Reading Standard Etc 05-1915

HOSPITAL SUNDAY PARADE.
A larger sum than even last year was collected at the Hospital Parade of the Reading Friendly and Trade Societies. This year, of course, the Territorials' Band was absent from the procession, which otherwise was constituted as in other years. The proceeds were £192 - an increase of £46.
CONCERT FAVOURITE.
The late Mr. H. HARDY JACKSON, who has died in London of diphtheria. He was formerly manager of the Labour Exchange in Reading, in which town he was in great request as a baritone singer.
NEW OFFICER.
Second Lieut. W. C. LIKEMAN, 9th Batt. Royal Berks Regt., late senior master at the Reading Blue Coat School, who has just received a commission.
CHUNG LING SOO IN EASTERN MAGIC.
NEXT week the prime attraction at the Royal County Theatre, Reading, will be Chung Ling Soo in his wonderful acts of Oriental mysticism. A magician of international renown, this much-travelled Chinaman, with the assistance of his lady assistant and staff of Celestials, realises a series of spectacles rivalling in their Oriental magnificence the weirdest dreams of the Arabian Nights. This is the first visit of this distinguished Oriental to Reading, where he will present a series of mystifying illusions identical with those with which he has bewildered vast audiences in the great capitals of Europe at present so prominent in the theatre of war. A special feature of the programme is the introduction of a globe of the world from which by a wave of his fan he produces a procession of soldiers of the Allies, concluding with three patriotic tableaux realising Britannia's realm in a setting of dazzling splendour. In addition there is a strong variety company. Performances will be given twice nightly with a special matinee at 2.30 on Saturday.
CHUNG LING SOO.
SOME LUSITANIA SURVIVORS.
Mr. Cowper, the Canadian journalist, shown in our picture, is one of the few of the Lusitania's passengers who actually saw the submarine that sunk the vessel. The little six-year-old girl in his arms was saved by him from the wreck, but she has lost father, mother, brother, aunt and two cousins. The crippled man shown is another survivor, Mr. Martin Mannion. He kept himself afloat for four hours with his lifebelt.
THE TORPEDOED "LUSITANIA."
Liner Whose Loss has Horrified the World.
Of all the wanton and murderous acts committed by the Germans, none has stirred the civilised world so deeply as the cold-blooded sacrifice of nearly 1,500 non-combatant lives by the torpedoing of the Lusitania.
This deed, as ruthless as it was cruel, arouses the intensest anger, and is one more proof of the indiscriminate brutality which has placed the whole German race outside the pale of civilised communities. By their dastardly crimes the Germans have demonstrated that they are determined to wage this war under conditions of cold-blooded and deliberate murder and outrage, of destruction and brutality, such as the world has never known.
The weather was beautifully fine when the giant Cunarder met the fate of which warnings (unheeded alas!) had been issued by German agencies before she left New York. About eight miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, near Queenstown, two torpedoes, dispatched by a submarine, shattered her side and sent her with awful suddenness to her doom. For perhaps twenty minutes she floated, listing helplessly on her side, while those on board sought to save themselves. There was no panic among the passengers; at first many seemed to think that the ship would not sink.
Neither the captain nor his officers saw the submarine. The torpedoes entered the forward stokehold, and the engines were paralysed by the breaking of the main steam-pipe. The boats could not be lowered immediately, and in any case the starboard boats were useless, as there was a heavy list. Altogether between ten and a dozen boats and rafts got away, but the majority of the passengers and crew went down with the ship. Some, wearing life belts, floated clear, and were picked up by the rescue ships which, in response to the wireless messages, reached the scene of the disaster two or three hours later. Over 700 of the passengers and crew were saved.
THE R.M.S. LUSITANIA.
None of the ocean greyhounds was more popular than the Lusitania, which was almost unsurpassed for speed, grace and luxuriousness. During twelve months she carried over 41,000 passengers and crossed the Atlantic 33 times. She will be affectionately remembered because she won back for England the blue ribbon of the Atlantic captured in 1897 - ten years before her advent - by the North German Lloyd Company. Last year she broke the world's steaming record by making nearly 27 knots.
In the matter of safety devices the Cunard Company has always been in the forefront, and has been the first to adopt many such inventions. Everything that human skill and forethought can do was done in the case of the Lusitania. Watertight doors, bulkheads of immense strength, double bottoms, side bunkers, wireless telegraphy, submarine signalling - all these are of proved value. The fact that the Lusitania was built in accordance with British Admiralty requirements is in itself a testimonial to the strength and completeness of her construction.
The first cost of the vessel was estimated at about 11/4 million sterling, maintenance, depreciation and other charges at about £30,000 a month, and the cost of each voyage to New York and back was put at approximately £20,000.
While there is no doubt that in luxury, as in some other respects, the Lusitania was surpassed by later boats, she was for some time the most magnificently equipped vessel afloat. Roof gardens, open fireplaces, brass bedsteads, and many other things combined to make it difficult to realise whether one was ashore or afloat.
Hot and cold water was to be found in the palatial staterooms; commodious wardrobes and large mirrors added to the comfort of the occupant. Bedsteads were substituted for berths, and in many cases there were private bath and toilet rooms, with private suites attached. The reading rooms and the lounge were furnished in rich and elaborate style, and contained many rare pictures. The idea was more that of a large hotel than of a ship. And it was a very large hotel ,too, for her floating population on the first voyage exceeded 3,000.
The accommodation was arranged for some 550 first-class, 500 second-class and 1,300 third-class passengers. The space allotted to the passengers was fully 50 per cent. in excess of anything enjoyed previous to the building of the Lusitania, and there was a lavish provision of suites of rooms, single-berth cabins and family quarters. The dining-room and restaurant, the passenger lifts and other features of the vessel evoked admiration at the time of her launching, although comparatively little attention was paid to these matters by the public, whose interest was not unnaturally centred on the engineering wonders which the vessel embodied.
The decorative and architectural features of this noble vessel were such as would do honour as well to the palace as to the world's finest hotels. Artists and craftsmen of eminence superintended the construction of the passenger accommodation - craftsmen whose technique is as perfect as human skill can be, and artists who know how to combine luxury with the most admirable taste. Throughout the vessel one found nothing to offend the most sensitive eye; everything was blended in exquisite harmony.
There were lofty domes fashioned and painted by expert decorators; panellings prepared by skilled workers; charming tapestries, curtains and carpets. Several different kinds of wood were used in the furnishing of the public rooms.
The first-class dining saloon was a vision in white and gold. The style was Louis Seize and the predominating colour was vieux rose. It contained a magnificent mahogany sideboard with gilt metal ornaments. High above towered the wonderful dome with painted panels after Boucher, while underneath was a wide balcony on which tables were arranged.
The lounge was in the style of the late Georgian period. Fine inlaid mahogany panels, a richly-modelled dome ceiling, beautiful marble mantelpieces, constituted a luxurious ensemble.
The accommodation for second-class passengers was upon a scale of luxury to which, only a few years ago, the first-class passengers did not aspire. The third-class accommodation was characterised by commodiousness and comfort.
Variety and excellence was the watchword of the culinary department. Every luxury that was in season was obtainable. Hothouse flowers of exquisite form and aroma adorned the saloon tables. It is nearly ten years ago that Sir Henry Lucy, the famous Parliamentary writer, wrote that he wished the bill of fare on the steamers of the forties might be printed on the backs of the menus of the present day. These ten years have seen astonishing developments.
UPPER AND LOWER DINING ROOM, SHOWING DOME.
THE ELEVATOR.
THE WRITING ROOM.
A FIRST-CLASS BEDROOM.

MILITARY SPORTS.
Before a crowd of 2,000 the 177th and 178th Companies Army Service Corps, Mechanical Transport, held an all-day sports meeting in Palmer Park, reading, and the event was immensely enjoyed by military and civilians alike.
THE OFFICIALS.
THE FANCY DRESS PARADE.

READING MUSICIAN IN SOUTH AFRICA.
THE many friends of Mr. SIDNEY A. MOSDELL, F.R.C.O., an old Reading boy who has made his mark in the musical profession, will be glad to learn of his continued success in Cape Town, whither he removed from Wokingham at the end of 1913. Besides being organist of the Lutheran Church, Strand Street, Cape Town, Mr. Mosdell has given recitals on the City Hall organ six or seven times, and has assisted at all the Mayor's reception concerts to the burghers. He has also been engaged at many of the concerts in Cape Town and neighbourhood and lectured on "Mendelssohn" at the Congregational Church, Rondesbosch, with musical illustrations by the choir.
An appreciation of Mr. Mosdell appears in the "Cape Argus," from which we will cull the above details. His musical career in this neighbourhood, too, was a distinguished one. As a boy he acted for several years as assistant organist at St. Laurence's Church, Reading, and at eighteen he was appointed organist and choirmaster of the new church of St. John, Caversham, where he remained three years. He then proceeded to the parish church, Tring, where he formed the Tring Choral and Orchestral Society, and at the same time was organist of the Berkhamstead Church Choral Society and conductor of the Chesham and Aston Clinton Choral Societies. In 1902 he was elected conductor and visiting choirmaster of the Vale of Aylesbury Church Choral Association, which at its festival services formed a choir of between four and five hundred voices. In 1906 Mr. Mosdell was invited to become organist and choirmaster of the parish church, Wokingham, where for many years the music had been made a speciality, and the choir of which was considered by many the best parish church choir in the diocese. Here, also, Mr. Mosdell conducted the Choral and Orchestral Society, was local secretary and member of the committee of the Bucks, Berks and Oxon Competitive Musical Festival, and was one of the founders and chairman of committee of the Wokingham and District Band League, which organised competitions to encourage and improve the playing of brass and wind bands. As an organ recitalist Mr. Mosdell was frequently engaged in London - at the Alexandra Palace (on the Willis' large and famous organ), White City, St. Paul's, Covent Garden, Ecclesiastical Exhibition, and many towns in the provinces. Mr. Mosdell studied under Sir J. Frederick Bridge (Westminster Abbey), W. Shakespeare and the late Dr. E. H. Turpin, and himself has been a teacher of no mean order.
MR SIDNEY A. MOSDELL, F.R.C.O.