Our Campaign Comforts Fund.
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Maidstone Concert Draws Big and Enthusiastic Audience.
Large Despatches Have Been Made for Christmas and New Year.
Patroness: H.R.H. Princess Arthur of Connaught.
Ladies Committee: Mrs. S. S. Long, Mrs. Shrapnell-Smith, Mrs. R. K. Bagnall-Wild, Mrs. H. E. Blain. Mrs. W. E. Donohue, Mrs. H. N. Foster.
THE MONEY FOR OUR MOTOR MEN AND HOW IT COMES.
1914-1915 Donations (to 30th September last) .£5438 15s. id. (Audited).
PRINCIPAL SUPPORTERS TO DATE FOR 1915-1916.
£10 Monthly: Associated Equipment ; Car and General; Commercars; Crossley; Crown and Shell Spirits; Daimler; Dennis; Dunlop; Foden; Gaston, Williams and Wigmore; Hanford; Hoyt Metal; Leyland; Thornyeroft ; Wolseley, .,f5 Monthly : Ferodo; Halley; Lucas; Macintosh ; Maudslay ; Hans Renold; St. Helens Cable arid Rubber; Scottish Commercial Cars; Shrewsbury-Challiner; Spencer Moulton; Wood-Milne; Wolf (Solex).
Lump Sums: Peerless Co., £120; President, Peerless Co., £120; Treasurer, Peerless Co.. £100; Staff, Peerless Co., £85; Albion, £50; Belsize, £50; Heath Harrison, Esq., £50; J. Keele, Ltd., £50; Napier, £50 A S.C. Central (Corps) Fund.—£200 (first allocation).
We may not be able to publish any list of donations to the Fund for another three weeks. This will depend upon the available space and other circumstances. • The Fund promises to be well into its ninth thousand pounds by the date on which we expect to refer again to its income side at any length in our pages—issue of the 13th prox.
We are indebted to Mr. II. E. Blain, operating manager of the L.G.O.C., for allowing collections to be taken at the company's garages. The yield of these collections is given in the accompanying list of receipts for the past week, and it goes without saying that but for the regular T.O.T. Funds which are in force, a bigger amount would have been forthcoming. The results of other depot collections, at the hands of Thomas Tilling, Ltd., and other motorbus undertakings, have not yet been communicated to us.
This issue provides us with a last opportunity to express the hope that money from some new supporters may reach us, either immediately, as a Christmas gift-, or early in the New Year. Our Fund is now recognized not only as "The Official Fund" by the War Office, but as TIM. FUND of the motor industry at large, which has no other war fund. It is the outward expression, by manufacturers and users alike, of their regard for the men who have gone to the various -Fronts, although we are not indifferent to a very considerable number of individual efforts in respect of individual men and groups of men.
No money can be better spent than through the Central and Offic5al Fond, and that is where we pievide the only oppeetunity for concerted action, in the matter of sending out, on an impartial basis, extra comforts for the officers and men of the A.S.C., M.T.
isiS
List of Gifts Received Up to 18th December, 1915.
Mrs. Nicholas, Small Heath, Birmingham (4 pairs of socks). Miss Cave, Tauntcin (2 scarves).
Mrs. Walker, Coventry (1 pair of seeks, 1 scarf). Miss Du Pre, Cheltenham (6 pairs of socks).. Mrs. Alloway, Ventnor (4 pairs of socks, I. scarf) Miss Saville, Rutlands Court, S.W. (6 shirts, 3 scarves, 24 Ii andkerchiefs).
Per Mrs. Fare, Longridge, Preston (7 scarves, 8 pairs of socks; 6 pairs of mittens, 6 pairs of gloves, 1 pair of cuffs).
Miss Iceighley, Batley, Yorks (2 pairs of socks, 1 pair of cuffs).
Per McNeil Sharp, Esq., Victoria. Drive, Scotstonn :— Per Mrs. Moffatt, Stonehaven (5 scarves, 4 pairs of socks, 1 pair of mittens, 2 pairs of cuffs).
Mrs. Moir, Edinburgh (3 pairs of mittens, postal order for 2s. 6d.).
Mrs. G. Halley, Glasgow t3 helmets, 3 scarves, 3 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of gloves, 3 pairs of calfskin gloves).
Per Lady Mansfield, Scone Palace, Perth {20 pairs of socks, 10 scarves).
Mrs. Bailey, Wine:Meld (Hants.) (5 shirts, 6 pairs of socks, 1 scarf, 10 handkerchiefs).
Countess Eitzwilliam, Rotherh.am (46 pairs of mittens, 30 pairs of socks, 12 scarves, 3 helmets).
Mrs. S. Long, Blackheath (10 scarves).
Mrs, R. Thomas, Kelso (1 pair of mittens).
Relative Popularity of Our Comforts.
Many a well-intentioned organization has during the past months of war gone to pieces, after a short and excited life, owing to the .system adopted being one in which no attempt has been made to despatch only such Comforts to individual troops or units as were specifically requested by them. Men wii h three body belts already received another one with the benediction of some, keen and kindly-disposed war worker. Members of the R.A.M.C. have perhaps ret.eived a packet of cotton wool, a tin of boracie °int-event or a roll of bandages, or it may be again that a trooper who positively hated sweetmeats received a tin of bull's-eyes or a packet of acid drops, whilst a non-smoker may be overwhelmed with Woodbines.
In the earliest days of our organization We were fortunate to foresee this difficulty and the necessity to guard against it. We, therefore, have practically from the commencement worked on what is known stores parlance as the requisition system. The cases which go out with such regularity from our packing rooms are, -unless there be some special reason otherwise, filled with Comforts which have been definitely asked for by the men who will ultimately get them. In order to test the propriety of our choice in the matter of the range of gifts which this Fund handles in such large quantities, we have analysed 43 such requisition notes recently received hack from the Front, and it will probably interest our readers to notice the percentage of requisitions that we receive for each item. In other words we have thus secured a simple means of testing the popularity of each Cornfort. The following list makes this clear.
The above list does not, of course, take account of The ntany .special requests which we always do our Lest to cover. With rega.A to the gifts revealing a lower percentage, particularly boracic and cotton wool, the need for these has greatly diminished since the early days of the war when medical stores were not so readily obtainable as they became a month or two later. We supply comparatively few of these items nowadays. As to tennis balls which appear at the bottom of the list, these were a very popular gin: when the weather was better, and we owe a considerable debt of gratitude to the Secretary of the British Lawn Tennis Association who was untiring in his efforts to collect used tennis balls for us. They proved to be very popular in conjunction with the short rounder bats which we sent out in quantities during the finer months.
At Maidstone. Brilliant Moonlight for a Change.
The fifth of the series of our Campaign Comforts Concerts took place san Saturday last at Maidstone. This brings to a close the first part of this concert scheme—that for 1915.
The fixture in this Kentish town, associated as it was with the keen and energetic works staff of TillingStevens Ltd., resulted in one of the most successful evenings in which it has been our pleasure to participate.
From a preliminary survey of the financial possibilities in this instance we are satisfied that all the work which has been put into it, both by our headquarter staff here and by Mr. A. G. Mickleburgh and his local committee, was more than justified.
We should like to take this opportunity of acknowledging the very valuable services of the Works Committee in aid. This consisted of : Messrs. A. C. Gorham, A. H. Sileock, F. Ecegood, F. Micklewright, P. E. Martin, E. Packham, and H. H. Day:
The night was the finest we have experienced for many weeks past, and no doubt the Welcome relief of bright moonlight to the past period of soaking and enervating days and nights, contributed not a little to the enthusiasm of the Saturday night's audience. Everything went with thetsmoothness which has fortunately characterized these fixtures and, perhapS without further remark, we may instance the singing of the National Anthem and the giving of rousing cheers at the end of the evening by the whole of the big audience, as sufficient evidence that the objects in view were thoroughly realized and approved and that. over and above that Maidstone had seldom, if ever, had better valne for its money.
The Fund and its work have now secured that local publicity at Maidstone, which has similarly in the toast been found so helpful at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, at Luton, at Guildford and at Letchworth.
A prominent member of the audience generously paid for the admission of at least 50 soldiers, who happened to be in an adjoining Army recreation room, and in khaki ; as is generally our experience, their presence helped not a little in making the whole thing the success it undoubtedly was.
We are hopeful that, with still further depletions ef the directing staff of the Fund, clue to the taking lip of Government. responsibilities, the pressure will not render it impossible for us to do more of this kind of thing when the New Year has arrived.
The following two messages of appreciation from the two joint managing directors of Tilling-Stevens, Ltd., once again justify the organizations of these affairs.
{ TT:LRCM!, "Windsor, Campaign Comforts Fund., Rosehery Avenue, E.C.—Verv successful fixture. Everybody pleased. Realization exceeded most sanguine anti. cipations. MICKLEBURGH (Tilling-Stevens)."
[TELEGRAM.]
"Windsor, Commercial Motor,' Holborn.—Maid stone and Tilling.Stevens highly delighted with your splendid concert and Shrapnell-Smith's excellent and interesting lecture. Heartiest congratulations. "FROST SMITH (Tilling.Stevens)." B51