
their thin cotton uniform s (because there is
no wool), both of which they themselves had
to pay for. O f course we have only been at
war for 2 1/2 years yet! B u t, courage
Brothers! The Volunteer Bill is passed,
a new Government is in office, and the labours
of Lord Desborough and your officers will
bear fruit. When Lord French inspected the
Corps he was very pleased with their appearance,
and was particularly struck with the
dirty state of the uniforms. When he learned
the cause - €”that they were soiled by hard
work in a certain place, he was still more
pleased.

CARE AND COMFORTS.
The Care and Comforts Committee formed
for the purpose of supplying home comforts
to wounded soldiers in Reading, have had a
busy year. Hospital after hospital has been
opened, but whether in the full glare of the
public eye such as No. 1 in the Oxford Road,
or hidden away from traffic like Redlands or
Katesgrove, they have received equal attention
and supplies from the Committee. The
principle of one centre to which all gifts
should be sent and from which all supplies
should be forwarded has proved to be both
excellent and essential. In many towns it is
found that failing this arrangement the various
hospitals are most unequally provided for.
At a meeting called at the Town Hall early in
November by the then Mayor the work of the
Committee was fully explained and it came as
a surprise to many who thought they knew
something of the work to hear of the manifold
activities of the Committee.
Tobacco, newspapers, books, stationery,
fruit, flowers and vegetables, garments, are
amongst the articles regularly supplied to
all the hospitals. Concerts, outings by road
and river, invitations to tea form another
branch of the work. Recreation rooms have
been fitted up with easy chairs, pianos,
gramophones, billiard tables and other
articles calculated to wile away the weary
hours of pain. To this end a new departure
has been mad€™e this year and handicraft work
has been introduced. To many it may seem
unlikely that the wounded men should take
an interest in making cross-stitch belts, raffia
baskets and such like, but the introduction
has now developed into a huge success, The
demand is extraordinary. The work of the
men, taught by capable and devoted ladies,
is excellent, as will be seen by the samples on
view at the Depot of the Committee at 62,
Minster Street.
There are now upwards of 1,800 men in the
hospitals, with provision for a still further
number. The expense of providing for such
a large number of men is very great, and the
funds of the Committee are rapidly reaching
the vanishing point, and appeal is being made
to the public to enable the work, which is so
highly spoken of by the staff and patients
alike, to be continued.
Mrs. Benyon is president of the Committee,
and the hon. secretary and treasurer is Mr.
S. H. Hodgkin, 11, Tilehurst Road, Reading,
who will gratefully acknowledge any contributions
sent to him.

WAR HOSPITALS SUPPLIES DEPOT.
Even the War Loans have not been better
investments than the War Hospitals Supplies
Depot, 16, Duke Street, Reading, where the
interest on one's money has been an untold
amount of comfort to our sick and suffering
soldiers. A vast amount of voluntary labour
results in the completion of innumerable textile
articles ranging from bandages and bed
jackets to treasure bags and vests. In the
wood and metalwork department such things
as bed cradles and leg rests are made. In one
year this organisation turned out the grand
total o f 104,229 such articles.

WORK OF THE Y.M.C.A.
The world-wide work of the Y.M.C.A. has
attained gigantic proportions. Some idea of
this is afforded by the fact that 15,000,000
pieces of stationery are given free to the men
of the Army and Navy every month, over
£250,000 has been spent in temporary buildings
and equipment, whilst a further £100,000
has been spent on the work of the Y.M.C.A.
in France and Flanders alone.
Relatives of the seriously wounded called
to France to see their loved ones are met,
housed and conducted from boat to hospital
and back by the Association. The men home
on leave are met at the London termini and
conducted to station huts, where baths, beds,
food and comfort await them , and where no
less than 7,000 mud-stained men from the
trenches sleep every week.

Thousands of Comforting Agencies.
Thousands of concerts are arranged in huts,
tents and the open air, at home, in the base
camps and right up at the front ; reading and
writing, games and sports, lectures and
classes, baths and disinfecting rooms, and a
thousand other comforts and conveniences
are provided, in addition to regular Sunday
services of a bracing and helpful character.
A huge catering business is conducted, and
the men can obtain every necessity at almost
cost price, while every penny of the trading
profits is spent on the maintenance and extension
of the work for the direct benefit of the men.
If it were not for the Y.M.C.A . many thousands
of soldiers would have no facilities
whatever for rest and recreation in the brief
spells for service in the trenches or upon the
field.

THE EGG SUPPLY.
Ever since Mrs. Max de Bathe, of Hartley
Court, Reading, the charming and popular
wife of Major de Bathe (so well known as an
exhibitor of Blue Orpingtons), consented,
now a long time ago, to open a depot of the
National Egg Collection at Reading, nothing
but success has attended her untiring efforts,
and Reading, under her skillful organisation,
may be looked upon as a model example of
what a depot should be. As controller of
Reading and district she has the organisation
of an area extending from Basildon to Pangbourne,
Bucklebury, Silchester, Waltham St Lawrence
and Earley. Eggs, and still more
eggs, are sorely needed, and Mrs. de Bathe's
self-sacrificing labours are deserving of a
most generous response, for it should ever be
borne in mind that these "shells" are as
necessary for building up the constitutions of
our sick and wounded warriors as are the
other kind of shells in bringing about victory
for the Allies. With the laudable object of
obtaining more eggs for the wounded Mrs. de
Bathe organised a special matinee entertainment
in the Royal County Theatre in December.
Many well-known London artistes gave
their services and the concert was a brilliant
success. No more eloquent appreciation of
the value of the eggs could be given than is
contained in the following letter - one of
many - received by Mrs. de Bathe. It is
from Pte. F. C. Barber, of the 1st Royal
Berkshire Regiment:-€”

Being one of the 1st Royal Berks Regt.
and unfortunately invalided home after being
at Cheltenham and other hospitals for
about four months, I feel it my duty to you
and your Association to say a little about
the grand work you are doing and the great
benefit I myself derived from the regular
supply of eggs so kindly sent to me.
In some cases (like my own), when it is
almost impossible to take other food on
account of the low condition of some of
our poor fellows, the eggs you so patriotically
send to the lads are really a God-send.
I am certain that if they do not actually
save life they assist very materially in
helping to make the boys fit again.
Permit me as one who has benefited to
wish you and your Association every success,
and to express my admiration of the
great and good work you are so generously
devoting yourselves to -€” a noble work in the
interests of those who have done their bit,
a work that is appreciated to the full by all
who have been so kindly remembered, and
a work that deserves the support of all
.
BERKS TOBACCO FUND.

M illions of cigarettes, ton s of tobacco,
thousands o f cigars and pipes, and thousands
o f newspapers have been sent t o th e fro n t by
th e R oyal B erks R egim en t T obacco, C igar­
ette and N ew spaper Fund.
F L A G DAYS.
R eadin g has kept th e flags flying fo r many
a good cause during th e nast vear. There was
a “ F la g D a y ” for B ritish prisoners o f war
in January, and though th e weather was w et
£550 was raised by th is means, a cheque for
£275 being sent t o M r. W . A. M ount, M .P .,
fo r th e benefit of th e B erkshire prisoners of
war, he being th e hon. treasu rer of th a t fund.
Th at th e help given is sorely needed is shown
by th e follow ing extra ct from a letter from
a B erkshire prisoner who on being sent to
Sw itzerland was able t o w rite freely of th e
conditions o f his camp in Germ any. H e says:
I think th e people of good old E ngland
do n ot realise ou r men have t o live on w hat­
ever com es from home. I t is im possible to
live on German food. I m ust say if only
th e ladies and gentlem en o f E ngland knew
th e am ount of suffering they are relieving
our men o f and how th ey a ppreciate th e
parcels sent t o them I am sure th e people
w ould d o a. lot m ore fo r our prisoners.
“ Our D ay ” collection s in M ay fo r the R ed
Cross funds tota lled over £1,000.
In th e
same m onth it was notified th a t £2,057 had
been con tribu ted to the B erkshire C ounty
Fund opened by th e L ord Lieu ten ant in co­
operation w ith th e N ational Com m ittee fo r
R e lie f in Belgium .
Three hundred women
collected £165 on a “ F lag D a y” in J u ly in aid
of th e war fun d of th e Church of England
W a ifs and Strays Society. Up to th a t date
it was announced th a t th e Society had, since
th e war, taken no few er than 800 children of
soldiers and sailors in to its homes. Though
there was so much t o be done fo r suffering
and saddened hum anity our dumb four-footed
friends, th e war horses, w ere n ot forgotten ,
and in aid of th e R .S .P .C .A . fun d fo r B ritish
sick and wounded arm y horses a F lag D ay
resulted in £ 346 being raised in R ea din g and
district.
There are many oth er organ isation s doing
the same quiet, u nobtrusive, but equally
necessary w ork, and in one way or another
we are all try in g to d o our bit, know ing full
well th at
N o easy hope or lies
Shall bring us t o our goal,
B ut iron sacrifice
O f body, will and soul.
There is b u t one task fo r all—
F o r each one life t o give.
AVho stands if freedom fa ll?
AVho dies if E ngland liv e ?